How Bacardi Ambassador Walshy Fire Cheers To The Diaspora's Culture
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Walshy Fire at Bacardí’s Rum Room series stop at New York City’s Ainslie Bowery on Nov. 3, 2022 PHOTO BY DOROTHY HONG FOR BACARDÍ
Below, Bacardí ambassador Walshy Fire shares his excitement for the return of the brand’s beloved Rum Room series with EDITION.
So going back to when you first partnered with Bacardí, what was it about the Bacardí brand that you thought would be a good fit both for Major Lazer and yourself?
Well I'm Jamaican, so I represent the Caribbean first, Right. So that's the first thing about me. I also grew up in Miami, which is basically the Caribbean. So I've been in very close proximity to all the various cultures of the Caribbean Central and South America. Wes is from Florida as well and he would answer the same way. We've always been a part of what's been going on in the Caribbean through Miami and through Fort Lauderdale and through the ways that it enters Florida into America and travels to the Caribbean extensively.
One thing I know for sure is that Caribbean people drink and love rum. Bacardí of course is by far one of the most popular ones in the region. So I'm allowed to go into this history of myself and my relationship with rum and pair it with the music that we're doing, it's extremely exciting. So I feel like I'm blessed. I'm happy that somebody from my community, the Caribbean community doing something that I've always participated in, wants to work with me. I grew up this way and then here comes this trajectory of this thing that I've been participating in my whole life. I watched my grandfather and my father all drink Bacardí rum. Here I am now getting a chance to be an ambassador, getting a chance to speak, getting a chance to collaborate with this iconic brand. I'm honored more than they'll ever know because it means so much to me.
Walshy Fire at Bacardí’s Rum Room series stop at New York City’s Ainslie Bowery on Nov. 3, 2022 PHOTO BY DOROTHY HONG FOR BACARDÍ
I love that. Even just growing up it was always Wray & Nephew and Bacardí in the house with dominoes.
Yeah. I think everyone drinks it differently. I think Jamaicans, we do it in our own way. Sometimes we drink rum with milk. I don't know anywhere else that drinks rum with milk, but I know that was my dad's favorite thing. And now we have this Ocho and seeing what the Caribbean people are gonna do with it and seeing how Bacardí itself is gonna come up with some ideas of how to drink it and pair it. I think it's an exciting time especially for the old me, the future me and my love for rum.
Bacardí’s Reserva Ocho paired with the brand’s signature coconut daiquiri cocktail PRODUCT PHOTO COURTESY OF BACARDÍ
What's your favorite way to drink Bacardí?
Well, I am from Miami, so I'm gonna say mojito just off rip. To me, a daytime rum drink is the best. I love a nice outside sun pool beach day event or day party. But there's a specific one: the mango Ojito. We're gonna get lit with some of those. (laughs)
With you still being an ongoing partner with Bacardí, what makes it so exciting that you're continuing to do these partnerships?
As I said before, you grew up with this being a part of your life. Bacardí is a part of my entire life and here I am getting a chance to speak about it. To extend this partnership is exciting. We did “Rum and Bass” [series] with Bacardí all over America. Actually, I think we did it in Spain and in France. The pandemic is the only thing that it slowed down. So being able to pair with a brand this long, I think is super unique. I can't think of too many people that have been working with a brand for six, or seven years. I'm just so proud to be able to say that.
Rum Room seems like a great extension of what we've already done now. Now, this is my first one, but from what I know it started in 2019 and the pandemic also slowed it down. But “Rum And Bass” is a real Caribbean [event]. You're gonna go crazy: stand on furniture, grab somebody you don't know and swing around kind of thing. Rum Room is gonna definitely be a much calmer event and a chance for everybody to talk and have a good drink. But whichever way it goes, Bacardí's there. So I'm very excited to be at all levels of what kind of partnership we're gonna do. If we're gonna do a big stage event like we used to do down to a private event with some great people, it's all gonna be dope.
Both you and the brand are authentic.
I’m genuinely speaking from the heart. The Music Liberates Music [program] is Bacardí’s way to collaborate with artists and put money into that artist’s community by doing events. Bacardí does not hold back. They’re going to make you feel like you are at an elite event. So for me, I need to make sure that I’m at that same level too. They’re supporting a community for real.
Walshy Fire at Bacardí’s Rum Room series stop at New York City’s Ainslie Bowery on Nov. 3, 2022 PHOTO BY DOROTHY HONG FOR BACARDÍ
Are you still planning to release a follow-up to your 2019 debut solo album ABENG?
Myself and DJ Fully Focus did a mixtape 10 years ago called Major Lazer Presents: Africa’s the Future. I remember that conversation at the time: ‘Yo, Africa’s about to take over.’ It took 10 years, but here we are now. Africa’s now really lifted up and really big. Not that I won’t ever [release the album], but I pushed it back because there’s some other underground things that are happening that I’m just more passionate about, such as the amapiano movement. Major Lazer, we’ve really shifted. We just dropped our ‘Koo Koo Fun’ single with Tiwa Savage, Major League DJz and DJ Maphorisa. Also Brazilian music, I’m super heavy into it. I have a very-soon-to-be finished Brazilian project, which is gonna be not just baile funk but hip-hop, R&B and all kinds of Brazilian music. I went down there and did about 20 studio sessions with some really dope artists. I’m gonna always continue to drop dancehall and reggae music, but I probably won’t do a full project, just singles. And I opened a vinyl bar in Miami called Dante’s HiFi.
The reason why I enjoy talking to you is that you're just so humble and have a genuine spirit. But you just said that 2,500 people came to see you because you're still massive after all these years.
It's unbelievable, man. I'm overwhelmed every single time I see it and I hear you. And I let me say thank you, first of all, I appreciate the compliment. But man, I'm just still that guy. I've never been like anything else. So I'm very humbled when I see it come to fruition in those kind of ways. The crowd, everyone's shaking your hand and everybody's like, “I just love you bro.” It's just amazing. So I don't think I'll ever not be in awe of those moments, you know?
Being in this industry is still so exciting for you, probably because you haven’t lost that wonderment.
I’m always thankful because something new happens all the time and I’m just like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ I hope I never lose that, and I don’t think I will. I’m always excited still if somebody books us [Major Lazer] for a show. We did Tomorrowland [festival] this summer and that was insane. You just can’t pull up and just be like, ‘I’m the man. You guys are gonna have to book me.’ So here I am as a guy from this little tiny rock in the water in front of all of you—a hundred thousand people. I always give thanks, and hopefully I inspire other people to see how far they can go if they just put in the hours.
