Sound of the City: Juno-nominated IAMTHELIVING and Teon Gibbs make music for dancing with JNGL
The musicians bridge the gap between R&B, pop, hip-hop, and soul
IAMTHELIVING (left) and Teon Gibbs believe in the power of collaboration. Photo by Sterling Larose
SOUND OF THE CITY is a series created in partnership by the City of Vancouver and Stir that showcases Vancouver’s diverse music scene, highlighting BIPOC and underrepresented artists and acts. Each edition features a Q&A and a Sound of the City playlist curated by the artist that features some of their favourite local musicians.
IAMTHELIVING x Teon Gibbs
RIAN PETERS, AKA IAMTHELIVING, is a soul singer from South East London who grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Prince, and Stevie Wonder. Teon Gibbs a rapper and producer originally from Botswana who spent his childhood between South Africa, Angola, and the U.K.
Each eventually made their way to Vancouver, where they met. Bridging the gap between R&B, pop, hip-hop, and soul, the two joined forces for a six-track EP titled JNGL.
“We wanted to create a project that embodies who we are, where we’re from, and shows what we can do,” Gibbs said in a release. “The word ‘JNGL’ just seemed to capture it all. Being from Botswana, the word jungle has followed me around my entire life, and IAMTHELIVING is originally from South London, which is the concrete jungle—this project is those worlds meeting...”
Nominated for a 2021 Juno Award for traditional R&B/soul recording of the year (“In This Thing Called Life”) and a Western Canadian Music Award in the R&B artist of the year category, the artists had a shared vision for JNGL: to bring people together—and to get them to dance.
Read what the musicians have on their minds these days and listen to their Sound of the City playlist, below. “We really feel like we've created our own little lane and we can really shed light on how dope the Vancouver music scene is,” Gibbs says.
IAMTHELIVING x Teon Gibbs’ Playlist
1. IAMTHELIVING & Teon Gibbs - Distance
2. Jaspa & Chill Winston - 3AM
3. I M U R - Case of You
4. Matt Storm - I Can Wait
5. Chin Injeti - Golden
6. Will TOA - Fanta
7. Bains - Da' Shade
8. 40k - take time
9. TRS - vertigo
10. Makadi - The Missing Peace
11. Mauvey - I'm The Ish
12. Bdice - Casting Call
13. Bxundless - Tropical Riddim
14. Ashleigh Ball - Keep On Pretending
15. Potatohead People - Baby Got Work
16. KNOWN - Lost in Texas
17. Jonny Tobin - On The Fly
How are you feeling about life right now?
Gibbs: I have a real optimism about the next 12 months. I’m really hungry to be performing and showcase all the music I’ve been working on behind the scenes to the world. I think we're about to see a time where the arts really thrive! Maybe I'm just being optimistic because the last year has been hard on all artists including myself, but the dream is alive and I just feel something in my gut!
How has the pandemic affected your work?
IAMTHELIVING: Well, it hasn’t changed drastically; the only thing that it has really affected is not being able to go travel, tour, and perform in front of a live audience and connect with others as much as I would like to. Utilizing the internet has had its benefits with virtual shows etc., but nothing can even compare to being in a packed room or park with music fans and feeding off of that real human energy and connection that we are naturally made for.
What are you working on right now? Do you have any plans or projects lined up for 2021?
IAMTHELIVING: JNGL is here! Over the last year we put our personal projects on hold to focus on building together! We initially came together to work on one song (which ended up doing really well), so because of that, that then led to us working on a full six-track collaboration. JNGL (abbreviation for JUNGLE) dropped June through Tiny Kingdom Music. We’re also creating some really cool music videos for every track on the EP so for all who might be reading this, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our video content when they first drop.
Where are you finding solace and comfort?
Gibbs: Well, we’re creators and empaths so a lot of our comfort comes from making music. It’s really cathartic to put our thoughts and feelings onto a record. Other than that I’m really just taking things as they come and enjoying the simpler things in life. Connecting with my family, spending time outside, my dogs, and keeping good people close.
What are you most looking forward to once the pandemic passes?
IAMTHELIVING: Once this is all over we’re mostly looking forward to performing again, touring, being on stage and connecting with people in real life. That’s been the most challenging throughout this time. Music is supposed to be shared and experienced in physical form and as artists, especially for Teon and I, we make music to be able to perform in front of a crowd and to feed off the energy from the audience.
What song or album has been in your heavy rotation recently and why?
Gibbs: I've been listening to The Off Season (J Cole) heavy! First of all he had Cam on the intro! For a young black man growing up loving Dipset and "Paid in Full", that's iconic to me!!!! And if we're being real, J Cole is just the truth, I love how he is 10 years deep into being one of the most successful hip-hop artists in the industry and he’s still hungry and still innovating his sound. He inspires me so much. Also been slapping “Leave the Door Open” by Anderson Paak and Bruno Mars.... it just feels so good!"
Can you give a shoutout to one of your favourite Vancouver musicians or artists? What about them inspires you?
Gibbs and IAMTHELIVING: We would like to give a shout-out to Chin Injeti!! He’s a very gifted all-round artist, he’s one of the best music producers to come out of Canada, he plays multiple instruments, writes beautiful songs, and he’s also a really good performer. His work ethic and drive has inspired us.
What would you like to see change in Vancouver?
Gibbs: I think we're on the right track but we need to really put on for our city. You know, I think it's kind of getting to a point where we have a lot of artists starting to break out and we just need more collaboration with local businesses, with media companies, with larger brands and we need the people to really start championing more artists. I truly feel like we’re in a bit of a renaissance era musically and all we need is more infrastructure. That and affordable housing for people with pets, lol.
Who is your dream collaborator?
Gibbs: Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo from the Neptunes! We've built a really dope foundation and I think they could bring the best out of both of us!
Who else would you like to see curate a Sound of the City playlist?
Chin Injeti or Eastblvd Records
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