Gaby (singer)

Winston Alfaro Brown Jr. (born October 3, 1965), better known by his stage name Gaby, is a Panamanian Reggae en Español and Reggaeton singer and rapper. He is also known as El Meneaíto or El Meneíto. He is best known for his 1992 single "Meneaíto" which was a major hit record throughout South and Central America. Gaby left the music scene in 1998. However, he would make a return in 2016. Gaby, currently, resides in Atlanta, GA.

Early life

Gaby was born on October 3, 1965 in Río Abajo, a corregimiento within the city of Panama City, Panama.^[1] Gaby also has two other siblings.

His parents' occupations would have a strong influence over the paths Gaby would take in life. His father was a professional baseball player and would make it all the way to the Triple A Houston Astros. His mother worked in a music store in Panama called Palacio Musical. His father would pass on a strong interest in sports. Gaby would play baseball, as well as soccer, throughout his teenage years. This culminated in him being the captain of his high school soccer team while attending Instituto Técnico Don Bosco.^[2]

Gaby also spent a lot of time at work with his mother which exposed him to a wide array of new music on a regular basis. He, along with many other Panamanian youth, would be exposed to Jamaican reggae and dancehall artists like Buju Banton, Red Dragon , and Yellowman who were chanting and singing over instrumentals called riddims.

After high school, Gaby would major in graphic design for three years at the Universidad de Panamá before leaving school to begin his music career.

Career

Gaby, as well as many other Panamanian musicians of the day, would find inspiration in local artists like Renato who were performing lyrics in español over Jamaican riddims. This style of music, birthed in Panama, would be called Reggae en Español and would pave the way for Reggaeton.^[3] Gaby, and his partner Orlando Lindsay, would team up for several music-based hustles. They would start out hosting parties with Orlando as the DJ and Gaby as the rapper. They used a similar template as the popular local artists in that Orlando would play the instrumental riddims of popular records by Jamaican artists and Gaby would freestyle in español over the top.

Gaby and Orlando would eventually establish a mobile disco called SOS (Super Original Sound) and host picnics at parks during the nighttime called "paseo nocturnos". Gaby and Orlando utilized a unique marketing campaign to generate interest in the picnics. The buses would run up and down the streets in a fashion that allowed a rider to exit and enter them in a continuous loop. The bus drivers also had control over the sound systems on the buses and would allow Gaby and Orlando to play their personal mixtapes. Gaby and Orlando would sell their mixtapes to the passengers; they also would inform the passengers of the picnic they hosted at nighttime.

In 1987, Gaby would help to form a local group called "Sweet Edition". The group would release their self-titled first album with Tamayo Records in 1987. This album contained the original version of "El Meneíto". It was originally recorded over the "Duck Riddim" by the Jamaican record producer, King Jammy. Sweet Edition would release a second album called DURO DE MATAR in 1989, but would find their music careers disrupted by the United States invasion of Panama.

In 1990, Tamayo Records released "El Meneíto" to other countries through the Colombian label "Discos Fuentes". The song was placed on a compilation that included Latin music such as salsa, merengue and Colombian cumbia. The song became a massive success all throughout South America and Hispanic communities in North America. It would spend 11 months as the number one song in Venezuela without Gaby being aware that his record had become a hit.

Gaby would receive a call to open a show for another Panamanian artist. Upon arriving, he would discover that many of the concert goers were there for his song, however; no way knew what Gaby looked like. They didn't realize who he was until he began performing. This would culminate in him returning to Venezuela a second time and living in the Hotel Alba Caracas for a month. He would also be introduced to the Colombian cumbia act, Binomio de Oro de América.

Gaby would meet Luis Phillips and he would convince Gaby to join with other Reggae en Español artists to do a posse cut called "Las 4 Potencias Del Reggae". It featured Gaby, Jam & Suppose, Reggae Sam, and Renato. The group would find massive success and would become music ambassadors for Panama. They would record a compilation album together called INDESTRUCTIBLES 100%. The album would be recorded, produced and compiled in the RCA studios by the Panamanian producer Balito Chang. It would be distributed internationally by BMG.

This album would include the updated "El Meneaíto" and it would prove to be as big a success as the original. Gaby, and the rest of the crew, would tour extensively throughout South and Central America for years afterwards. Sweet Edition would win the Premios Ronda award in Venezuela.

End of Career and Comeback

In 1995, the relationship between Gaby and his manager, Luis, deteriorated to the point that they were no longer able to work together. Despite his best efforts, Gaby was unable to rebuild the same level of momentum from previous years and was unable to support himself, or his family, as a musician. In 1998, Gaby would move, with his wife and kids, to Germany to make a fresh start. In Germany, he would work as a personal trainer, circling back to the athletic ways of his youth. He would remain in Germany for nine years. He moved to Las Vegas in 2007 and worked at the Trump Hotel.

Gaby would make intermittent attempts to do music again, but would not become serious about performing until 2016. He received a phone call from a friend from Panama named Alberto Smith. Alberto informed Gaby that the Panama Urban Music Awards wanted to present him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Gaby was dealing with the loss of his father and the end of his marriage. Gaby attended the Panama Urban Music Awards and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was remembered as an icon of Panamanian urban music.

He would return to reintroduce himself to the Panamanian audience.^[4] Alberto would also introduce him to an artist by the name of Maesa Mazur. Maesa, an urban artist in Ecaudor, would bring him to Ecaudor where he would find a receptive audience.^[5]

Gaby has recorded and released several new singles, made a number of recent media appearances, and has done a number of live performances since 2016.

Confusion between Gaby and El General

Because they are both from Rio Abajo, are both a part of the same generation of Reggae en Español artists, and El General is considered the international face for Panamanian Reggae music, there has been a bit of confusion as to which of them is the author of "El Meneaíto".^[6]

Discography

References

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