Every album is a ‘Gentleman album’, of course. However, with GRATITUDE – for the first time in quite a while – there was no plan, no ego, and no pressure. Just the genuine urge to make these songs.

It came as a shock when I realized that we only live about 4,000 weeks if we reach the age of 80. I'm 51 — that's less than 30 summers to go. The revelation came after many years of chart successes, awards, TV appearances, and one tour after the other, in a phase when things weren't going so well anymore. It was an unexpected break that made me think. The rush that I enjoyed a lot but that can also be exhausting, subsided, and I asked myself what I wanted to do next. Today, I'd call it 'healthy downsizing,' but at the time, it was odd. Fortunately, I've always been a family person and love my everyday life. I'm completely happy when I take my daughter to school, do the shopping, take a nap, read a book, walk the dog, water the plants at night, and just have time. At that point, I thought: I don't actually have to do this.

That was probably key to the door reopening at some point, allowing the urge to write songs to return. On one condition: I decided to only do things that I'm really excited about — without anyone watering them down. That may mean things won't be as big as they were — but that actually feels good, because the people who love it will really love it. I want to make music for fun, not to fulfill contracts or expectations.

I'm grateful for having been a part of this for a long time now and for rediscovering my passion for it. For being vulnerable and not defining myself by the 'Gentleman thing'. I don't care if my album is in the charts when my daughter comes running into my arms. GRATITUDE is about being aware of transience. About appreciating the little things and the rare fortune of being completely in the moment. For me, music is the art form that makes the moment instantly tangible.

This essence is captured in UNITY IS EVERYTHING: Love when my brother keeps me central – I'm in a battle with myself and it is mental. The song is important to me because it comes close to what I mean. It's possible to accept what is happening in the world without losing hope. Music can pause the turmoil and mend fences. Our DNA is 99% the same – it makes no sense to feel like strangers. I'm rooting for harmony without rose-colored glasses, and a certain freedom of mind can help with that. WHAT IF plays with perspective and turns everything upside down: What if I've never made a mistake? What if wrong is right and mediocre is great? What if life is a prison and death is your escape?

But it won't work without actions: WILDFIRE was created with Clayton Morrison and Michael Patrick Kelly as a tribute to unspectacular gestures that make a difference: Spread love like wildfire – helping others can free us from our imaginary prison, broaden our view and there's so much we get in return. I don't want to put things off anymore and I'm motivating myself in BYPASS THE SORROW as well: It's better if you start today and do it now, then you don't have to worry about tomorrow, just bypass the sorrow – with vocals by Nico Santos and extremely tender dancehall beats.

I'm grateful for friendship – the theme of the Collie Buddz feature, FRIENDS – for humanity and the relationship with my wife, Tamika. After 20 years of marriage, she still is my safe haven, and 22 years after “Intoxication,” I've dedicated I'LL BE THERE to her – extended with a feature by Meleku. However, there is something greater than all of us, and LION puts it into music: When I look to the stars from the studio, I feel there is a presence in which we can consciously let ourselves be small and give space to serenity. By being amazed and surrendering to the flow. In the end, everyone has to find their own strength, and WARRIOR carves out a potential path with a hard-hitting riddim – towards consistency and confidence.

GRATITUDE is a pure reggae album that goes back to my first albums and still has a completely free vibe. It's an anti-concept album that blends tradition and modernity – where songs are exactly as long as they need to be and the number of features feels perfectly right. The collaborations range from Trinidad and Tobago with Queen Omega and Jamaica with ‘The Prophet’ Capleton to US artist Collie Buddz, Nico Santos, and my good friend Michael Patrick Kelly. The production was quite a global affair too: We recorded in Mallorca, Jamaica, and Miami, and mixed and mastered in Miami and Hamburg. I wrote the songs with Keely, Clayton Morrison, and Daddy Rings, and they were produced by Don Corleon, Jopez, and Clayton Hamilton. And it was Clayton who, on the first day in the studio, said something to me that has remained the inspiration and motivation behind GRATITUDE to this day: 'Let's have fun again!'

GENTLEMAN turned reggae from Germany into an international phenomenon. For thirty years, the Cologne-based artist has been writing music history as the only European to celebrate huge worldwide successes with authentic riddims. With gold and platinum-certified #1 albums such as “Confidence” (2004) and “Diversity” (2010), twenty Top 100 singles, 1.2 million monthly Spotify listeners and another 1.5 million followers across all platforms, tours across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the USA, South America and Africa, collaborations with Sean Paul, Ky-Mani Marley, Aloe Blacc, Shaggy and Pink as well as the first “MTV Unplugged” production for a reggae artist ever, GENTLEMAN has been a globally recognized genre superstar for decades.

After his first LPs defined reggae sound at the turn of the millennium and gave a voice to an entire generation, GENTLEMAN drops his ninth studio album, GRATITUDE, in 2026. The 17 new tracks were created in Mallorca, Jamaica, and Miami and produced by Donovan “Don Corleon” Bennett, among others, who was involved in “Intoxication” and “Diversity” and is also known for his work with artists such as Rihanna, Sean Paul, Nicki Minaj, and Cardi B.