Singers Gyptian and Etana are gearing up for a concert tomorrow featuring overseas and local singers.And Reggae singer Gyptian’s message for the ‘Serious Times Concert’ is “put down the gun and pick up your girl” as the concert aims to bring unity in the community.He and Etana are flying in from California where they are on tour and he said his song ‘Serious Times’ was written as a way to address the escalating murder rate that was topping 1,600 a year in Jamaica in 2009.“This is what this concert is all about, it is about the youth. Put down the gun and pick up your girl and see how nice it feels, the girl just wants you to hold her. It’s all about coming together in love and unity.”His tunes range from last summer’s anthem ‘Hold Yuh’, ‘Nah Let Go’, ‘Serious Times’, ‘Mama’, ‘Beautiful Lady’, ‘I Can Feel Your Pain’, ‘Love Against The Wall’ and ‘She’s My Lady’ to name only a handful.His advice for budding musicians is: “The first thing we say in Jamaica is leave the hype, because music is about humbleness.“To get into the music business, you really have to be serious about it, don’t pay attention to the glamour, you have to work hard.“I have been singing since the age of seven with sound systems and in church, because my mother was a Seventh Day Adventist and my father was a Rastafarian. Be serious about it and everything will work out from there.”Etana started out in a girl group GIFT, but said she didn’t want to be a sex symbol and quit. She then filled in as one of Richie Spice’s back up vocalists where she was encouraged to pursue a solo career.‘Wrong Address’ was the single that peaked at #1 on reggae music charts.That was five years ago, and today she has become a household name with songs such as ‘Free’, ‘I Got You’, ‘Retribution’, Day by Day’, and ‘Happy Heart’ to name only a few.Etana, born Shauna McKenzie, initially wanted to be a nurse. She went to university, but dropped out to follow her passion and joined the girl group GIFT.Her latest album is ‘Free Expression’. “I guess it is just showing another side of me,” she said.“I think I was just honest with how I felt on that whole album and so that is one of the main reasons for calling it ‘Free Expression’. The other reason is for my second album to look like a painting like artwork.”Her musical influences are a range all their own. “It is deeply rooted in roots reggae, but I would say that the R&B or Blues came from growing up in South Florida,” she said.“Maybe the background of country music as well that my mother used to play on Sundays.”Her favourite musicians include Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knights and Jimmy Cliff to name only a few.She is a Rastafarian, but there were a few things within the religion that she didn’t take on.“I don’t follow every rule or everything that there is especially when it comes to the woman ... such as a woman wasn’t allowed to speak unless spoken to. I am a rebel! I am definitely too rebellious for that!”They will be performing tomorrow at St. David’s County Cricket Club.The concert, which is being produced by Just One Productions in association with Irie FM, kicks off at 7pm with local sound systems Blackstar and YGS.Local singers include Mission, Bobby Washington, Sister Mandy, Desmond, Stevie Dread, Jamawayne, Zion Child, Ninja Cutty, E-Levels, Slanger, Hype Type, Clinark Dill, Micah, Sia Spence and C’Daynger. Ron Mouchette will emcee.Tickets $60 in advance, are available from all Jamaican Grill locations, 27th Century Boutique, Kit n’ Caboodle and LIDZ on Mullet Bay Road, St George’s.