–‘I am the copyright law’, says Martain Al-ameen, the man behind High Rollas Inc.

THE struggles in the local music industry can never be overemphasised. It is known by almost every Guyanese how the arts are vastly affected by the lack of several things in Guyana.

Though our artistes have been making do with what is available to them, a bright sun seems to be peering through the dark gloomy sky.
This bright sun goes by the name, Martain Al-ameen, the man behind High Rollas Entertainment.

In an interview with ‘The Buzz’, Al-ameen said that he has returned to his home country to take over the music industry, as his intervention is what is needed for Guyanese artistes to adequately be compensated for their work. His aim, he said, is putting Guyana on the map through the music industry.

The young man said that he would have spent a number of years in the US, and would have acquired knowledge on the ins and outs of the business side of the music industry, and he believes that the knowledge he has is capable of paving the way for the future of entertainment in Guyana.
Through his company, High Rollas Production Inc., in collaboration with Trinity Promotions and Vizion Sounds Records, Al-ameen is hosting a production tour that will be executed in Guyana and several other countries.
Through this tour, he said that he will be networking with artistes who are interested in coming through his channel to earn from their work.
“I have the power to put every Guyanese artiste in the international market. My plan is to have no music coming out of the country unless it’s coming through me. I’ll be like the DJ Khaled of Guyana, because the other people don’t know what they’re doing. So we are working to put things together for those who are serious about their work, and help them to make it international. We don’t need no copyright laws; I am the copyright law,” the ambitious young man said.
Sharing his come-up story, Al-ameen said that in 2016, he came home to Guyana and shot his first video with Jamaican Dancehall artiste, Jahvillani, and after that video, 75% of the Guyanese artistes started reaching out to him to listen their songs and wanting to work with him.

It was from there his fame and career ‘shot off’.
“So I created a YouTube channel, and it currently reaches over 35 countries, heading to over 2M views,” he said.
The channel has gotten so popular that promoters would usually run through the channel to find artistes to book for live shows.
This was where he saw the opportunity to use his channel to help other artistes earn from the views. Additionally, the ones that attract a lot of people, he works further with them by improving their content and managing them.

“So, instead of me listening to the music, I give the fans to listen the music and they would decide who they love. Then I work directly with the person and contribute to push them as an artiste. Through me being overseas, they already do not have a market in Guyana, and don’t have the quality of music to suit the international market, so my job is to listen to the song, and if I like it, redo it and I put it out on various platforms. A lot of people don’t make money from social media, so I will give them a percentage of the earnings. If it is good enough, or whichever gets popular, I will propose to register it under my company and do management for that artiste, once they are serious about their work,” Al-ameen explained.

Thus far, several artistes are interested in his vision to revolutionise the industry, and works have already started.
In fact, when he leaves Guyana, he will be heading to Jamaica, French Guiana, Suriname, The Bahamas and the US.
But given that Al-ameen is Guyanese, his main focus will be on developing his own, to the level they need to be.
He said that the collaboration he has, provides more than just the opportunity to be featured on YouTube, but rather a package that cannot be provided anywhere else in Guyana.
Through the collaboration with Trinity Promotions, he said, an ‘open mic’ stage will be provided for the artistes to get onstage exposure, which is the Frass Friday event held every Friday in Tiger Bay.
And with the collaboration with Vizion Sounds, recording opportunities will be provided.
Additionally, ‘High Rollas Production’ comes with an entire team, whereas if an artiste signs on to their company, a package with security, cameraman, manager, DJ, etc. will be provided for each artiste.
Al-ameen believes in his plan for Guyana, and is working assiduously to ensure that his takeover mission is accomplished.