Raised in a Rastafaian home and community, Iya Ingi learned the teachings of black leaders like Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, considered a supreme figure by many members of that religion.

One of the roots singer’s favourite Selassie I quotes is the basis for how he lives, and Never Give Up, his latest song.

“Haile Selassie I say, ‘we must become bigger than we have ever been, more courageous, greater in spirit and larger in outlook’,” he told Observer Online. “The message behind Never Give Up is resilience and perseverance, accepting the fact that a person can never truly fail unless they have given up.”

Never Give Up is produced by Silver Diamond Productions. Part of its video was shot in Mona Common in St Andrew where Iya Ingi grew up. Located in the Papine community, it has been a hotbed of social consciousness since the 1960s when Guyanese firebrand Walter Rodney held grounations there.

It is also where he first heard the songs of Dennis Brown, Peter Tosh, Joseph Hill of Culture and Moses I, whom Iya Ingi considers his biggest influences.

As the child of committed Rastafarians, he recalls self-confidence and independence resonating through his home as a youth. Those traits are expressed in Push On True, Ita Ingi’s first song which was released 20 years ago.

“Resilience is a fundamental part of my life and it is a skill that I am gradually developing as a natural progress throughout life’s journey. I have seen the highest display of resilience in my parents and all my siblings,” he said. “My mother, Mama Delce, is the most resilient woman I have ever known.”

– Howard Campbell