Introduce yourself for us!
Alright, so my name is Matthew Jackson and my stage name is Mateo Banks. I'm Jamaican, and originally I lived in New York. I've been doing an MBA here in management since last year in May. So this is my second year at Andrews, but first year in the graduate program.
What made you decide on the stage name Mateo Banks?
So back home in Jamaica, it just used to be an alias that I had, pretty much from elementary school and straight through high school, but in high school I was fairly good at Spanish. So our Spanish teacher would give us Spanish versions of our English names, so since Matthew is Mateo, I put both of them together and it stuck.
Tell us about your song, what's it about?
It's talking about Psalms 14. So it's basically based on talking about my opinions and my experience with God through the lens of Scripture. Psalm 14 says, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” But the chorus of the song says, “the fool says in his heart, there is no God but I know that He's beside me”, meaning that you're (God) the one beside me. It basically means God is the one that's guiding me, the one that's beside me, and so even though some may profess that there is no God, I experienced that in my life in a really real way. So the verses talk about my experience with that. The song is very true to the dancehall and reggae style, so it's really cool.
How long have you been working on music? And have you always been musical as a kid?
I'd say I've always been musical, but I didn't really realize it until my first year of college when I joined the choir. But I've always deejayed, meaning rapping in Jamaican—-that's what we call it. I've always done that in classrooms, just drumming on desks. I started writing music, I'd say, in about 10th grade, like a full song. I started doing my own music when I was about 18 and my first song came out in 2019. That's when I started officially putting out music.
How would you say your spirituality and faith interacts with your music and how has your faith changed or grown through your music?
Well, I'm not really a Christian artist. I try as much as I can to incorporate spirituality, but my main genres of music are dancehall and reggae. There are plenty of elements and room for talking about God in it though, and giving praise to God, so I tried to put that in my music as much as I can. I'm also an intentional person with my faith so that's something that I've developed in my song as well. Just as a person, I wouldn't say my faith is all the way seen in my music but it’s something that I try to incorporate as much as I can.
Do you have plans to go professionally into music as a career in the future?
I'm in it right now. This is my career. It's not paying what it is supposed to yet but I would say I'm an artist right now, absolutely.
What are some challenges and what are some of the highlights that you have experienced through your musical career?
My biggest challenge is coming to terms with the stuff that I'm not able to do, my limitations in terms of trying to achieve a certain amount of quality or having to put aside things I wanted to do musically because the resources are just not there. Also coming to terms with not being met with the same excitement that you have for your music and learning to grind your way up slowly. I'm a low key person, I’m not very gregarious or very outgoing, but I've learned to be that way for the sake of my music and the sake of promoting it. So yeah, I pretty much learned to accept that this is a process and it won't come easily at times. And sometimes it might be very slow. You might adjust the song and get on interviews. But I am learning to be okay with that and focusing on the positives. The good part is that the music itself is a joy to make and create and to share. And to always have people say things like, “Hey, this I really loved this,” or “This was really fun. It's really special.” I'd say those are the best parts.
Where can we stream your songs?
Everywhere, like Apple Music, Spotify, Youtube, etc.
How do you want people to respond to your song when they're hearing it for the first time? How do you want them to feel?
I think everybody will react to it differently, especially in this genre I’m in. Dancehall and reggae music are not as popular as they used to be, so it's a different sound. Some people might say, yeah, like this is different, or some may react differently—they may not be so sure what they're listening to or might not understand the dialect. So I'd love to hear them say yes, fine, or it’s different or sounds good. But I've also adjusted my expectations for when people hear my music. This is usually met with good reviews. I probably draw some inspiration from an older genre.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Well, one is Koffee. She's also a reggae artist. Masuka, Lauryn Hill, those are my biggest inspirations—but I listen to music widely. I draw inspiration from everywhere, unconsciously. So yeah, I listen to everything basically.
Sounds cool! I can’t wait for your new EP.
Yeah, I also have a launch party coming up this Sunday in the rec center, with live music and performances. Doors open at 7:30 pm, and you guys should all show up. My new album is dropping on April 8th and it’s called Now or Never. Psalm 14 is track two from it.
Follow him on Instagram for new music updates!!
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.