SOUTH FLORIDA When she flew to Atlanta for a recent recording session with producer Chris Davis, Maxine Reyes found herself in a unique situation. She never met him and the song they were supposed to be working on wasn’t even written.
But the military past of the Jamaican singer prepared her for unexpected and If you waan well was written and recorded within a few hours. It was released on February 10th.
Maxine Reyes
“I’m excited about this because I met the producer for the first time, wrote a song with him and recorded it at the same time. I remember being tired when I flew to Atlanta an hour before the studio session, but I was at work there, so I immediately went into soldier mode!” she remembered.
If yu Waan Good is about the importance of resilience, Kingston native Reyes has learned a lot from his 22 years in the US Army and Navy. The title of the song refers to the Jamaican proverb “if yu waan good, yuh nos haffi run”, which in standard English means “if you really want something, you have to work hard for it”.
Davis also played all the instruments on the track released on 10 February.
“This song speaks to the masses about striving for what your heart desires. It encourages you not to give up on your dreams, although there may be times when you don’t see the light, you must keep moving forward and up,” Reyes said.
Before joining the army, Reyes attended school in Cooper City and Miramar. She grew up in a musical family, her father and stepfather were both musicians; Reyes’ mother, aunts, and several cousins sing well.
She went into music after leaving the army. Reyes’ previous songs include Victory is yours and joy unspeakable. She recently covered Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” (performed as “I Wanna Know What Love Is”) with her 14-year-old daughter Victoria.
