I am whoever people make me out to be. Personally I make music to inspire, to prove to people that my generation have more to offer than just our service. We can influence change, we can influence individuals and turn visions into reality. Those are amongst the many virtues that I carry, and intend to accomplish one day.
I had a typical childhood. A great listener in class, and excelled quite well in my studies (that is, if I wanted to lol). I was quite a bookworm and I enjoyed drawing and writing. As a child I had a habit of asking way too many questions. I guess my level of curiosity had dialled to 11.
Music was always my escape root as a child. Back then i had never imagined being part of that world. I remember being shy to sing infront of people, but I enjoyed singing nonetheless. My opportunity came in 2014 when I met Joshua ( Irie ) at Post Secondary. We were the only two boys in class surrounded by girls. We realised we had the same tastes in music so we easily connected and naturally we became best friends. We started by composing lyrics. It was hard at first but as days past our compositions matured. In 2016 we started experimenting our first recordings at JC’s (Jules Camille) home studio and a few months later we shifted at Xtra Big Sounds, and the rest is history.
I don’t really have a figure of the number of compositions I have since I am constantly writing all the time. (Can stacks be an answer?). However I can say I have over 75 recorded songs.
Baba Dou was an idea I had last year. I knew it needed another voice for it to really stand out, so I put it aside for future plans since my album was about to release. Earlier this year, Ion Kid wanted to feature me on his album, but he told me he needed a new element, something that would really challenge him. A challenge for him became a challenge for me because I was known for pursuing reggae music. I re-visited the song and polished it. I brought it to the studio and he was immediately impressed. We both pitched in ideas for musical arrangements and we had a very good collaboration. We never expected people would connect to the song in such a way. We had a crazy release and we are still riding that wave.
The song itself speaks about a couple who considers each other as soul mates. People around them are constantly trying to split them up. The message is clear; let these people be. They’re a clean slate and breaking them up is pretty much impossible. We decided to make the song fun to listen to instead of serious. We wanted to bring joy through such a topic, and the result is phenomenal. Challenge completed I guess lol.
The new normal is just a phase that those in power has initiated so that the public can roam as they want with certain limitations. We as artists are facing a financial battle. Last year I decided to pursue music as a full-time career. But since the breakout we have not been treated nor valued as what we are. During the lockdown my first child was born, luckily I had friends and family to support me during that period. And I do tend to gain some income from my music sales from time to time. But this new normal comes with a lot of facade. Social distance is not working as it should, we tell people not to group and yet everywhere you look people are grouping. So why are we not be out there performing? Don’t we matter as human beings? We are not asking for money, we are asking for a way out. Performing is our job. The more you restrict us from performing, the more this economic crisis grows. Entertainment is an ongoing demand. It is an economic pillar in a lot of countries…what is stopping us from heading in that direction? Tourism doesn’t have to be our only direction. Local artists can help. Sadly we are underestimated way too much.