GI Beharry: Chutney Music

Imran Aleem Beharry was born on the 08th January 1987, to parents Garnet and Annmarie Beharry. He is the older child and has one brother. At the tender age of yrs (1990), Imran lost his father due unknown reasons. Growing up with a single mother, with no male role model, life was difficult. Making ends meet on a day-to-day basis was hard. Imran faced numerous difficulties as a child, and he turned to music, as a means to comfort himself and his family.
His father’s love for music and his singing capabilities resounded in Imran’s faint memory and Imran was able to translate that in his renditions. And he nurtured the memory of his deceased father, through his love for singing. With the help and encouragement from his mother, Imran entered the local competition known as Children of Mastana Bahar and in 1998, he placed 2nd in the Grand Finals.

Not giving up, he entered Mastana Bahar (adult competition) and in 2003, he placed 3rd in the Grand Finals. As luck would have it, he was never able to collect the prize that he won in that competition and to date, has not been given his prize that he won. These setbacks never deterred him……
In recognition of this young man’s talent, esteemed promoter Rafi Mohammed enlisted Imran to sing in the concert now known as “Everybody Loves Raymond” (Raymond Ramnarine & Dil E Nadan) in 2004 at Anchorage. Imran captivated hearts with his melodious voice and had the crowd in raptures over his wonderful performance.
And it was that year, that Imran was recruited by the chutney soca band “Karma” as Anil Bissambhar (Band Leader) sought him out, to be one of the frontline vocalists for the band.

Imran Beharry’s first official recording was entitled “Badi Door” 7(https://youtu.be/rXtxqjBn6Is) and it was an instant hit on all east indian radio stations. He was labelled then as “General Imran”. This song would have won him his first official award at 103fm’s Music Awards, entitled “Best New Recording Artiste 2006”.
General Imran, as he became known then, would sing with Karma, dominating both local and international shows, as far-reaching as North

America, South America and Europe. At that time, he was one of the members of the most powerful frontline in a chutney soca band. General
Imran, would go on to be the first Chutney Soca Artiste to win “Top 20 Stars of Tomorrow”, a prestigious award from the former President of Trinidad and Tobago in 2007.
Later that year (2007) , General Imran would win another coveted award at 103fm’s Music Awards entitled “Best Collaboration 2007”, with a song entitled “Ek Tera Saath”. (https://youtu.be/SIWZIZ2sCnA?list=RDSIWZIZ2sCnA). After working with Karma for almost 4 years and touring extensively with them, he joined the famous chutney soca band, Dil E Nadan.

He maintained the name “General Imran” and continued to produce excellent work with this band, learning from persons like Raymond Ramnarine and Richard Ramnarine. Some of his music are listed in the Appendix. General Imran toured numerous places under the Dil E Nadan label including North America, South America, the Caribbean and Europe.
In 2013, General Imran resigned from Dil E Nadan, took a break from music, to focus on his family and on his business efforts. He continued to produce music for the airwaves, and performed at private events.
In 2015, Imran Beharry (General Imran) joined forces with renowned producer, Zaheer Khan aka D Pungalunks. With a proper management team focused on marketing, on producing and managing, he re-branded to “GI”, an acronym for General Imran. In November 2015, GI released his first song under his new label, and it was an instant hit. Entitled “Raining Rum” 2015, (https://youtu.be/tTXiy1c-LWg ) GI’s song crossed onto the urban markets, being played on most of those radio stations.
February 2016, GI entered the esteemed “Chutney Soca Monarch” competition, and with a magnificent performance, placed 6th.

It was the first time he had entered the CSM competition. Here is the clip of the performance in the finals https://youtu.be/fnL4HlL-kBE . With his brand now established, he continued to produce cover versions of Bollywood songs as well as original compositions, collaborating with numerous artistes, including veterans like Rikki Jai.
In November 2016, GI released 3 songs for the 2017 Carnival season. These renditions were “Loner”, “The Chosen One” and “Ho Ja Ram”. These songs became mega hits during the carnival season and his fan page on Facebook shows the videos of the songs being sung, by both young and old. At the end of 2016, one of GI’s Bollywood cover versions, entitled “Gerua” was the 4th most popular song for 2016.

“Ho Ja Ram”, a traditional chutney, was remixed in July 2017 with CSM King Ravi B. The decision to remix “Ho Ja Ram” took place while GI was on tour in July, alongside Ravi B, when he expressed an interest in the song. GI took it as an opportunity to push his brand as “Ho Ja Ram” was already making waves and was the #1 chutney song prior to the remix. After remixing with Ravi B, “Ho Ja Ram” Remix climbed its way to the top position and is currently the #1 song on all east indian radio stations https://youtu.be/w-cQspjQHMw . At the end of 2017, this was rated the top song for 2017 on east Indian radio stations.

WHAT DOES GI REPRESENT?

In marketing GI, the team has focused on a positive image and a healthy balance of life. GI has a “vogue” personality as he is always dressed to suit the occasion and ensures that he stands out in a crowd. He tailors his image and his performance to suit, whether it’s a wedding, a birthday party or a corporate event. Noteworthy is that GI is also a prolific musician, as he produces some of the music coming out of the D Pungalunks Factory. He has produced all of his music for the songs that he has sung, as well as, for other artistes. GI comes from humble beginnings and has remained a humble, fun-loving, charismatic personality. He is very health conscious as he is actively involved in the gym, promoting a healthier balance of life. At all times, in the public sphere, he is mindful of his deportment. GI is currently the brand ambassador for Sting Energy Drink Trinidad and Tobago and has been its representative since 2015.

During India’s Cricket tour of the West Indies in July 2017, whilst in Trinidad, Sony TV India featured GI as being one of the young, prolific chutney soca artistes in Trinidad and Tobago. He performed a couple of his songs, with their main focus on “Ho Ja Ram”, as it caught their attention during their stay in Trinidad and Tobago. GI would have also won the TTCME “Chutney Soca Artiste of the Year 2017”.
In February 2018, GI once again entered the CSM competition and placed 4th with his rendition “Gee We Rum” 2018 – 2019 — GI released his Chutney Soca Rendition entitled “Divorce” for the 2018-2019. Divorce was remixed in December 2018 with Dancehall legend Bennie Man. It is a mega hit.
GI is also the brand ambassador for Hennessy since December 2018

What does the future hold?

GI continues to be a force to reckon with in the Chutney Soca Industry. His aim is to achieve international recognition and represent Trinidad and Tobago on the Grammy Stage.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Email gi-music@hotmail.com

Instagram @gi_music
YOUTUBE GI MUSIC
Twitter @OfficialGIMusic
Facebook Fanpage @ gimusic1
BOOKING AGENT: NATASHA — 1-868-783-3882
GI’S CORPORATE IMAGE
GI’s is now associated with two major brands in Trinidad and Tobago:
– Sting Energy Drink – Hennessy
He is the brand ambassador for these products in Trinidad and Tobago.

SOME OF GI’S MUSICAL RECORDINGS
• Eka Tera Saath

• Phoolon Ka Tar
• Ghar Tum
• Teri Zulfon Se
• Aankhon
• Yeh Dil Mein
• Raining Rum
• Panchi Bole
• Gerua – rated the top 4th song for 2016
• Ehsaan Tera
• Loner
• The Chosen One
• Baarish
• Ho Ja Ram
• Ho Ja Ram (remix) rated #1 for 2017
• Aaja Tujhko
• Aja
• Gee We Rum
• Bahe Akhiyon
• Woi and Divorce