{"id":8653,"date":"2026-08-30T15:17:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T15:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/?p=8653"},"modified":"2026-08-30T15:18:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T15:18:06","slug":"gentleman-no-ego-no-pressure-the-gratitude-interview-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/gentleman-no-ego-no-pressure-the-gratitude-interview-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Gentleman – No Ego, No Pressure | The ‘Gratitude’ Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gentleman<\/p>\n

This album might never have come to life if something hadn\u2019t finally clicked for\u00a0Gentleman<\/strong>. In an honest and deeply insightful conversation with\u00a0Munchy<\/strong>, the artist opened up about appreciation, acceptance, and vulnerability \u2013 and how, of all things, letting go ultimately helped him reconnect with what truly makes him happy: creating music free from pressure and expectations, driven instead by fun and genuine passion. The result is his ninth studio album\u00a0Gratitude<\/strong>, a rich and diverse 17-track epic, unmistakably \u201cinna Gentleman style<\/em>\u201d and as real as it got in years.<\/p>\n

Gentleman, you are about to release your brand-new album Gratitude, a body of work which you said is different because for the first time in a long while, there was \u201cNo plan, no ego, no pressure<\/em>\u201d. Tell me in which situation and with what state of mind you created this project?<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Well,\u00a0Munchy<\/strong>, you know there was a time when I felt a little bit tired. After almost 30 years in the business, I felt like I\u2019m on repeat mode. This whole cycle of creating new songs, going in the rehearsal room, doing the shows, doing the interviews, doing the tour, and after the tour is before the next tour and then you start from scratch again. And I felt, for years actually, that when I reach the moment that I feel tired and I get this lack of motivation, it\u2019s time to step back, because nothing lasts forever. Even though I love music so much, I felt like maybe it\u2019s time to step into the background a little bit and just give it a break. Maybe I\u2019ll finally create my label, build other artists, produce, stuff like that. But being on the forefront I felt a little\u2026 a little\u2026 (pauses) yeah, you know what I mean! The moment I accepted that very thought \u201cOK, it\u2019s a new chapter now. Jetzt hat sich\u2019s ausgegentlemant (So much for gentlemaning). One day, it\u2019s enough<\/em>“. I accepted that thought and all of a sudden it came back. And it filled me with deep gratitude.<\/p>\n

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That it is not about pleasing people, it\u2019s not about proving, it\u2019s not about \u201cWho\u2019s gonna like the new song?! How are the people going to embrace it?<\/em>\u201d. It\u2019s actually about \u201cLet\u2019s have fun again!<\/em>\u201d. And\u00a0Claye\u00a0<\/strong>was the person who inspired me. He came in my studio and said \u201cHey, let\u2019s have fun, man! Let\u2019s voice a song without thinking if people are going to hear it!<\/em>\u201d. And then some great things happened. Anytime you feel like you don\u2019t have to do it, you start to feel free and the mind ticks different, then all of a sudden it was there again. So, I said \u201cI want to do it again<\/em>\u201d. (laughs) It happened very effortlessly, I think that\u2019s the very key word. Without this \u201cI have to prove something, people have to like it<\/em>“. No, man! I did it and I\u2019m done there. It was not about that, it was more about the best way to be in tune with yourself is when you make music. And this very feeling, after you voiced a song and you get your goosebumps in the studio, that\u2019s why we\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n

I also changed the record company, so it was a fresh vibe. There was a new team, fresh energy. After I played them the first songs, I felt like \u201cOK, let\u2019s do it again!<\/em>\u201d
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Nice! What about the spirit of having only 4000 weeks in life, an idea or thought you had that fuelled also the song\u00a0Bypass the Sorrow\u00a0<\/em>featuring Nico Santos?<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Actually, a lot of songs! The moment you become aware of evanescence, when you realise that every moment is unrepeatable, you start appreciating it more. It starts with that. I am 52 now,\u00a0Munchy<\/strong>. I thought, OK, the new dudes and the new dudettes are coming in and I had my time. It\u2019s time to step back. But I still enjoy being on stage, I still love that vibe after you voice a song and you hear it. When I realised that life is super short, I stopped thinking about how people embrace it or not. I stopped spending my time with people that I don\u2019t feel. I want people who give me energy and don\u2019t take energy. If we get 80 years, it\u2019s 4,000 weeks. Also,\u00a0Tamika\u00a0<\/strong>and I took out the Christmas carols from the basement and we said \u201cWow, another year passed!<\/em>\u201d. Life is too short to worry about what people might think. It\u2019s so much bigger than that. It\u2019s a very comforting thought when you realise we won\u2019t last forever. I never like the\u00a0Highlander\u00a0<\/strong>vision that we live forever. Then you\u2019d have no motivation for anything. So, to be aware of the end and thinking of that, gives you more joy for life.<\/p>\n

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Yes, absolutely! Speaking of things that are bigger than us\u2026 The first released track \u2013 and also the opening track \u2013 is\u00a0Lion\u00a0<\/em>and you said about the track that \u201cthere are things that are bigger than all of us<\/em>\u201d, a presence that you feel when you look at the stars from your studio. Can you recall when you wrote the track and what you felt in the very moment?<\/strong><\/h6>\n

First of all, I\u2019ve got to say, the moment when you realise it\u2019s so much bigger than us, it\u2019s a very, very precious moment. We\u2019re super small in this universe and it\u2019s about being grateful, appreciating that we are just a little part of this whole thing. I switch between Mallorca and Cologne. I still have a base in Cologne, but I have a base in Mallorca, too. And I have a nice studio in Mallorca. That was the first time I saw stars every night and shooting stars. Every day you see the sunrise here and the sunset over there. You\u2019re just more in tune with nature. Far away from the city life. City life is very exhausting. That gave me that vibe. I wrote that song together with\u00a0Keely<\/strong>. I don\u2019t write alone anymore. I did a lot of songs by myself but it\u2019s always good to let people in after they got your vision. That\u2019s also an ego thing. Every time you write alone, it\u2019s nice, it works, it\u2019s good, people embrace it but you get a different angle if somebody else comes in. I think most artists do it, but nobody says it. I think it\u2019s time to say it! Let\u2019s have a writing camp, get people together, embrace the vibe, feel the vibe! I talked to\u00a0Keely\u00a0<\/strong>about being astonished, being grateful that we are a part of this for these 80 years, if we get 80 years. Be grateful, man! That was the ancient inspiration for this song\u00a0Lion<\/em><\/strong>.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The first line is \u201cWhat is life without purpose<\/em>\u201d. What do you consider your purpose, Gentleman?<\/strong><\/h6>\n

To unite people. This is why we\u2019re in the music business. Sometimes you are more aware of it and sometimes less but at the end of the day it\u2019s this community of strangers. No matter if it\u2019s a concert or the feedback for a song. People really gain power through your music and then, all of a sudden, there is a deeper meaning in what you\u2019re doing \u2013 and then you get motivation. Sometimes we\u2019re locked in this room of artists and music business but Michi from next door, she feels it differently. And then, all of a sudden, you get this inspiration, and it really makes sense. There\u2019s a deeper energy and it\u2019s not about you or me, it\u2019s about us. There is this universal energy, whether it\u2019s a melody, whether it\u2019s lyrics, you just put it together and the song goes out there and people really get energy from it. So, you feel like you\u2019re making this place a better place through the music.<\/p>\n

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Right! You know that this thought and so many more aspects of this album resonated with me so much. When I listened, I felt like \u201cYes, man, that is it!<\/em>\u201d and that\u2019s what I loved so much about the record. The second track is no less emotional. It\u2019s\u00a0I\u2019ll Be There,<\/em>\u00a0that you dedicated to your wife of 20 years now, also your musical companion Tamika. How did she react when she first heard the song?<\/strong><\/h6>\n

She loved it. She loved it! In five years, we will have the Silver Wedding Anniversary.<\/p>\n

Yes, right. Wow!<\/strong><\/h6>\n

You remember back in the days, the Silver Wedding Anniversary was that celebration where there was a bunch of old people\u2026<\/p>\n

(Laughs) Yes, right!<\/strong><\/h6>\n

We actually married in 2005, we got together in 2000. It\u2019s been a long time and I really, really appreciate her. So, love songs will always be in my catalogue. And then\u00a0Meleku<\/strong>, the son of\u00a0Sizzla\u00a0<\/strong>came in\u2026\u00a0Don Corleon<\/strong>\u00a0built that riddim and when he sent me the riddim, I loved it, and I reached out to\u00a0Meleku<\/strong>. He voiced the hook line and sent it to me, and it was such an effortless thing, it just happened without thinking. It was just a vibe! Because everybody needs somebody to hug, somebody to love, somebody to kiss. Big up\u00a0King Shango<\/strong>!
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

How does it feel when you sit down, and you create a song for someone so special?<\/strong><\/h6>\n

It feels nice. There is a deeper meaning, and I think people can identify with it. First of all, you don\u2019t do music because you want to please anybody. But if you can manage that, people really dig it, people really feel it because they can identify with it, then it becomes magic.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not really us; it\u2019s an energy in the universe. Without\u00a0Tamika\u00a0<\/strong>the whole path wouldn\u2019t be how it is right now. She was there from day one. It\u2019s a blessing to have somebody who really understands you on different types of levels. Sometimes you can just live together under the same roof, and you give each other space, but she is the mother of my child, she sings with me, we never piss each other off\u2026 (Laughter)<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This album might never have come to life if something hadn\u2019t finally clicked for\u00a0Gentleman. In an honest and deeply insightful conversation with\u00a0Munchy, the artist opened up about appreciation, acceptance, and vulnerability \u2013 and how, of all things, letting go ultimately helped him reconnect with what truly makes him happy: creating music free from pressure and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8653"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8656,"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8653\/revisions\/8656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muradakhter.com\/fire-camp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}