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-- by Renée-Lauren Ellis

Stephen Gibson a.k.a. Gibbo is a producer, song writer and manager. He’s part of the dynamic trio Hpnotiq, which has been taking Miami by storm for the past 2 years. The business side of the music industry is his main focus and he’s even taken it a step further by earning a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, with a focus on Audio Engineering. This academic focus exposed him to such important aspects as music theory and ear training, which serve him well as a producer and also provide the foundation for a possible foray into business school. Counting Quincy Jones, Phil Spector, Dave Kelly and Sir Coxsone Dodd as inspirations, Gibbo is poised to be a solid producer. His passion for music and producing especially is fueled by an early exposure from his father, who was also a producer. Among others, he enjoys the music of Luciano, Richie Spice, Anthony Cruz and George Nooks. This selection belies his love of Rockers and Reggae, both of which he plans to present to the listening audience with an Alternative Rock twist.

His first release Hard Times is well produced and features a strong line up of well-known and up-and-coming Jamaican artists such as Sizzla, Bascom X, Capleton, IWayne and Anthony Cruise. As a manger for Hpnotiq, he has developed a good rapport with many Jamaican artists, which serves him well when it comes time to voice artists on a new riddim. Also impressive is that Gibbo can claim songwriting credit for most of the songs on his debut riddim. That he has managed to exert such strong influence on his first release makes the riddim truly his own and foretells of a strong career with class output. When talking to Gibbo it was clear that he was doing something close to his heart – something that he believed in and was committed to. His passion for music, formal training, obvious natural ability to spot good material and a willingness to experiment with and draw on different kinds of music, are a good mixture in this fickle music and I hope that he’ll continue to give us such superb listening pleasure for a long time to come.