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“I’m glad I never gave up”: Yogi the Producer Reflects on His Grammy Victory

Less than 24 hours after making history as the first Saint Lucian to win a Grammy, Johann Yogi the Producer Deterville isn’t just celebrating—he’s reflecting on what his win and his journey means for others like him.

“Sometimes, I think I’m not supposed to be here—just being a kid from a fishing village in a small island loads of people don’t know much about. It truly means so much and I’m glad I never gave up. I just hope that somebody in Saint Lucia, or any one of the smaller islands, could see this and say, ‘someone here did it and it’s possible for me too!’” he told St Lucia Times on Monday.

From overcoming rejections to navigating the challenges of the music industry, the 35-year-old producer’s persistence has earned him one of music’s highest honours. He won the Grammy as part of the production team on Chris Brown’s 11:11 album. The project bested Lalah Hathaway’s Vantablack, Muni Long’s Revenge, Lucky Daye’s Algorithm, and Usher’s Coming Home in the Best R&B Album category at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday.

Yogi says the dust is beginning to settle on his historic achievement. And though it’s unusual for him to bask in the glory of his own accomplishments, he’s managed to soak in the initial excitement. He recounted that the moment the win was announced, he was overcome by memories of what it took him to get to this point.

“The moment something like that happens, immediately you have a rush of all the trying times. The times I wanted to give up, I was going to quit and just come back home and try to figure things out. And the number of times I’ve been rejected, not been able to get opportunities, and just been down on myself or thinking I’m not good enough to get where I need to go—it’s just a flash of all those times and all the memories of these things. It’s all worth it,” he declared.

While this is his first Grammy, Yogi is no stranger to accolades. Between him and his wife—singer of countless dulcet R&B hits, Savannah Ré—the couple has collected six Juno Awards. Of course, hers is the first name he calls on his list of people to whom he owes his gratitude. “My wife, she’s so supportive. She’s one of those people who held me down over the years, made sure I never gave up and encouraged me on my lowest days, even helping me along the way.”

He also thanked the rest of his immediate family, who he says contributed to his success.

“The reason I ended up in Canada was because of my dad. I told him ‘Hey, I want to pursue audio engineering and production’, and he took care of it. He made me go to school and thankfully, I didn’t have that debt on my hands because we all know school is expensive as hell. And my older brother Mac, I lived with him when I first moved to Canada. My brother Nathan, he’s always been a huge source of inspiration for me.”

“And naturally, my manager, Meghan Eliza, who makes sure everything is good—that the paperwork’s good, that nobody’s robbing me. And just my whole country, honestly, Saint Lucia. Everywhere I go, everything that I do, I make sure Saint Lucia is a huge part of it.”

Hear more about Yogi’s journey to Grammy nomination in an earlier interview with St Lucia Times:

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3 COMMENTS

  1. If he had stayed in SLU he would most probably be doing a hotel gig at best. Young people, see why you need to think outside this 238 sq mile box.

  2. Ms Marcelle would be elated to know that her grandson has won a Grammy Award…congratulations Johann..Rest in peace Ms Marcelle

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