Tafari Hinds is the model turned musician who wants to make you stop and think, then look and listen.
Born to do it, Tafari’s journey to music was paved with mystic significance. Son of roots reggae singer Horace Andy, Tafari grew up in Jamaica where he began acting as part of a local performing arts company until a Tarot reader dealt him a curveball, telling him he was destined to be a singer instead. Which makes sense, because Tafari has a passion and a self-belief that goes beyond the drive of your average young musician. His second EP ‘Out to Get You’ (he is), rises and falls methodically through your eardrums with soothing vocals and minor crescendos.
i-D first met Tafari in a still image, when Consultant Fashion Director Simon Foxton cast him for a shoot in 2001. Since then, he’s become an i-D regular as well as appearing in campaigns for Vivienne Westwood and editorials for leading fashion publications. His debut music video Flashing Lights, produced by George Harvey premiered on i-D online last year and has since been chosen for Music Week’s annual compilation of worthy new artist tracks.
Following a recent performance at the RCA (shown in the video here) exploring purity in performance, Tafari told i-D online a lot about music, a little about modelling and a line about bio-engineering!
When did you first realise you wanted to be a musician? I’ve always been surrounded by music, growing up in Jamaica and coming from a very musical background, but to be honest, I never really thought about that as a career path until I was much older. As a teenager I was a part of a Jamaican performing arts company, so I assumed I would be an actor, but then at a party in downtown Kingston there was this old man reading Tarot and he told me I would not succeed as an actor and I should focus on singing ’cause that’s what’s meant for me. So here I am!
What inspires your songs? Lots of things… I get a lot of inspiration from books, I love science fiction and fantasy books, but also more serious scientific stuff. Right now I’m reading a very interesting book about genes and bio-engineering. That’s the kind of thing I’m into now so it’s reflected in the songs, but it’s not too obvious, it’s more about the mood I’m in, the lyrics are kind of abstract.
Why did you choose the RCA for the performance? I wanted to do something else, right now everybody in pop music is trying to shock and it can sometimes be too vulgar, I wanted to do something that was different and somehow pure, so I thought I should do it in a gallery space. And the Royal College of Art is an inspiring place; it has produced many generations of artists, people like David Hockney, Tracey Emin and now David Bailey whose work have influenced so much of today’s mainstream culture without being cheap. I like this combination of being expensive but still being able to be mainstream.
Do you still model? Yes I do, although it’s really hard with time. I never really thought of myself as a ‘model’, it’s just another thing I do.
Who are your all-time music heros? Diana Ross, Grace Jones, Bob Marley, and Madonna – not in a way that I want to make music like them but more as inspiring music icons. I would love to see Madonna and Bob Marley jamming, imagine what could come out of that!
Who would you love to collaborate with? Thom Yorke, I love his solo album. And Jonsi from Sigur Ros. Also some new, talented producers who are still unknown, I would love to have a group of people who I can work with and bring them to a broader audience.
What’s next for you? ‘Flashing Lights’ was chosen as one of the top 10 songs from up-and-coming artists to be put on Music Week’s once-a-year compilation to be released soon, so that’s pretty exciting! I’m also working on my debut album.
With thanks to Richard Wentworth and Ekua McMorris at Royal College of Art.
Text: Sarah Raphael
Film and Photography: Tom Beard
Styling: Ian Luka
