Episode 238 | XplicitMevon Bonus - Corie Sheppard Podcast

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yo guys, this is Mevon Soudin, also known as
Explicit Mevon, and this is parttwo of my episodes on the Corey
Shepard Podcast.
So we do the drop before, right, so you're looking fresh.

(00:30):
Everybody Last one, I waslooking sweaty.
The lighting was halfway done,nobody can complain about that.
Somebody watched me like, hey,get that boy Angula.
Seriously, I was like that wasa month ago.
How was that, bro, how Angulawent down.
Angula was a real good boy,right?
Angola was an experience and ahalf, because I feel like, for

(00:50):
one, what that trip to Angolataught me is how they value us
in Trinidad and Alisoca.
Music, bro.
When we got to the airport, itwas you and Kit, right yeah, the
Minister of Education greetedus in it.
Of got to the airport, it wasyou and Kit, right yeah, the
Minister of Education greeted us.
Of Education the Minister ofEducation greeted us with camera
and things.
It was three entities who puttogether that workshop.

(01:13):
What was the workshop exactly?
It was a summer camp.
So apparently they do thismusic summer camp in the Angola
Music Academy every year andthey do different things every
year, and this year they werefocusing on calypso.
And well, calypso, and becausewe do a lot of music with an
artist they call yama, inanguilla for the past three,

(01:34):
four years, and they kind of putin a word to bring us across.
But, um, when we got there, as Isaid, it was the Division of
Youth and Culture, the Ministryof Education I think that is
like the over-governing body ofthe Division of Youth and
Culture Got it.
And then there was a tourismboard, so there were
representatives from each agency, as in the Minister of

(01:58):
Education, the person in chargeof the Division of Youth and
Culture, and then the directoror the head of the angola
tourism board.
They all greeted us at theairport.
Yeah, kf's camera thing.
You expected that.
You knew that was no bro,people were behind us coming out
of the um arrivals and it's notsomebody else.

(02:19):
No, no, no, okay, you could seelike we just sitting down on
because our ferry to get toAngola, right, so we just on the
ferry, normal, normal.
And when we reach and they seeall the fanfare, they start to
watch us like these, the samefellas very much.
Who's them, who's one of them,you know because I tell his

(02:40):
camera people, the minister andpeople in shirt and tie meeting
us and greeting us.
I was like, wow, I have a videoof it too.
Nice, I get shirt here.
But it was.
It was an experience because,from start to finish, they
treated us like royalty.
They treated us with so muchlove and respect, like we didn't
have to worry about anything.
Sure, and they value what it is.

(03:01):
We do and we did for them now,because we left there with a
song that the kids did fromstart to finish.
Really, we built the beat, wecame up with the concept, we
wrote the song, we recorded thesong and we put it up on iTunes
and all platforms.
And on the final day, we wentto a radio interview for them to

(03:22):
launch the song oh beautiful.
So we gave them a full artist.
How long was it?
It was a week, a week.
We arrived on Monday and weleft Saturday, got it, but the
camp was Monday to Friday, sothey got the full experience.
We didn't just talk, it was aproper workshop.
So tell me something thechildren who are participating
in it.
They are like in music.
Like in music, yeah, yeah.
Some of them are calypsonians,some of them are musicians, some

(03:44):
want to be producers.
Some of that's their parentssending them there, got it, got
it, and you could have seen thetransformation from day one to
day five.
Yeah, you could see theconfidence, you could see the
interest starting to develop now, and then some of them were shy
and the ones who went and theyspoke on the radio on Friday
were the shyest ones.

(04:05):
Yeah, yeah, and they went andtook, they went and sing, yeah,
yeah, that is amazing, and thegood thing is they have camera
footage of all of this, so whenthat comes out, I probably share
it.
But it was a touching experiencefor me because I felt so valued
there.
You know they really look up tous and what we're doing and

(04:26):
they treated us with utmostrespect.
Love and tourism is their thing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So that's all they know.
Hospitality was amazing, got itcome on five stars.
And that's your first time inAngola too.
First time in Angola, yeah, andthe sun is really, really nice,
and the sun is one of the placesyou had to go.
Bro, anguilla is a secret gem.
A lot of people don't go there,especially in Trinidad, because
there's no direct flights.

(04:46):
You go to St Martin and then ittakes a 20-minute ferry to
Anguilla, right, right, so it'snot in our orbit per se, but the
island is beautiful.
It's very small.
I think it's only like 14,000people.
Yeah, it's very small, but somuch talent.
Yeah, I could imagine.
I could imagine all thathappened to some of it.
Akilipsa was big there, youknow.

(05:06):
Yeah, so much.
So they invited me over to comefor carnival this August and I'm
going, you're going.
Yeah, alright, I'm judgingRoadmatch.
Yeah, because they judgeRoadmatch.
They judge Roadmatch at thestage.
They ask judges.
I guess they I haven't seen thecriteria, but I'm assuming it's
called Reaction.
Not anything Makes sense, andthey have like a brass festival

(05:27):
thing called Band Clash.
So you're in that After Georgiatoo.
Nice, well, congrats, that'sreal, real good.
That's what I'm saying.
So, like, we went there and theytreated us like, hey, these
guys know what they're doing.
Well, I had to tell people that, right, that, uh, in terms of
bonus episodes for anybody who'scome on, this is only the

(05:48):
second time I've ever done this,and the first time was with
kenny phillips, right, becausewhen I sit down with kenny,
kenny have a way of cool,nonchalant, saying like, do this
and I do.
We use the same thing.
I was telling you that over thecourse of this week, like when
I talk to you like yeah, well, Ido that too and I always talk
about these things, like youknow, it's by the way.
It by the way, but to me is islegendary because I tell you
before, like, what you're alldoing now is the same thing that

(06:08):
kenny and them was doing in theseason, impacting so much
people.
But I have to ask because I hada conversation with scrunter
time, who I hope to god at somepoint, scrunter, come here,
right, I'll try it.
Right, but he said that he hasa song called take the number
right.
The song was about people whoare it's the car number.
It was about a thing happeningto school children, right, and
he was saying, reiterating thepoint, that when you're going in

(06:30):
a car and you're traveling homeor you're getting a drop, take
the number Number right.
And he said it's taught inschools in Grenada.
So I had to ask him.
I said, well, do they everteach it in schools here?
No, no.
So I had to ask you Because thereception you get here, how
many times you get called fromminister education here to talk
to youths, never Is somethingyou would do.
No, yeah, of course.
Like throughout my career and Iguess, life, I've always, I've

(06:59):
never been shy to shareinformation, right, and people
have always told me like, bro,you don't get into into teaching
.
I've always gotten that becauseof my personality and because I
speak so real and and so downto earth, I guess.
So students, especially youngerstudents, they gravitate
towards me, right, and um, I did, uh well, the same star

(07:22):
broadcasting when I I did my.
I did two courses there inmusic production and about two
years ago yeah, it was rightafter Come Home 2023, right,
they asked me to come and do alecture, guest lecture for the
current class, and I did thatand so much so the students
still message me on Instagram,send me stuff.

(07:44):
Much so the the students stillmessage me on instagram, send me
stuff, you know.
So I I think I don't think I'mready for it yet because I don't
want to focus too much on that,but I do believe that I have
the personality to do somethinglike that.
Yeah, yeah, and anguilla was ournext example of that but even
if not continuously is aquestion I always ask, because
there's a week, you take a weekout of your schedule to get done

(08:05):
, you're gonna do the thing inaugust, like, but and locally,
no more, you never reach out.
This is what I mean.
You didn't dig.
How much school did I haveafter we?
They saw what we did.
People was like how come allthey never do something at home?
Um, come on, let's do, let'shave a conversation about doing
something like that.
Yeah, I was like sure, but whyare y'all now wanting to come

(08:25):
and talk?
Of course, of course, of course, anguilla the size of probably
a fet, the whole country.
We are fets, bigger than thewhole country.
But change, you know what I'msaying.
You could see and recognizewhat we're doing.
Yeah, and pay for us to comeacross there to educate their
next generation.
And we write it.

(08:46):
Yeah, boy, and we don't valueour people.
No, I find that the more I talkto people, you're finding that
that's the case acrossindustries.
It's not just a music thing,you know.
You find that a lot of youngerpeople don't know how to access.
I guess social media make it alittle different now.
And message my phone as I use it.
Hopefully you know it might getresponses.
I just want everybody, you know.
Yeah, I just want everybody.

(09:06):
You sure you want to put thison?
Yeah, I hate to see.
I have OCD.
I hate to see notifications onany of my apps.
Got it, even if I open it and Iclose it?
Yeah, they check it, I willcheck it Right and anything
he'll say something.
Yeah, I will respond.
Yeah, got it?
Got it?
I always wonder like for for?

(09:27):
Because and you know, you spokeabout this when we were here I
was telling you that I was myson, was doing a part of the
editing of the episode and hehad on headphones.
So I just see him saying exactlyexactly, and I said, well,
what's going on?
Because I know I say somethingwrong.
I said what going on?
He said, well, he's talkingabout music, because he's doing
music theory too.
Yeah, and as far as he'sconcerned, it's boring, it's
hard to keep up with.
Sorry to hear that, and youknow what he's like.

(09:50):
Why can't I just go by him?
Yeah, you understand, because Ithink there's sometimes the men
who are doing it, or even Kennyhere, when I talk to y'all, how
much you open up your space topeople, how much you talk to
people, how open you are, evenfor these interviews, because
people don't believe that.
I don't know, we don't know eachother at all, bro, I just reach
out somebody, so some someonemy friends used to me and it was

(10:12):
like, bro, you know, like yeah,yeah, no, no, you just seen
where you live and I think just,I was like I didn't even think
about because because I, just tome, I am just me now, I don't,
I don't see myself as acelebrity or anything like that,
I just I was telling thisbefore.
I just do my, I do my work, Ijust live in my life, I just do

(10:35):
what I do and I just do what Ilike.
Yeah, you know.
So when people say your storyis inspirational and you inspire
me to do these things, it kindof blows my mind Because to me,
I'm just regular on my phone,I'm just doing whatever I like.
You know, as I say, I didn't goto school for this, I did IT,

(10:56):
you know.
So this is a hobby that Iturned into a career.
Yeah, imagine that, based onpassion, into our career.
Yeah, imagine this one passion.
But you see, is inspiring forme because it means that, with
all the issues we have inTrinidad and Tobago and all the
crime and them kind of thing, itmeans that if we could do it,
anybody could turn a hobby intoa career, correct?
You know, my time, the time Italk too much in school.
Yeah, I know you're making acareer talking a day.

(11:19):
I write on as a young fella inmy teenage.
I write all the work.
It's how we talk it.
I write down one by one.
I say, right, this is talk,this is talk, media is talk,
lecturing is talk.
And at some time the other dayI find the thing and I say, but
wait, I end up doing all thesedifferent things.
You know, before I met you,corey, I was a fan of the
podcast and I would have tunedinto a few of the episodes

(11:42):
before.
And I said I tuned into a fewof the episodes before and I
said I was really impressed withyou and I think I told you this
privately.
I was, like I really impressedwith with your interview skills,
the way you articulate yourselfand the way in which you
formulate your questions.
Not just that, but the tone ofyour voice, the way you speak.
Yeah, it is very commanding.
I guess you know what tone ofvoice is you doing that for?

(12:03):
Yeah, yeah.
No, because it's Got it, got it, got it.
No, because it's a very a voicethat is very cut it cuts
through, right, yeah, you know.
So you have a voice, bro.
That was a gift all along, itwas just blocking your blessings
.
But why?
Why, we can't train Becauseteachers are going to need help
too.
But if teachers could see that,plenty less crime in this

(12:26):
country.
Because I tell you like Iremember I had kegs here and
your name came up.
But again the explicit boy,which again I'm proud to have a
drop with, explicit, I have it,have it.
But when, when I see that and Isee and and kegs brought you up
, I know kegs was working withyou, yeah, and then I was four
or five songs, yeah, you hear itall the time and the one I like
, the favorite of mine, is yoursis you do it too.
So when I listen to it and I'mthinking I put the episode and

(12:47):
you don't know who will respondto what it's like this idea that
there's this guest thateverybody, you have no idea, you
just post where you post and Iremember seeing you repost
something saying but I hearwatching my phone and I was like
I'll go in and call him.
If my phone's watching, he'llcome and let me see, because
once you're watching, I hopepeople will come.
And you know, that's somethingI was real surprised by on this

(13:09):
journey here, because I alwaysfeel like, well, I hang on to a
message, I call my phone and I'mbusy.
It just feels like people arelarger than life to me.
But it's been surprising to mehow much people are willing to
come and talk and share thisstory and that kind of thing.
I think how I look at it too isthat this is, this is marketing
and promotion for me, but notjust in the immediate, but it's

(13:31):
history.
Well, I'm so glad you say thatbecause I keep telling you too.
It would be so good if I couldwatch him all age.
When I can't talk, no more,some youth come into you and say
, boy, please come and do this,all right, and I teach this
about you and taking theuniversity.
And please come and do this orwrite a thesis about you and
take it to university.
But let me go back to where thelast one ended now, or where
the first clip went Pona Annie.
You know you tell me that Itake more Pona Annie and I say

(13:53):
but wait, that's true, peoplemight not even know.
You see how much people in thecomments on Instagram and TikTok
, a lot of people saying and yousaid, older people might know
it, but you realize, plenty ofpeople say what.
That is what it was really.
It shocked me because it blewmy mind, because I want to know
what they sing when it's on play, when we find out All this time

(14:15):
, yes, it's something else, it'ssomething else.
And you know, like Roma is justsaying he writes dirty songs.
He writes clean songs for dirtyminds.
Well, you're damn dirty songs.
He writes clean songs for dirtyminds.
Well, he's damn right, theguy's one of them, dirty minds
for sure.
He's like, if you know, youknow, yeah, I put my thing on it
.
Really, that's what it is,because the truth is the
scrunter, the Kenny J, the reallicksman for saying Kenny G
instead of Kenny J, but Kenny J,I listen to that.

(14:38):
I'm shocked.
You're saying the wrong thingover and over.
You know, baron, all of them hadthat and Kaizo and Soka.
I saw one person in thecomments say that that that is
what Kaizo and Calypso and Sokais.
It is, it is, it is, and I feellike it's a dying art almost,
because I remember I work atRome a lot, very closely, and

(15:00):
there were times we were vibingin the studio and he would say,
well, vibing his studio.
And he would say, well, peoplewould say, well, yeah, come on,
because that double entanglement, that double meaning thing
again.
And I sometimes tell him I waslike, bro, don't shy away from
it.
If that's what comes, if thatis your style and that's what
making you money and that's whatpeople know you for, then do it
, don't limit yourself to I mean, obviously, as a creative, we

(15:22):
don't only want to do that butdon't say, well, people will say
this and nah, bro, do what youwant, do what you like.
It's funny to time this passerbecause, the same way, I
remember crazy as an example ofthe who's the creator, the
soccer party genre, really, youknow, I mean, and, um, I
remember he's had a point intime in crazy career, like he

(15:43):
had.
He had go the religious route.
Now, yes, so he wasn't singing,remember that.
And he wasn't singing Jesus, Isay in the Christmas.
Well, here now, when he come toperform a time in Central Bank,
crazy had no song to sing.
You know, because his songsthey suck me.
Sukuya, paul, your mother can'tfuck off, use this.
So he was your real doubleentendre man.
He had impulse, so so thespaces always need them things,

(16:03):
and the thing about it is I lookat Crazy now and I feel so good
to see Crazy everybody as oneof the men who in the older
space and he Crazy, didn't Trinibad that thing.
That's what I mean.
Trini bad, he performingeverywhere, he viral everywhere.
Crazy in the gym, what do youmean?
Crazy touring still and activeon social media, more active
than me.
Crazy posting everything, crazy, real reposting.

(16:26):
He in the mix, he and Radha too.
You know, yeah, radha, themfellas real current, them fellas
current Radha in your comments.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
He don't miss nothing but anyany kind of world news, of
course.
He's a cricket man too.
Any kind of cricket news oranything like that.
He posts on about it, of course.
So when I see Crazy get olderstill commanding youths and that

(16:47):
kind of thing and I rememberthe time when all his songs was
banned from radio Every timeCrazy come out with a song, it's
news Banned from all airwaves,right?
The earliest memory I have ofCrazy's music would have been
Paul and Mother Come Right.
That was banned, couldn't playthat on the radio.
And then he had about Six yearsand I remember that Because my
mum had a friend named Paul, Isee.

(17:07):
So when I was younger, I hadUncle Paul Right and that was
his song, got it.
So that was.
That was my earliest Memoriesof Crazy's music.
Yeah, banned, can't play that.
They vex them days.
I know YouTube.
If they ban it, they stifle you.
But look at where the songsland now.
Nobody don't watch that.
No, how.
So I talked to him the other dayand he was saying that his

(17:28):
first road match was a songnamed Sak Mesukwe and he talked
to me Sak Mesukwe, I don't meanthat, that's just, it's cool,
it's only sucking if it didn'thave the word suck.
Yeah, that's what Rome says.
My mind, you associate sockwith sexual things.
That's the idea.
That's how it goes.
It's generally the kickoff.
So the thing about it is, whenI listen to that as a child, I

(17:52):
don't have that in my mind yet.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I am saying the Pope comeand the Pope was here and he
read the police band was playingand the Pope dancing, but he
feeling that way because he knowwhat it mean.
But you see, time over time, andit's the same thing with Pona
and he was where.
Yeah, you remember 2017.
Yeah, look at that.
No time has passed yet andpeople done saying, well, what's
the issue with this song?
They have a few people who sayit, but you know we get fried to

(18:13):
that song.
Yeah, like there was a point intime, but the song was so big
and then YouTube was a thing andInstagram was not kicking off,
they couldn't stop it.
And then Rome was performingeverywhere.
You know, I remember the firsttime we performed that song was

(18:34):
about in Arima Main Road Serious, yeah, and people received it
well, did they?
First time we performed thatsong, yeah, it was with a local
parang band from a real manthing and the people it's just
random people are walking andspitting by and people went
crazy.
And that's when I said I waslike dog, nobody don't know the
song.
This is the first time we evergonna perform the song.

(18:56):
Thankfully, the band kindaplayed the chords, because it's
typical parang chords, right,and they pick it up and they
roam along the pavement.
It was on the side of the roadby Cleaver, somewhere along
there.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But that song I think it willgo down just the same way.
All them other Christmas songsCome, go and all them things.

(19:16):
It's in that space.
Yeah, I thankful to have one ofthat, because I said One yeah,
one, yeah, you say one.
Well, I always won that one,say one.
If I had Spanish woman, I thinkI'd come in here and talk to
you Wow, bombing.
Talk to my sister.
I just played, I just played.
Nobody's saying like inTrinidad, it's like Mariah Carey

(19:39):
, and All I Want For ChristmasIs you.
Mariah Carey does not need tosing another song for the rest
of her life for sure because ofthat song.
You know, it's funny.
Like the older calypsonians Iheard I want to say melody, or
one of them talking about thatin an interview.
They were saying that with thechristmas calypsos, before it
had took up around, they saythat what they used to do is

(19:59):
really put a side with the songthat they push into the carnival
season, put a christmas song onthe B side.
It was really a strategy justto get in the radio station in
November up to December and thenthey go flip it and by all of a
sudden, late December, you'reSoka playing, right.
So, comparing anything, it'sgoing nowhere.
You own it already.
You're saying one song, butit's plenty.
Yeah, I have a few, I have afew, I'm I'm thankful enough to

(20:31):
have a few, and that's justconsistency.
You know right, every year Iwould say I am doing a christmas
song, right, and I haven'tstopped since 20, since liquor,
that's in the 13, 14, I think,15 and 16.
I didn't do anything, right,but 17 I had annie, then we had
a poo with room, then I had, um,the one with destra, lie, lie,
lie.
Yeah, how'd I come about?
Because that was that was you,that was during covid right and
the show was bummy.

(20:51):
Oh, there you said that, yeah,mass dong and thing, she wasn't
playing, that she was doingsomething before that.
Well, that's true as a catholic, that's true as a christian,
right, she's a catholic.
And, um, she always wanted is aCatholic, desha is a Christian,
right, she's a Catholic, andshe always wanted to do well,
she did a gospel thing.
She always was interested inParang, music, soka, parang, the

(21:13):
culture and, I guess, gospel tosome extent.
So she was always payingattention to the space, you know
.
And then I guess she and Romehad a relationship in terms of
they would have known each otherthrough the industry and that
kind of thing.
And while we were doing the song, there was this meme lie, lie,
lie, lie, lie, that Indian man,and that meme was popular and we

(21:37):
was like, hey, let's turn thatinto a song Serious.
And we wrote this song based onthat and he's like it can't
just be about life, it had to beabout Bacchanal, and what else
than man versus woman, bacchanal.
And it worked.
And if it's Bacchanal, you hadto get the queen of Bacchanal.
And the queen of Bacchanal wasDesha, and we wrote the song.

(21:57):
We had to beat everything andRome sent it to Desha and she
was like, yeah, this is aboutright down my alley.
So she did it, she invited usto come out to record her and
that kind of stuff.
And it was easy because Romeand I had the demo done fully.
So she just had to do a verseand then she come on Destra is a
perfectionist too.
She was like, nah, let me addsome harmonies and let me add

(22:18):
some backgrounds and real prettyup the production.
And you know, that was a hittoo was yeah, that's gonna be
fair.
Yeah, that's the next onethat's playing right through.
Yeah, yeah, because in parang,you know, parang is blending the
, the, the phrases and and andthe, the, um, the, the patterns

(22:39):
of soka, parang, of parang, gotit, you know, and blending it
with soka, but still adding thetrinniness and the bacchanal.
Yeah, and that's just being intouch with the culture.
Yeah, that is a hell of a thing.
You see, that meme and all thesepeople going for that, because
there was a series of some ofthe greatest calypsos ever it
was them like Lord Nelson.

(23:00):
Go wrong with lying and honing,because you see honing problem
channel win road match with myown song called horn in vincente
, yesterday.
Horn will always work.
So, talking about creatinggenre, right, I appreciate the
fact that you'll dive into sukapranga with some other last time

(23:20):
, where there was this huge gapin none point out.
But I know that you have donesome work.
A lot of your work was initiallyin rap and you would tell him
about traps on the creation ofthat too.
How would that come about?
It went out specifically tocreate something.
No, no, no, no.
So, as I said, that was just arelationship that was forged on
just pure vibes and energy.
Right, right, we came togetherand we did Pumpin' first.

(23:43):
Right Around that time.
Pumpin' has an interesting Storytoo, because I had the beat For
Pumpin' and I named the beatPumpin'.
I see, right Around that time,simba man.
He was a reggae artist.
At the time, right Was beingmanaged by Hans DeVins.
Okay, hans from the Vale.
Yeah, yeah, I managed by HansDeVins.
Okay, hans from the Vale.

(24:04):
Yeah, yeah, I from Dego.
So Hans and I were friends andHans Simba brought Hans with him
in the studio by me at the time, right, and I just played the
beat, because anybody come andme, a real beat is the place,
yeah, everybody else I getexcited, I play beats.
And he's like what's the name?
And his hands, who came up withthe pumpin, pumpin, pumpin,
serious, yeah, because the noteswere going.

(24:26):
And he's like, hey, let'sfollow that and go pumpin,
pumpin, because the name of thebeat was called Pumpin, right,
and Simba kind of freestyled areggae thing on it and around
that time I knew Mark and Rod.
So I was like, hey, guys, simbahave a vibe on this and I feel
Oli could really make itsomething, because Oli, more in

(24:47):
the rap, simba want to do reggae, right, so if it is, we blend
the rap with the soca and thelocal reggae, because local
reggae was on the dregs at thepoint in time, got it.
I was like me and Simba, good,me and Oli, good, let me try and
make it work.
So I did the song Pumpin andthat take off.

(25:07):
And then I was like, well, letme do it again.
And we did Nah Boy, and Nah Boywas was the song that really
people took us serious after NahBoy over Pumpin, pumpin was was
the big one, right, okay, butNah Boy, when we did Nah Boy,
back to back, people was like,wait, these fellas serious,
because at the point in time itwas nebula 868 and thing right,

(25:28):
nebula was running it, right,you know.
And um, so now there was morepeople to add to the pot, to the
local rap, thing, right, and um, nah boy was a thing.
And then we realized it waslike, wait, now, if it is we
doing this, these slangs onthese trap beats, right, let's
brand it something.
So we had pumping, we had naboy, we had wiz, the scene, right,

(25:49):
we had, um, a few songs, well,but they were all based on
popular trinidad culture at thetime, gotcha, you know.
So we decided to coin it trap so, which was the fusion of trap
music and soca, right, it's not,I mean, it's something, because
, but it was more yeah, and rapso too, because we were rapping
in trinidad accents, you know.

(26:10):
But it wasn't like rap wasdifferent at the point in time
it was trap beats, atlanta styletrap beats, with heavy 808s on
bass, right, but we're talkingabout trinidad culture in our
way, you know, and usingtrinidad slang and and stuff.
So after we did once or twice,we decided to coin it Trapso,
you know.
So that's why we decided to doan album that never came out.

(26:33):
We got David Rudder to do a jobfor us for the intro and he
said Trapso, trapso, trapsomusic.
And you still have that.
Yeah, yeah, trap some music.
And you still have that.
Yeah, yeah, and you don't throwin nothing.
So you still have that Sessionloss.
Oh, they crash.
Yeah, oh, you're the coolestman.
I have videos of it, though.
Okay, nice, nice, nice, nice,yeah, yeah, so you're supporting

(26:56):
it.
Well, I guess, I guess Rod couldspeak on that, of course,
because I know they have a veryrocky relationship.
Yeah, with regards to himsupporting Rod being a rapper,
yeah, of course, and not aCalypsonian.
So I'll invite Rod.
Come to the party, yeah, comein.
Come in Fathers and business,yeah, yeah, yeah, but he

(27:18):
supported it so much he came todo that for us, right, yeah, of
course, yeah, no, so Trapzo wasa thing and it just so happened
that culture kind of twisted andturned and trap and hip-hop at
least local hip-hop wasn'treally a thing anymore.
Yeah, it's at one point.
You know, I've seen that a lotlike other genres or even

(27:38):
artists who do other genres.
That is a tricky space it is.
It's almost like If you're notdoing Straight up kaiso and soko
, it's kind of tough, yeah, andespecially if you're Coming out
of the gate Not doing Like youwere talking about Crazy, right,
crazy done.
Known as what he is, yeah, sohe doing as this, so A Trini bad
, a Trini bad, it don't, hewouldn't get labeled that way.

(27:59):
But I've seen it in the Trinibad artists.
You know the youths man, I mean, they're good, they'll be fine
too.
But I've seen where people wantto label them as okay, you's a
Zess man or you's a Trini badman, or you's a this or you.
But there's a difference.
Eh, you know, to me artistscould do anything.

(28:24):
Yeah, artists could do anything, even in talking to you,
because a lot of people, whenthey look at the interview and
they're commenting on it, it'slike wait, he do this, he do
that, he do this.
So it's not like if theproducers limited to one genre,
yeah, but sometimes,unfortunately for me.
I was.
I was blessed to, um, I blessedto have hits in multiple genres
, you know, because my firstmajor it was pumping.
That was like the first timelike one of my productions

(28:47):
played on radio.
At that point in time, yeah, Ithought of it as hip hop.
I never thought about trap, soI never heard it.
Well, it was hip hop, you know.
We just coined what we wasdoing trap, so, um, but that was
the first time I had a radiohit.
We went great, fit and things.
Them fellas get real branddeals with Bel Air, oh,

(29:08):
beautiful, and Hennessy, yes,bro Got it.
We eat our food, yeah, yeah,off of hip hop, nice, off of
local hip hop.
I eat our food off of Parangtoo, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I do real corporate thing withRome, of course, and so can I.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I was fortunate enough tohave certain breakthrough songs
with different genres.

(29:28):
But you're not limited to that.
You, whoever presented to youat the time, you're willing to
work on it.
I do anything.
So Trinibad and thing you'reworking on in the space, I have
dancehall beats, right, like thekind of song like Trinibad
Gotcha.
To me Trinibad is justdancehall, modern trap,
dancehall, right, but whatthey're singing is Trinidad,

(29:49):
just like what we call Trap Zoo,got it Is dancehall songs,
beats, right, but with Trinidadcontent.
So when I say this and you sayfor me, trinibad, zest, steam,
all of them have a differentsound, all of them have
different topics, but that'swhat separates it, the topics
itself or the sound of it.
The sound of it too, got it.
Like the tones, trinibad isessentially what modern day

(30:11):
dancehall is.
Got it, yeah, yeah, yeah, gotit.
808, israel bass is trap, gotit, but with a dancehall groove.
The way they flow, everything,the way they treat the vocals,
everything is the content of itis dancehall.
Sure, right, zess is adifferent beat, a different
groove, altogether right.
Is Steam and Zess?

(30:32):
To me the same thing, similar,yeah, right.
And the content is that whatwhining girls?
It feels like 90s dancehall,exactly.
So it's a clear distinction.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And then the players in the gametoo.
You don't see Saki singing atTrinibad, only the lovers
singing at Trinibad, right.
Or young brothers singing atTrinibad, they sing for the
girls Right, or they sing forthe clubs and the parties and

(30:53):
the zest, you know, but inTrinibar they tell them their
story.
So it's a big difference, ofcourse, got it.
And when you approach now,because let me ask you, when you
start getting approached frompeople who would be mainstream,
working with your team of people, when it started to be that
it's called Mevon, yeah, thefirst major soccer artist to

(31:17):
reach out to me was Blacks.
Yeah, out to me was blacks,yeah, yeah.
And that's because of my goodfriend, dj adam.
Right, dj adam and I would havebeen the creators of explicit
songs when we were djing rightand um, true time, I would have
broken off and but not brokenoff, I would have more venture
into the production side andadam kind of followed his dj
side.
And adam was making a name forhimself in the soca game and he

(31:41):
reached out at a beat and a demoand I was like who you could
hear singing this song?
I sent it to Adam and I was like, you know, I'm a Senator Blacks
, I'm a Senator Blacks andBlacks hear it.
And I was like, yeah, come byme one time.
Yeah, blacks, ask no questions.
Instantly.
He's like, yeah, tuesday, Icome by any night.
Make sure you're rum, that'sthe one thing.

(32:05):
Black, yeah, that's him playing.
Black's gonna smoking cigaretteand drinking rum.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, what wasthis song?
Um, it was a song with vaughnyeah, serious it was.
So it was called keep it.
Right, it was supposed to be onhis album, but at the point in
time vaughn had no roots gal onfor blacks.
So vaughn wasn't really big yet.
I think he had no hard troubleanymore until that year, right,

(32:25):
but nobody really knew who hewas, you understand.
So I think Vaughan was inTrinidad at the point in time
with I think he was staying byBlacks, right, you understand,
and moving with Roy K Barnum hada song with Blacks and Vaughn.
My first soccer song, imaginethat.
It's on YouTube.

(32:46):
It's called Keep it, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll check it out.
Vaughn was an interesting storytoo, because Vaughn just got big
Without people knowing.
You just don't know who is thisperson.
But again, he has a couple ofsongs.

(33:10):
That would be, yeah, but Blackswas the first person who really
gave me that chance, right.
And then I would say the yearafter I got the confidence to
say, well, if Blacks believe inme, I could do it again.
And I did a rhythm with Romebecause Rome had the opportunity
to do a song for the girls'cruise.
He was on VH1 with Lil' Kim andthem Got it Right and he was
like, bro, I have an opportunityhere to do songs to put in the
show now, so let's make aCaribbean-esque summer song.
But he didn't show us whatcapacity.
What were you doing on the show?

(33:30):
It was a reality show.
Oh, okay, and you were about it.
Yeah, it was Lil' Kim, simoneand this other big Instagram.
They're big now on a cruise tothe Caribbean.
Yeah, and Rome was like a staffmember on the boat.
He was like the fun something.

(33:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, really, yeah,I never heard this.
I don't know Gary Romeo now.
I thought Hollywood was.
When Rome got Hollywood, hebeen Hollywood.
Then, bro, yeah, seriously, Ilet Rome come and tell his story
.
But I let Rome come and tellthe story.
But obviously Rome looking outfor me, he's like bro, yeah, I
knew about the show, butobviously I couldn't talk about
it.
So this was our summer thing,right, and he's like boy, I had

(34:12):
a flight to New York to catchthis boat in Miami to come to
the Caribbean and it ended inTrinidad County.
But and he was like, let's dosome music because I want, yeah,
take the opportunity.
Yeah, if people looking forroom, I need to have music all
the early time was ponani yeah,serious shit.
Yeah, this was like 2018, 2019.

(34:32):
Right before covid and um, hewas like I need to get music out
, right.
So we did this uh song for himcalled good, good and.
And we said, well, nobodyreally know Roman Suka like that
, so let's sing it in narrativeand get artists on the floor.
And I reached out to Blacksagain and he decided to jump on
it, ola decided to jump on itand then Turner decided to jump

(34:55):
on it and I had a four-manrhythm and I put this out in
like the end of summer and thathad kind of take off Because
that was Black Song.
If you're feeling like a bite ofchilling, crazy, yeah, and the
momentum just started to buildafter that.
It started with Keep it, thenKambule, and then I did same way

(35:17):
with Blacks yeah, if you cut me, you're going to see blood.
That was a big song.
Yeah, it was a big song.
Yeah, if you're caught there,you're going to see blood.
That was a big song.
Yeah, it was a big song.
I like how you say that yeah,huge, yeah.
But I'm just saying that thatmomentum and that relationship
with Blacks really developedbecause of that, got it.
And after that, that is whenthe cold started to come.

(35:40):
Because Blacks, because blackswas in soca monaco, that, uh,
same way it was a covet socamonac, right, I was in utt, I
think.
In nappa yeah, that was innappa.
Oh, that would have beencovered already.
That's when farmer doing yeah,2019, 2020, that's right.
Yeah, that feel like so longago.
Yeah, but I'd ask him when?
Black, especially with the tag,right, like I saw many genres of

(36:00):
music doing that before.
That was not something you usedto hear in soca music.
Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, I guessin parang at all.
Yeah, I don't know who it is.
So I just take what I know inhip-hop and apply it and
everything.
It don't be a problem.
Like artists, though they haveany say over if you use the tag
or not you can't tell me that,yeah, if I make this beat and
send it to you, all right, themost I might do is move the tag

(36:23):
right, because in the intro,yeah, if it is to find space, I
don't want it overlapping orcompeting with what you're
saying, but if it is, it's toobusy on top of it.
At the end, yeah, got it.
I mean I don't put the tag oncollabs, or for respect for the
collaborators.
Yeah, I see, I see.
So come home doesn't have a tag.
Right, take me home doesn'thave a tag.

(36:45):
Yeah, anxiety doesn't have atag.
Got it Working with people?
Yeah, so let me talk aboutanxiety now, as you bring it up.
That's one of the songs we usedto get to last time.
Yeah, I remember the wholeissue with Patricia Roberts.
Ricardo Dredd passed away atthe time.
Tragic for everybody, everybodyfeel it.
You know that was palpable.
Young people, young couple,young children.
So much promise, so much boylisten, two, two, two legends in

(37:08):
my eyes.
And you hear that news and myfirst thought was okay, she's
gonna be up for a while.
I, she's not gonna be incannibal for a minute.
That was my initial thought.
We felt so too.
Yeah, we felt like our seasonwas over.
Also, you, you had this song,bro.
We started that song in.
She was leaving to go Miami, soit could have been like

(37:28):
September, right, we startedthat song, serious, yeah, and
the theme of the song was alwaysgoing to be like that, yeah, so
I'll give you the story now.
So Patrice had like a shortspace of time in Trinidad at the
point in time and she works outof Millbeat Studio in Trin City
, right?
So one of our management team,warren, they reached out and

(37:52):
they was like, hey, let's do asession with Patrice.
I was like, cool, so we comeand we vibe, and we was playing
beats and Patrice was there butshe was like tired, jet lag, she
wasn't really feeling the vibe.
So we playing all our beats andpatrice was there but she was
like tired, jet lag, she wasn'treally feeling the vibe now.
So so we play all our beats.
I'm real excited, me too.
Yeah, there's vibe, there'svibe.
No gas, yeah, no gas, energylow, right, the mood in this

(38:16):
studio was real heavy now.
It's kind of yeah.
So patrice was just like, well,my driver coming in an hour,
right, and well, let's play whatthey had to play and we're
playing things.
And then it was like, well, kitand I was just having a
conversation with her in thestudio after we done play beats
and realized she's reallyfeeling none of these things.

(38:36):
Sure, sure, he's like what'sthe vibe, antoine?
She just had to open up aboutwell, boy, she's tired and she's
stressed out and she's dealingwith a lot and she's not really
sleeping properly.
She's staring at the ceiling,the songwriting itself.
By the way, she's like I justhome and tear sometimes because

(39:00):
there's a lot she's dealing with, a lot, silently, and she's
beginning anxiety on stage andshe, um, she um, doing all kind
of different things to try to tocope with this, whether it be
friends or or trying to getdistracted or, um, just trying
to sleep, and she can't sleepand it was bothering her and

(39:22):
that was bothering her.
And that was the first time shereally opened up to us, because
at the point in time me andPatrice did like herself, but we
wasn't really that close to sayshe would open up to us on that
personal level, you know.
So she was opening up andtelling us her truth and her
story about dealing with anxietyand depression and mental

(39:44):
health.
Yeah, gotcha, you know.
So the whole mood in the roomjust got real serious, of course
, you know, and Kit was like,well, hey, let's try to turn
this into something positive.
And the same time Melbitaplayed the loop, the keyboard
loop, and everybody was likewhere's that, you know?
And it just set the song track,the keyboard loop, and
everybody was like where's that,you know?
And I just set the song trackof the room.

(40:05):
It was like so, it was likedivine intervention.
I played that loop, yeah.
And he was like, put that on,keep that loop in.
And we just had the keys justplaying.
And Kit was like, well, let mego in the booth and freestyle.
So Kit and Puchis in the booth,freestyling, but remembering

(40:27):
the conversations as I lay in mybed with my head to the ceiling
, you understand.
So we're just drawing from whatshe just told us.
No, but she told us these words.
This was her words, and wedecided to put it in song.
And she also told us that whenshe hit the stage is go, so

(40:48):
that's your therapy, so charismatherapy, and that's what we
decided to put that in song.
That song, no line in our song,is made up.
Every single thing that we putinto that song is what she told
us.
So that was real.
Yeah, this had nothing to dowith drunting at the point in
time.
This had nothing to do withthat, but this was like
september, july and december.

(41:09):
So I'm just saying how powerfulI was and we were saying, boy,
nobody, this is unprecedented,this is uncharted territory.
Of course, nobody ever dealwith mental health.
I never hear it.
I could tell it it In Soca.
Yeah, yeah, soca is a happygenre and on top of that we deal
with mental health anddepression and anxiety.
We're making a sad Soca song.

(41:31):
Yeah, for a fit, for a fit,mm-hmm.
So we was like you know me, Ilove the idea of it.
Yeah, it's really Because it'sa challenging thing for me, you
know, and I came to be a part ofhistory to say, wait, we make
the first sad soccer song.
Even in the chord structure andeverything, it really is
gripping.
It's an emotional thing.
Yeah, it is, it's an emotionalthing.

(41:53):
So we had a few sessions withher and that song.
After the first session I tellher she in the boot, freestyling
from moving, sitting on thecouch waiting for her driver to
come To in the boot driver hadto wait, yeah, something,
because she was getting it out.
Of course, she was letting herfeelings out on the mic, even

(42:14):
though it was gibberish.
Yeah, she and kid, it was real,that emotion was real.
I can't explain that mood inthat room.
I have real video footage of it, but it's something I can't put
into words now because it was.
It was so spiritual and it wasso real.
That's not fake at all.

(42:35):
Yeah, you can't fake it, it'sso real, bro.
Well, to not to be so prophetic,because anybody who listened to
it from outside of the stage,you would assume that that song
came up after that tragic event.
So, when you're getting news ofthat, what are you thinking so
fast forward to?
When the song is out?
And the song is doing well,because it was our two or three
days before the song came out,right, and we did a radio

(42:58):
interview.
So the song came out after.
No, no, no, the song came outthree days or two days before he
died, I see, I see, that's why,for us as fans, like most fans
would think it came out afteryeah, so we did a team.
Patrice told us a team a teamis a band so we did a live on
the Friday night with A-Teamlive in the band room and

(43:20):
perform the song for the firsttime, and Drew was there Her
Drew and her and the baby.
So they were there, lily andall of them was there.
And that was the last time Ispoke to Drew online with him,
because she performing or beoutside yeah, cool, talking
online and all that thing, andwe was talking about doing songs
.
And yeah, because I would havesent him beats and things.

(43:42):
She was like, yeah, yeah, wehad to come in the studio and
like, you still come at me torecord songs.
So me and Drew was good.
So the Friday and then theSaturday, I think they had an
interview on radio and that kindof stuff over the weekend and
then I remember she was oninterview on Slam.
She did Boom Champion and shedid Slam and it was like a

(44:05):
Monday or something like that.
I can't remember the exact date, so that'll be on the promo run
to the same song, that newsbreak while she's on radio.
Yeah, I remember.
I remember and the last clipshe was talking about I think it
was five star, five star,hakeem, 5.2.
Right, had asked her about Drewand thing, and she was talking
about how good he is and howgreat he is as a father and as a

(44:28):
boyfriend and a partner andthat kind of stuff.
And then she came up withFreddie and he died, yeah, life.
So we had all these plans forpromo, all these things with the
band room and to do a liveperformance, to do lyric video,
to do interviews for her, tobreak down mental health issues
with Soca Artis and things,because we had a full campaign.

(44:49):
We was going in full to reallyembrace talking about mental
health, because I myself dealwith anxiety and things too, you
know.
So we wanted to talk about it,you know, in a way that let
people know that, hey, yourfavorite stars, your people, you
look up to this, the human, andthey deal with these things
because it's a real thing, youknow.

(45:11):
So we had all these plans andthen when that happened you
don't know what happened at thatpoint, yeah, and we was like,
wait, this was our big song atthat point.
Yeah, and we was like, wait,this was our big song and what
to do at the point in time, Ialso had a collab with her and
voice called Carnival Day.
Got it, yeah, so, but this isyour.
This is when you know you'regoing to our next level here.

(45:33):
Well, remember, anxiety was donelike since October, november.
We had it done, yeah, and thenI was working with Voice and
Voice had invited Patrice to bea part of a song called Cannibal
Day and that song release.
Well, we had the song torelease, like the weekend after
Drew passed Right, and me andVoice was like, what are we

(45:56):
going to do?
No, but we done, shoot promoand everything.
We done the stores.
We were little roll, we doneshoot promo, we done the stores,
we ready to roll out the nextweek because we say produce
release this week, we drop outthe next week.
And Drew passed and Voice hadto manage by himself.
That's why I think the song didnothing, because it was a

(46:17):
different mood, bro, of courseit would be.
You can't be happy.
And then Voice run out byhimself to sing a song.
He tried to push it, yeah, buttough, tough, tough, tough,
tough, I guess, even for him youknow everybody in the industry
eventually we just, yeah, it iswhat it is, call it what it is.
So when did you realize that theanxiety was going, like she was
gonna perform it?
Well, when she told us that shewas coming back out to perform

(46:39):
for carnival, for her show, wewas like, okay, well, it was a
surprise as us, as fans.
Oh, I was shocked that she waswilling to do it.
Okay, but I would have knownbecause she would have told her
we had a group and thing, okay.
So she kind of told us and ourmanagement told us hey, she
jumped in my car but the firstperformance would be her show.
Right, right, um, and then itwas like, well, we had to be

(47:01):
there.
So we went and she broke downon stage and it was a moment,
you know, but I didn't expecther to perform at all.
Sure, I did not expect her toperform at all, yeah, but that
song, really, I think, in a in aweird way, drew pass and helped
the song grow too.

(47:22):
It added, it added, it added arealness to the song that we
didn't expect.
Well, like from a fan, right,one of the things and we were
talking about this last timelike how songs, some songs take
a long time and they grow on you, right, but then they have some
songs.
That's holy, immediately.
The thing about when, life,life, he was forced to listen to
the song because everybodywho's a Patricia Swann like

(47:43):
myself, you want to see, well,where this one is the song
suddenly took on new lifebecause it's like is she
forecasting this?
Yes, it's crazy.
Is she seeing into the future?
Yes, sure, sure, sure.
Well, that's for you, becauseyou know the song a long time,
but for fans I think it happenedwhen Oli made that.
You know, you don't reallyrealise, as a fan, how long a

(48:06):
song in the making.
I think the song bust.
I think Oli finished this afterno the night when I heard it.
In fact, I think Oli now comeout from his studio, you know,
and he now do it I don't realisesince August, september, yeah,
and you think this is animportant conversation to have
as a country, the whole thingaround mental health and anxiety
and all them things.
As you say, it's a happy music.
Let me say a distraction musictoo, because I need that one

(48:31):
kind of all year just to reset.
So it's the fact that somebodywas willing to dive into it.
Well, that's the thing With Kitand I in particular.
That is something that we liketo do.
We like to challenge the statusquo and push the envelope of
what soccer is.
So doing, sad soccer.
You could be sad or you couldaddress sad or serious topics.

(48:53):
It doesn't always have to be Igo drink a rum and be out on the
road and we go across the stageand you're on me, I go on your
back, you party.
It doesn't always had to bethat.
Yeah, you know we could pushthe envelope in terms of the
topics, right, and the um, thecontent, the lyrical content.
That's okay, got it, but is itnormal?
For I always want to askproducers, for instance, the

(49:16):
starting point how often is itthat you have the beat and
people come up with ideas to it,versus somebody come to you and
say, I want to have an idea fora sad song, what are we going
to do?
The last part is very rare.
Yeah, serious, very rare really.
It used to be that way long ago, but now I think the business
of it is I think it's so farspace right that artists now
just call send me, send me andvibe it, send me rhythms and we

(49:39):
go vibe it.
But anxiety was built on thespot.
Yeah, I could see what you'resaying.
That was tailor-made.
You know, it's very rare thatthe artist comes to a producer
with that idea anymore.
Really, most times, I think BigUp, kc too, precision, kc and
Nicola I think they kind ofreally changed to the
international model of makingbeats and writing songs,

(50:02):
pitching demos to artists.
You got it.
You know, when Precision hadtheir era of dominance, you know
I would say the 2010s, whenthey lock everything.
They got Casey and Nick Calais,my boys.
They dominated because theyadopted that approach, men like
Irfan and Priddy born because ofthat.
They would have had writingcompetitions and writing camps,

(50:26):
yeah, camps, yeah.
And Irfan Voice, fullblownPriddy, all of them come out of
that camp.
Yeah, got it, you know.
So they would have introducedthat system of making beats
first, writing songs andpitching it to artists.
I with you, so much.
So that is the standard now.
Yeah, I got it, I got it.
I would not have thought thatat all.
Yeah, I would not have thoughtthat at all.

(50:47):
It makes sense.
So it kind of is de factostandard.
Now, right, where artistsexpect to hear demos coming to
them, I with you.
Only the bungees.
I got you, I got you, you know,pretty, the writers can start
with one of the writers' ownsongs too, but majority of other
people, they want them more.
It makes sense.

(51:07):
It makes sense, you know.
But the rhythms now, like youwere talking about dancehall the
last time and dancehall when weknow 90s dancehall, it was
rhythms, rhythms.
Yeah, you know, I don.
Weekend, when bounty killerperformed in new york, yeah, I
did, I did something else.
I so glad to see them and landwith a boy from my scene.
You get back your visa, so thatfirst, I so glad.

(51:28):
But I remember like early daysof sting, 1994, 95, and the man
was super cat and ninja man andthing.
You remember them days I was afan of the music bro, right, all
right, them things interest me.
Yeah, so you was watching it, Iwas watching them things.
So when I see Bounty Killer goall day and shell that on VHS,
yeah, oh yeah, vhs cassette.

(51:48):
Two terrible days, horribledays, yeah, and then DVD and
things, yeah, it come up fromthen.
Yeah, but them days was rhythmsand I always, I always used to
watch when Bounty Killer becauseBounty Killer in dance hall
might be the man to put on mostartists, right, but rhythms is
part of the way he used to do it.
So you identify a man, the man.
Good, he said, come, put all ofthem on the rhythm.

(52:09):
That time, 20 man on the rhythm.
But Sokka had never, was notlike that at all back then.
But slowly but sure, I don'tknow.
Yeah, casey, I think Casey hasso much of an impact on modern
day soccer that people just notacknowledging.

(52:31):
Yeah, you know, because, casey,I think the first rhythm he did
was I don't want to call thewrong name, but I know he was
responsible for a lot of theearly rhythms Him and KMC.
Yeah, kmc was one for sure.
Yeah, and KMC had thatdancehall influence, exactly so
KMC.
But KMC would have worked withKC too in the 80s.
He come from Kenny down to KC.

(52:52):
All them concubine rhythm andthem kind of thing in 2003 and
2002.
And thing right, dougla rhythmand thing I think it's KC, do
that, mark Seamus Angel, I thinkit's KC, do that.
And them concubines, it's KMCand them early rhythms.
But to me the biggest socarhythm was, well, it's not
really a soca rhythm, butpigtail rhythm.

(53:14):
Yeah, pigtail rhythm was bad.
That man, that dasha first song, that dasha first song, really,
and that rhythm.
I didn't realise that peopleeven know dasha in first song.
Yeah, really, on that rhythm.
I didn't realize that peopleeven know that show on that song
.
Yeah, that was, but no, butpeople know, people know my
third bass on that show.
Yeah, that was back in the day.
I didn't realize I would neverhave that done as the first song
.
I don't know, but I thinkthat's one of the first songs

(53:36):
that probably made.
But even when Bungee and theyhad Asylum, some of them rhythms
that they come out with andthings was hard, hard them times
.
So when you're approachingthings, how do you decide then?
Because you tell me you'remaking 400 beats of them.
When you make them beats, youhave in your mind, okay, this is
where I want a rhythm and thisis for individual artists.
You just kind of know the beatshas going to be rhythms and

(53:56):
then sometimes, as I said, abeat of various writers and I
get back three good songs.
I'll be like I tend to that'skind of dictate if it's already
more not got it, because I'll belike, okay, I can't waste these
.
So, yes, sound good.
Sure, these songs, good, I turninto that rhythm, right.
Or if I shop the beat around tovarious artists and I have

(54:16):
interest from various artists,I'll be like, okay, is that
rhythm, you know?
But there's some beats that'sspecial, I understand.
Yeah, there's some.
You'll be like, nah boy, yeah,well, some of them.
I made some of them last time.
You know who you're going tosend that for.
You're not going to shop, yeah,how it's here.
So the beats I shop when I'maround, I kind of know, yeah, it

(54:40):
could be.
Well, there's a bungee beat,there's a voice beat, there's a
martial beat.
Well, he said so, he said so.
But does that rhythm, know?
We have that culture here of Isaw it this year with anika
berry on um saddle.
What was the name of the rhythm?
Again, till the whole, till thewhole.
So the, the, the rhythm havebig artists on it and then a

(55:02):
Nickerberry who, again, for afan, you might know a long time,
as a fan, you don't know whothat is.
No, and I wonder if we miss anopportunity sometimes, now that
we have a modern rhythm culture,to put a new name inside,
because that's what Dancehalldid.
No, we do.
As a producer, I could vouch wedo put unknown artists on
rhythms right.
The problem is nobody stickthem on.

(55:23):
They ain't playing no, so so asa producer, it's kind of
heartbreaking sometimes becausethe same effort I have to do to
mix, promote, master record,write the demo for that young
artist, I have to put into thebig songs right, and you spend
all that time to put do thissong for this young artist.
Yeah, nobody cares why.

(55:45):
You feel, boy, you feel thatsomebody said one time we don't
have culture.
Yeah, you think so.
And then, timing a dj have anhour in us in a party.
They want to play the big songs, they want to play the big
names.
Yeah, they're not going to riskdipping their, their sets.
So they want to play the bignames, they want to play the
hits.
Yeah, I find, I wonder, Iwonder if there's something that

(56:06):
will change your culturallibero.
Because I'll tell you this,right, you used to find that in
the clubs in jamaica.
So if you go court on them,clubs or maybe even asylum to
extend, you'll find that.
Right, it's my father and car,tell them time.
But if you go pasaapasa or Wedi, wedi or Bembe, you're getting
everything.
I rode a plane for a long time,like you say, it's 20 something

(56:28):
man, I only rode it and theselector, especially earlier the
selector watching, he said so,if that, and he get a little
length, he said, well, right, Iwill keep pushing.
So by the time he go back weeksafter, it will come down to
maybe 8, 9, 10, the big boys andabout 3 new ones, and they push
it like that.
But you see, I would givecredit to Anika Berry, because

(56:49):
Anika Berry took thatopportunity and she really
marked it herself.
She did live performances withthe band, she did music video,
she did performances everywhereand she came to trinidad because
she's based in in new york, Ibelieve, and she came to
trinidad for the entire seasonand was everywhere.
Yeah, she was.
So.

(57:10):
Doing that groundwork isimportant.
It's not just about having asong on a big rhythm.
You have to put in the work andeven with that work, she would
have entered Soka Monarch.
She was everywhere.
Yeah, now that you're sayingthat, I understand, you know
because she deserved everythingthat she got this year.
Like, are you talking aboutBembe?
But one of the things is thatthat artist was there.
So when it comes 20, 30 men inthe rhythm, they're in the dance

(57:33):
, yeah, yeah.
So even if they don't go andtalk to the selectors, yes,
they're there.
Or performing themselves.
I would say Wadix is our nextexample of that.
Yeah, wadix was everywhere.
I'm so glad for him.
Wadix was everywhere when hehad a beat from Bad.
Wadix was performing in everyevent.
Yeah, because there are twopeople there he going, he going,
yeah, yeah, yeah, and he havecamera footage right.

(57:54):
Yeah, now we have anopportunity to do more of that.
We was just talking about thatbefore we started with my
partner there.
You know we were watching tomake ourselves because somebody
was just telling me, likeTrinidad, respect, the only
respect stars after is a bigstar or superstar, like we do.
I don't know if the audienceare the patience to say, well,
let me listen to this artist,because you say, if I fit dip,
yeah, it's the DJ getting blamed.

(58:16):
So I understand both sides.
Yeah, as a producer, I know wewant to give opportunities, but
as a DJ, you run the risk ofpeople saying, hey, that DJ
played madness, yeah, he wasn'tgood at all and that could
affect the rest of your seasonWell, the rest of your life in
Trinidad and Tobago, exactly,and all the awful rain and all
the DJ lame and all the DJ trash, bro, you understand.

(58:38):
So I understand both sides.
I with you.
So when young artists get achance or opportunity to be on a
rhythm with big names you hadto put in the ground, it's up to
them.
Your song could be the bestsong you know.
Look at Fullblown.
Yeah, on the big links withthem, they are essentially the
weakest in terms of status, nameand face and all that right,

(59:01):
nobody knew who Fullblown wasbut me.
Know how my money them spend onclothes because they buy two
sets of clothes.
They're my swag man.
They got, they got as stars.
Every time I watch it I spotthem men by real clothes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're likethat got it.
Got it and them understand itbecause they work with Marshall
a long time.
Yeah, so they are wrong stars.

(59:23):
Got it, so they understand whatto do.
But what I'm saying is when yousee Kes, young brother,
marshall on a rhythm and thenfull blown, yeah, and they, the
Marshall on a rhythm, and thenFullblown, yeah, and they went
the distance.
The average man don't know whoFullblown is.
Yeah, they went the distance.
They went the distance and Iwould say that they had one of
the best songs on the rhythm.
Well, you know, funny, thatrhythm was one of the and some
of that is your experience.

(59:43):
So, like it's almost every partof Carnival.
Like I see Young Brotherperforming with the fella in
England what's his name?
Aj doing that.
So it's like that rhythm, justkeep on.
And you hear Mr John Paul, yeah, yeah, imagine that it's a big
link, but you know, it's almostlike the same place.

(01:00:05):
We start off because I feel wehad to do something about young
artists in Soka as a society, asa producer, I could talk real
long about that, because I thinkSoka is seen by the younger
generation as an old peoplegenre.
The youngest Soka artist isAaron Duncan yeah, I suppose,

(01:00:28):
maybe that known.
Yeah, yeah, I guess Saki Sakiis 22.
He's a big man, but Saki Sakiis 22.
Right, he's a big man, but SakiSaki is 22.
But Saki is more a zest artist.
Right, that's double.
I'm a hell of an entertainer.
Whatever he do, it'sentertaining.
Yeah, he have a commandingpresence and he's a star.
Yeah, he's a star, you know.
So, beyond that, there's a hugegap.

(01:00:49):
The nearest person is probablyTeja and Teja Bordet.
You know, teja's 28, orsomething like that.
Nyle's closer to that age too.
So when you have the Shenseers,who's 25, and the Skeng and the
Skilibeng, and them who's 20something, and the Asian and
them who's 19, and all these newdancehall Artists who coming up

(01:01:10):
every single year, who's 19,?
Busting at 19, 20, 20, 21, ofcourse, what xbox at 47?
Yeah, imagine that, don't buzzthe man age.
But yeah, now we know it's thatold man genre, bro.
To the, to the youths you 16,you inform five why you want to
listen to soccer, for you can doit if you have a creative idea

(01:01:31):
and you want to try something.
You might.
To Soka, for he's 47.
You can do it if you have acreative idea and you want to
try something.
Yeah, soka might be the firstthat don't appeal to me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that don'tappeal to me.
Remember I was talking abouthip-hop, and dance was cool to
me.
Yeah, of course I nevermentioned Calypso or Soka.
You know, yeah, of course, howDan Sol and Zess and Trinibar is

(01:01:51):
cool to the youth.
They don't see soccer One, theydon't see soccer as cool and
they don't see it as a lucrativegenre.
But is it that they could dogood as artists, particularly
Like?
I see Kit in an interviewrecently talking about it?
I think, yes, yeah, okay, Ithink the answer is could you
yes?
Is could you yes, the, the um,the amount of people who could

(01:02:18):
do good is very limited.
It is designed for certainpeople to win or associate
yourself with, with certainpeople to win Right, right,
right, um, very rare is fine.
Young artists bossing, yeah,and making a name in Zoka and a
long time there's nothing thisyear.
Yeah, it's not designed for youto really come through and bus.

(01:02:41):
I think it have a lot ofgatekeepers in Soka.
Yeah, oh, you agree with that.
You feel like it's being held,I think.
I think a lot of people becauseit's seasonal people want to
solidify their space and theirspot and their name and their
brand.
Yeah, they want to come back toit next year.
They want to make sure it's notnobody going out blocking
people.
Sure, sure it's not sopremeditated, right?

(01:03:01):
It's just a man saying, well, Ihad a C about me before I C
about you, understood.
Whereby in Jamaica, bountykiller could say, well, I want
to see about everybody coming uphere.
Blacks used to do that, correct, got you.
Blacks were only few people whowould say, boy, bring a man on
stage and game and play andshare my stage with that.

(01:03:23):
You don't really find that insoccer.
It's a little different in that.
So like I saw it, like even keepin mind, when I was in Jamaica,
it was 2006-07, it was about2010.
So them days Cartel and themdone gone already.
But Cartel had that Gaza Empireand Popcorn Da Vinci.
Them was really young, it hadreally young people around him

(01:03:45):
and Sean Storm at that point,cartel and them putting out
songs every day, every dayhearing a new song coming out.
But before Cartel it was Sizzlaand Buju.
Same thing.
How much album Sizzla have?
Listen, sizzla, sizzla.
I saw a thing with LouisCulture talking the other day
about putting Sizzla on.
I never knew that story.
I didn't know that either.
He said he carried him in thestudio and he told him hey, you

(01:04:05):
had to get this man a blightBecause he hear him.
And in the background or behindthe scenes, is it that easy to
access?
Can I access voice and letvoice hear?
I have a link, so can I accessmy phone and say Social media?
I think voice can add to socialmedia, right, even with the
Sabga Challenge there was a lotof young artists who got exposed
because of that and a13-year-old girl went and

(01:04:28):
actually no, no, oh, parisCoutin.
Oh, right, you're right, and hewas in the junior soccer
monarchy, right, yeah, yeah, hebeen coming through it.
Yeah, I don't say junior soccermonarchy, but the junior
ultimate soccer champion.
Ultimate soccer champion,that's right, but it's the same
same place you're starting.
Because when I look at whatAnguilla doing because I always
hear this discussion, right,like I listen to KG and I hear
them talking Soka and they'renot wrong but I feel as if it

(01:04:54):
had to be broader than theindividual one artist or the
individual producer to say thatit's systemic, because you say
if the blockage is there, we hadto figure out what way anyway,
and part of it is from school,because what's the age of the
train you talk to?
In Angola, bro, the youngestone was seven.
You understand what I mean?
Seven to 21.
So them leaving they would have.

(01:05:14):
One was seven.
You understand what I mean?
Seven to twenty one.
So them leaving there with afeeling that, whether before,
right, them thought soca wascool calypso, we assumed they
didn't.
You know what they're gonnaleave with mevon cool and kit
cool, yeah, and them fellas oninstagram.
And they're talking to us andwe responded you understand.
I mean, we went on yourdecision together, you
understand.
So all of a sudden now and Iain't saying all 10 of them go,

(01:05:34):
but yeah, one, two, yeah, andthat's all it needs to change.
It's okay.
Yeah, because there's ageneration we impact.
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
I think the systemic thing is aserious thing because it starts
with government corporatetrinidad um, the radio stations,
the djs, the promoters.
Right, because the reality is Icould put out a song, but the

(01:05:54):
real impact that a soca artistcould make is in the effects.
Right, you need to be booked,you need to be given a chance to
sing on the stage and if thatis not the case, your song needs
to be played in the effectsgotcha.
If that is not the case, yoursong needs to be played on the
radio.
If that is not the case, itneeds to be funded somehow.
So corporate China needs toinvest in that, yeah, and the

(01:06:17):
government too, of course.
So you see where is a systemicthing?
Is not just a producer givingan artist a chance?
Of course we are on the lowerlevel, bro.
If I put a young artist on arhythm, nobody cares.
I understand what you mean.
Nobody cares.
You're making the effort to doit, but you're seeing it
disappearing.
Yeah, nobody cares.
I'm losing.
Of course, I'm spending themoney and the time and the

(01:06:37):
effort to promote a song and anartist that nobody knows and
nobody cares.
But I'm just doing that for thelove of it, of course, and I'm
doing this year in, year out,and nobody cares.
Yeah, you're doing it knowingnothing's going to come out of
it.
I'm doing it half of the time,90% of the time, nothing's going
to come out of it.
Remember, before I move intoselfish time, right, when you

(01:06:59):
talk like this, I'd ask you whenyou're starting your podcast,
when you're starting to talk,all you fellas got to talk to
one another.
We've been talking.
You know, as I was telling youearlier, adam and I, we started
an online radio show.
Right, we started a real onlineradio show on.
This could have been about10-15 years ago.
On livestreamcom, we inviteartists to the studio, where I

(01:07:22):
am now, and just haveconversations with them.
Yeah, I see you sent me apicture the other day of a free
tongue that is not the freetongue man beard, black, blue,
rash, yeah, no turban.
And I see Kes, you and alllooking like a baby, you and
Adam, young, young, young.
So what was that?
That was just Oli talking tothat's.

(01:07:44):
Before you produced anything,oli was DJing.
I know, saturday Belly Studiogot it.
That was happening in thestudio, but then somebody went
to hip hop gotcha, so you'reknown to people at that time
because I can tell you how hardit is.
Adam was he like.
So yeah, that was a dj, I see.
So artists respect djs morethan producers.
And then I will.
How you come up with this.
This is facts.

(01:08:04):
Why is this?
Because the artists need asoaker dj to play the music.
Remember I was doing hip-hop,but they might need a producer.
All right, yeah, I'm notvaluable to them.
Got it, got, got it, got it,got it, got it.
I don't power on hip hop.
Yeah, I'm not valuable to themat the point in time.
Little did they know.
You never know.
So how was that?
How was them conversationsuntil that time?

(01:08:24):
And that is where I realized Icould carry on a two-hour
conversation with anybody.
Yeah, everybody say only knowone another.
From before I was like, nah, itwas just that.
So I had the practice.
You know, I people say, boy,you should go and work on the
radio.
And da, da, da, da, da da.
I was like that's not mypassion, that's not what I want

(01:08:44):
to do.
I don't want to talk for aliving.
I could really.
I want to be creative.
I don't want to know how toread no script and talk about
ads and big up.
Nah, I don't want to do that.
Yeah, that's the hard part,that's work for me.
Yeah, of course I can't leavemy job to go and do our next job
.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You see how much people from theministry in the comments to
tell that, like the poona, andit's confirmed, everybody's like

(01:09:07):
yeah, I remember right that wedidn't get to get to last time
room lai lai lai was one of themwe talked about, yeah, and um,
one of them I want to ask youabout was, um, I ask you about
every time.
Right, that, that nadia.
But we never really talkedabout sugar daddy.
That is you too.
Yeah, so nadia.
That was the first time I metnadia nadia is nadia at the time
when she was already very bigat it.

(01:09:29):
Yeah, but that was during covidtoo.
All right, that's just why thissong, like they're so long ago
to me.
Yeah, that was during COVID.
I was 21, I think 21 or 22,around there.
But again, right, shit, that'sreal recent.
Yeah, everything now this songis like forever, but that's
going to be one of the biggest.

(01:09:50):
But that was a beat and I wantedto find something for Patrice,
I see.
So the beat was kind oftailored to Patrice, that kind
of Bajan Bunks kind of vibe, andI sent it to them and they
didn't like any of the demos and, nah, they was like, hey, well,
if nobody taking it, I wait formyself.

(01:10:10):
So let me ask you this when yousend it out, you send it out to
people at the same time.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, got it, gotit.
I said Aiko is a producer, sowe have a producer whatsapp chat
, I see.
So Aiko is her manager, right,right and um, he's a producer as
well, so I'm closer to him,right.
I didn't know Nadia at all and Ireached out to him and I sent
him a million and he's like thisone, real bad.

(01:10:34):
She like this one.
I was like, well, I'm trying tomake it a rhythm, but so far
nobody bites.
So I was like, give me a littlewhile, and if nobody bites,
sure, I'll give it to her.
And I sent her the beats andshe sent back the idea for sugar
daddy and I was like, well,yeah, let me go one time,
because this is a vibe and thisis COVID, this is 2022.

(01:10:54):
So I said, well, boy, we insideshe should video everything.
And that, to me, was one of myfirst major sockets.
Yeah, because I had same withBlacks and all them other things
.
But Sugar Daddy was a song thatstill plays in.
Suffice, that party song.
She know how to do that, though.
Yeah, she should write it onthing herself.

(01:11:16):
Or you had a demo for that.
Nadia's a writer.
Yeah, she's writing all thesongs.
Yeah, nadia's writing all thesongs.
So, as I said, people likeNadia, second Star, I know she
would've been writing.
But when they hear somethingthat you do, if it, yeah, okay,
got it.
Yeah.
But most times Nadez writes allthis stuff.
Nadez writes, yeah, andeverybody else yeah.
And Aiko is a producer.
So when I send him the beats, Iget him back a full song.

(01:11:38):
I see I don't do nothing.
I get harmonies, background andpre-mix everything.
Aiko is a man mixing on thespot too.
Yeah, he knows I get him back afull, nice project.
Yeah, yeah, one time.
What I could, I could organizetoo.
Right, I could get a colorcoordinated things there
backgrounds in pink, leads inblue, ad libs in green.

(01:12:00):
That makes some sense.
If I learn how to do that, Imake less mistakes.
When I go send a locker session, it's ready for mixing, it
ready, right to go.
Yeah, and that's already therelationship with her and I
started Right From that and Ithink after that she trusted me
and I decided to send every yeardo beats and send it to them,

(01:12:22):
gotcha.
So when I send the beat forevery time, I kind of hinted but
I didn't believe in her song atall.
Yeah, you were saying so.
Yeah, when they sent it back, Iwas like wait boy, my
expectation was real high and Iwas like this night boy, so you
finish singing back on youralien, like it.
Yeah, full song.
Yeah, we're here now.
The song never changed and Iwas like I go boy, I thought I'm

(01:12:45):
not sure, I don't think there'sit.
Yeah, you know, because it justfelt worthy to me and that time
she had market out to me andthat time she had market out, so
I, comparing this to market, soI saying this, not better than
market to me at the point intime, and I was like nothing.
So I sent it around and Cohensent back an idea and I was like

(01:13:07):
this idea cannot be added lifeafter fat, like the concept.
Melody Israel, cohen is MelodyGod sent back and I was like you
know what?
I don't want to do this withCohen alone.
Nadia, have a song, then wejust show it out on that two man
rhythm, right, yeah, so we payit out and boy, people just
latch on to that every time.
I don't know if it's becausemarket get beat so much.

(01:13:29):
People just latch on to thenext best thing after that.
Yeah, I don't know.
I don't know Because Maketo'salready I mean Maketo's gone,
maketo's done like two millionviews and things.
Seriously, yeah, that song hita million views in like a week
or so, one month or somethinglike that.
Yeah, kind of universal thetheme of it.
But, boy, let me tell yousomething, because that's the

(01:13:50):
way it feels every time you takea drink.
You know what I mean.
But she has a way of doing thattoo.
In her writing and, as I said,she wrote the whole thing, sent
back the idea I go send thissession.
It was easy to mix, it doesn'tlevel up color coordinates, it
was quick, it was quick, quick,quick.
But but I didn't believe, I didnot believe in it.

(01:14:14):
Yeah, you say that I just wantto go work.
You say so.
When we say comparison, it's um,yeah, the tea for joy, that's
what it was.
I suppose I was comparing it tomarket and I say to myself, nah
, boy, day's night, boy, yeah,like I tell you, since we record
for the weekend and keep oncoming back, like coincidentally
, randomly, as I bring up DJAdam, I meet him as a fellow the
other day, sean, and Sean say,because he was asking like what

(01:14:37):
are you doing?
And I show him the last episode.
He's like my friend Adam, andthem is my boys, i's the first
man to let him DJ.
We are little small gigs inBobby's since back then.
And then I saw something elserecently where I want to say
it's New York, but I'm not surewhere it was where Lyrical
brought Roda on stage to presentour word for him and then

(01:14:57):
somebody's like you know, myphone don't it suck, it's major
damage.
You would have been, you'd belike what would that come about?
Now, that's deliberate.
So Lyrical had the song.
He wrote it on a different beat, right, and he was like I don't
feel this beat giving me thevibe I want, right, so let's do
over the song and do it overtotally.
And he's like well, lyricalwhen he's in Trinidad.

(01:15:18):
He stays really close to whereI am.
Oh, indigo, yeah, so lyrical.
If he has any recordings to dowhen he's here, he comes by me,
right, so help me with this boy.
So he sent it to us and westarted working on the beat and
we would have here explained thevision that he wanted and we

(01:15:39):
slowly developed the new beatand then he did the vocals and
he said well, I want to get ridof this.
It was him alone, yeah, it wasjust him alone.
And he's like boy summer, kindathe real Baptist bounce?
Yeah, for sure.
He's like, I feel, our rudderon this.
And he got rudder.
And yeah, the rest of thehistory was real simple, real

(01:16:03):
easy, real straightforward,because he had this song before,
so it's just for him to singover on this new beat and then
invite rudder to do it.
And rudder recorded his vocalsby kit.
Got it, got it, got it.
There's another one of them.
That same thing you say aboutevery time right, like when
people first hear, I thinkpeople, I think nicolai was a
part of that right then too.
Oh, really, yeah, it was me,nicolai and kit, I see, and also

(01:16:25):
um, mastermind productions.
All right, right, master.
So mastermind um works heavilyon lyrical because that New York
connection thing now, right,right, so that was his boy and I
think he wanted some live drumsor something like that recorded
after, and he did it.
Yeah, when you say mastermind,it's the kings and soca parang,
it's you and me alone.

(01:16:46):
I wish I had black cake andsyrup, if I get that, if you get
that.
That's on Spanish show man.
Yeah, every Christmas you'rewatching the top 10 uncut.
Yeah, it's Black Kick andSurrey, and he'll even be there.
Yeah, a lot of radio stationsdon't play and he's still in.

(01:17:07):
Yeah, it's just, it's justknown.
Yeah, for real, because of thesame thing.
Yeah, I guess, I guess we stillgot to fight.
Let me see.
Let me see what this Christmasbrings.
I'm so glad you come andexplain it.
Hopefully before Christmas Iget room to come and explain it
to that easy, bro, so peoplewill understand.
All right, good, good, good,but yeah, it just comes down to

(01:17:28):
the major damage was a real,easy, easy, easy thing.
I was gonna say it's one ofthem.
Two same thing I can say aboutevery time.
People just expect fans justexpect this thing with
collaborations like and you'regoing with too high of
expectations sometimes when youhear Lyrical and Rudder,
especially for people from thatera, but I see that song just
slowly, slowly, slowly become apermanent part of the culture

(01:17:49):
that will be here forever too,you find.
So, yeah, I find it did not getthe love or the space to grow.
No, I agree, because when itfirst came out and it was here,
I don't think people hold on toit, but just watch it.
I think it's one of them that,just because Spanish woman is
one of them, spanish woman hasworked for a long before people
like it.
I was more happy with that, andtwo of them too.

(01:18:15):
I feel good to see that.
Well, I'm lyrical about Belmontboy, you know, yeah, really,
he's Belmont.
Yeah, so he's a Belmont boy.
So I think he is kind of righta passage I understand.
Coincidentally, next week I havean episode coming out of that
girl from Belmont, tyco.
She's living in Belmont, she'sa playwright, right, I know Tyco

(01:18:36):
, you know Tyco.
Yeah, yeah, slim and Gossesyeah, tyco is something else.
Jameet and Jarell yeah, she andJarell, I did their song.
Yeah, I forget.
All in the same bowl.
Jameet Oman, I do that.
Blacks, jor-el really doharmonies to me.
I see, look at that.

(01:18:56):
And Jor-El is a pangil, yeah,but they're in the culture,
culture.
So I mean I really enjoytalking to them.
So even my relationship withJor-El and Antaika and them, I
learned.
But I would have learnedthrough the friendship and the
relationship with these people.

(01:19:17):
They got Jarell, man Jarell,yeah, they solid, I will get
Jarell here one day too.
But she was talking aboutteaching Jarell in Belmont in
the arts and the point we weremaking is that both of us are
saying, hey, why would you go toschool in Belmont?
Because my wife's teaching herschool in Belmont, right, and I
find every little child inBelmont should know lyrical from
Belmont and rudder from Belmontyeah, we just skip past all
them things.

(01:19:37):
You know, yeah, you know.
But I'd ask I tried this withKenny, I tried this with the
rudder, I tried this with a fewother greats, right, no way.
And I had to try to ask you thisof your production.
Should I expect this of myproduction?
Yeah, for you, okay, yeah, whatwould be those for party had to
be there, party there, thesignificance of my first road

(01:19:57):
match party has to be there.
Imagine that.
I think come home has to bethere before you go, party being
, when you start off and whereyou started from road match and
them things in your mind likeyou feel you would have been, no
, even up to then.
No, yeah, I appreciatedroadmatch this year, right
Before that, I was never achaser of roadmatch Really Never

(01:20:18):
.
So with Patrice, now it wasmaking her run, which, patrice,
not anxiety, the one you saidyou would have done before, like
yourself, like yourself, thatwas the same year as come home,
as come home, right, yeah, 2023.
But what ended up?
Winning road matches?
You say Hard Fet, hard Fet, won.
So it wasn't them three.
Come Home came second and LikeYourself came third, right.

(01:20:40):
So I remember being in a Fet inthe Oval and you know Angus,
eve, angus turned that up.
Yeah, I'm going to say they go,man, and when he's leaving they
go.
And this was ring dong,different in that song.
Everybody in the feds sayingboy, these songs, and I'm just
like nah, but I like yourself.

(01:21:00):
So all then, you're notstudying your road mattress at
all.
Um, when I noticed how bipolarit was, I realized it was team
Nyla versus team Bungie, it washard fed versus come home.
I started to back myself, toback my song, you know.

(01:21:23):
But as I said in the lastpodcast, that wasn't a song I
believed in.
That wasn't a song we say we'regoing on win road match with.
That was never the intention.
I just wanted remember comehome right after COVID.
That wasn't a song we say we'regoing on win road match with.
That was never the intention.
I just wanted remember come onright after COVID.

(01:21:44):
It was right after COVID.
I had no songs before that.
I had no power soccer songs.
So I was just glad for theopportunity that I have a big
song out and remember that wasdone, for the song was written
for Marshall and Destra, right,yeah, yeah, you understand.
So I, when I realized thatwasn't the case, I was just like
, okay, cool, that's our song,yeah.
And then Come Home came outbefore.
Like Yourself, right, I'mserious.

(01:22:05):
It came out December 31st, allyears day.
Ah, got it, got it Right.
And, like Yourself came out inJanuary.
So to me, my first Marshall songis a song with Patrice.
It's like 10 years since Bandof the Year.
I was banking on my song I said, boy, like yourself, even
though it's not a road map song,my focus was like yourself,

(01:22:28):
yeah, yeah, yeah, because that'smy first Marshall song.
I understand, I understand as asoccer producer, of course
that's a big deal, that's a bigdeal, of course you understand,
not saying or trying todowngrade, it's not diminishing
anything else, but I understandit's just.
I know I had other songs in thepipeline to release still, so I
just had come work, come homecame out and I said, cool, but

(01:22:51):
yeah, come home, yeah, up toyesterday, when you post the
things, you see how that go, boy, yeah, you post the thing, come
home and then party, yeah, andparty.
So I didn't.
Roadmatch was never I focus onyeah, I was under the accolades
and I still am right to say well, I work at Marshall or I work
at Patrice, or I have a big songwith Nile and Skinny.

(01:23:11):
Yeah, I song with with nile andskinny.
Yeah, I like that.
That's your joy coming fromthere.
Yeah, because that's why I doit.
I'm not doing music to win acompetition.
If I do.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
But that is not my motive in inor in in creating it from start
, got it?
You know, I am not motivated bywinning the road match.

(01:23:33):
I was like no, gonna.
Actually, if you feel like youmotivated by winning a road
match, I'm not going to ask.
If you feel like You're goingon a road match Runs, that's not
the intention.
Just do what you do.
I mean, I feel like I should Dopower soccer songs Because I'm
good at it, you know.
But If it, that's something,that's so.
If it don't come, it don'tbother you.
Yeah, yeah, okay, okay.
So party you have as one.
When's the second one?

(01:23:53):
Come home, come home, come homefor sure.
Yeah, um, it's four or five init.
Four, four, come home Party.
Oh, it's really important to metoo, buddy, as my productions
are looking.
Yeah, your productions for now,you get to the next one.
Yeah, your production's for now, we'll get to the next one.

(01:24:13):
It could be any genre.
Yeah, any genre, your call.
I think I think Annie had to bethere At least this week.
Tell us anything, annie there,I think Annie had to be there,
right, and I think, from mytrapso days, my hip hop days, I
think I'll put Nah Boy Boy, Iwas waiting to hear Over.
I was waiting to hear overpumping.
Yeah, I was waiting to hearwhich one of them you would
choose Nah Boy over pumping.
Nah Boy gave us so muchopportunity, right, yeah,

(01:24:36):
pumping opened the door, but NahBoy made people take us
seriously.
Yeah, I guess.
Well, I mean, both of them willplay.
Even now, if you're doing a hiphop set, people will speak to
you.
So for me, I put in songs thathad significance.
Yeah, in some sense significantor pivotal moment in my career.
Right, annie, it was the samething.
Come home right and party.
Well, I was going to ask youabout rushmore artists you work

(01:24:58):
with, but I had to assume it'sthe same thing is easy.
Well, you know.
Funny enough, I never had asong with guess, not yet.
Yeah, you're working on it.
I had demos with kiss, right,and I would have recorded kiss
for other people's songs, right,but I do have original song
with guess, so that's on yourto-do.
Yeah, bungee and Fionn yeah,yeah, yeah, and multiple songs
with Bungee and Fionn Okay, good, through, nikolai, right, you

(01:25:21):
know my Monroe Schwab artists,marshall, bungee I want to make
this interesting.
Destra boy yeah, up there, Ifeel we had a pedestrian there
too, right, and I had to putsomebody from the old school,

(01:25:43):
mm-hmm, too much names, exactly,yeah, boy, is there any more
Pokédex?
Yeah, too much names, exactly,yeah, boy, is there any Pokédex?
Yeah, um, for me, boy, I thinkI'll put Kitchener boy.

(01:26:03):
Really, you know, I wentstraight back to Dingo boy.
Is that Dingo thing?
Because not just that, I couldgo back to primary school too.
I remember the first time wehad like a primary school juvie
jump up right, and the firsttime we had like a primary
school juve jump up Right, andthe song that we learned was it
was Beez.
Oh, yeah, it could have beenthat era for sure, yeah, yeah.

(01:26:23):
Ms Brung again.
Yeah, I reached out to her, youknow.
Oh, nice, nice.
You must send her the episode,man, you must hear it to her son
and her son said she saw thething and she was really happy.
So I feel like Kitchener boy.
Yeah, I feel I'd represent forthe Digo.
Alright, we accept that.
We accept that.
Clemen, marshall, as a Westmantoo, carnage, you know, I didn't

(01:26:45):
know that.
Yeah, I find out.
That must be.
If it's this, if it's not thisyear, it's last year.
Des Desha went to James Techtoo.
Yeah, I know Desha and Maximus,right, yeah, maximus.
Yeah, I play more West people.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, all right,all right.
Bungee, parima.
I was at Marshall and Separia.
So when I heard him say somemore carnage, I was surprised.
So, marshall, bungee, desha.

(01:27:09):
Somebody tell me a little birdie, tell me, I hope and you don't
answer this if you don't want tobut somebody tell me, catch
down on the road match next yearalready.
Well, I heard it.
It's good, I work to do.
You're not accepting that?
Your time, I work to do.
I hope we don't have him herebefore he said he'll come.
I hope we don't have him herebecause I'm in private school

(01:27:33):
with colonel.
Colonel is our man, our realstories.
Colonel needs to be here.
I was surprised.
I was here before him, butcolonel is.
I don't like my thing.
You know my phone, don't likenothing and don't share nothing.
I do, as I see you sharesomething, I say let me message
my phone because you want totell you the truth.
Right, I was always like when Ifirst started off, a part of
the journey is really it's thesame thing you're saying, like
working with brother, I want todocument the men while they're

(01:27:55):
here.
So when I list people to workwith for for podcasting or to
tell this story, it's real oldschool I go and trust the writer
with this one, that one, thatone down.
But I intimidated to talk to menfrom now because my knowledge
about them way stronger.
Like I know I'd be like shit.
I don't know, yeah, I can'treally talk to all you stronger.
Like you know, I used to belike shit.
I don't know.
Can I really talk to Oli, butyou know what's been real

(01:28:16):
interesting.
Most of the people who fromwell, you, you're a different
old soul, but most of theyounger people who I'm talking
to now, they know way more aboutour history than me, oli fellas
, real connected and staying, asyou say, students of it.
If it's one thing I would sayabout the producers in Soka is
that we, we have a tight bond, alot of.

(01:28:38):
We have a a producer's WhatsAppchat and thing, right, not
everybody, but a lot of us andwe work really close with each
other and even for each other.
You know, sometimes I recordother people's songs.
I would have a session to dobackups for somebody else's song
, or they're not available andthey need a studio.

(01:28:59):
I'd record it for them and sendthem the vocals.
But thank God for that.
I was asking about the collabthing.
Thank God for that with Padi.
Look how the story for Padicome out, yeah, yeah.
So thank God for that kind ofrelationship and bond between
the producers, you and bondbetween the producers.
Yeah, it's important, it'sreally important because even
for pushing the sound and thegenre forward, I can't do it

(01:29:20):
alone.
As I say, if you want to go fast, go by yourself.
If you want to go far, go withothers.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
And it's the same thing becauseI happen to stumble upon and I
say when I see you, I'm notexpecting to watch, nothing, I'm
doing.
I think I'm doing this for mymother.
I'm doing this for my mother.
I come in here and I know mymother, go watch.
I have one person just like yousee, the same way you talk

(01:29:40):
about mummy.
That's mummy for me.
She watching, she don't carewho come.
I knew your video had like closeto 100,000 views on TikTok.
Oh, mummy, you video nothing todo with this.
Why my name?
But, yeah, I saw, when are younow?
My mother was really happy tosee that.
I am so glad how I could sharethis whole clip.
You know, when they repost onInstagram it's kind of yeah,

(01:30:00):
yeah, yeah on the stories, likeI want the whole clip to share.
Good, good, good.
She had to get her credit.
Thanks to mommy, the song couldhave got shelf, she could, yeah
, I.
I was surprised when I see youthink I was like this man watch
this from the cpu come.
So, yeah, I could definitelycome because them stories it had
to be too.
I was telling somebody recentlythat I mean I real glad to have

(01:30:22):
at least documented rudder by byum kenny, by colin lucas, but
when you think of it, right,just what you and kit and all
are doing, if, if you talk toall of them back to back, you're
really talking about the same.
If you talk to all of them backto back, you're really talking
about the same era.
You're talking about the sametime, the same stories.
So after a while it's like,okay, you had a that idea of
pushing the genre forward.

(01:30:42):
We're going back to 1970,something in challenge rules, to
talk about what they did topush the genre forward.
So why not talk to men who, init, mix it up?
I'm telling you how similar itis.
Well, let's just say, like boy,I just make them beat on
anything and I call this one thestories behind it.
I think it's critical.
Yeah, you should do like acompilation of us and them to
see how similar the answers are.

(01:31:02):
You see, in the vision.
You see in the vision, becauseone day, while we sit down here,
I will, and everybody wasinvolved in anxiety.
You know what I'm saying.
If I don't have it like that,then we documented it.
If you want the link, I'mmaking it up.
Well, alright, good, good, good, good.
Have it on camera, have itdocumented.
Anybody have it documented.
But I appreciate it.

(01:31:23):
As I say, the second space hasended up opening up.
When I do Kenya, I say I had toplay some of the music too much
people asking about this andthat, and he comments too people
was like, and one of the mostfrequent comments I get was how
do you think done just so?
My mother-in-law was like howdo you happy?
I said, mommy Gail, I bookedthe wrong time, so I appreciate
you coming back.
Thanks for coming.

(01:31:43):
Yeah, I think we need to, and Iwant to say too that part of
what I do is not.
I realized somebody was herelast week, last weekend.
They were saying you know, it'sa life story, yeah, but life
story to end.
So, as we continue to add to it, come back, let me talk.
You know what I mean.
I think it would be interestingto have like a panel.
You know, somebody told me thatjust yesterday Get me, like
Kenny me, mix it up and see,have a big discussion.

(01:32:07):
You gonna lead the panel.
Yes, you only did it.
In true, I don't mind.
Yeah, for real, I don't shyaway from things.
I like that, I like that, Ilike that I could do the panel,
but I want to facilitate it.
I'm young Keniger too.
Yeah, I've heard.
Yeah, I've been on my Kenigerall the time.
I've heard.
I don't mind.

(01:32:27):
I think the conversations kindof brewing and they could kind
of see trends that I didn'texpect to know.
That the same thing I do in mystory, or my version of it now,
is the same story that they had,you know.
So, having the conversationsyou know, it kind of realized.

(01:32:49):
Wait this thing a little more,even to add to what you're
saying.
You see that I am very.
I watched you and Kit last weekin them videos, right, you know
what's real interesting?
I was telling you when I wasediting your video, right, how
your faces change when they getserious.
This man is me laughing andthings when you're talking about
and you know I saw it in Oli'svideo when because I know Kit

(01:33:11):
for a long time in her next lifetoo just around.
And Oli video when because Iknow Kit for a long time in her
next life too just around.
And when Oli went behind thatboard.
You watch back the video, right, you see when men go more than
Oli thing with the trail, it wasjust like both Oli and I was
like shit, you know.
But the fact that other islandsor other territories or other
people could recognize ourgreats before us, we had a

(01:33:32):
change of mind.
We're middle-aged now.
We can't still here be talkingabout the government do this and
corporate do this.
We's the government now andwe's corporate, but this is not
the first time.
Last year we did a song withFather Fox and Nikita that the
tourism board of Barbados flewus across.
Yeah, so then, how come it hasso many schools in Digo?

(01:33:55):
Let me just say where you livein yeah, why wouldn't we have a
ministry education?
That calling only on a regularbasis to have music teaching
every year?
You went St James', you wentboys' school.
You know what I'm saying?
Even during Carnival, I wasspeaking to the whoever running
the Instagram page for St Jamesand, um, they did the video for

(01:34:17):
party, the competition, right,and I was like.
I was like, hey, you know, Idid the song.
I went, I went, I went to theschool and I was like serious,
and they started to share it andI was like, yeah, I was like I
don't mind coming back to talkto them.
Yeah, exactly, they did it.
Okay, nice, good, they did itBecause I'm friends with people
on the alumni and things Got it.

(01:34:38):
But I guess they need anorganization and structure.
We had to help change it.
We had to change it ourselves.
It's not going to change us.
I don't shy away from them.
Teachers, busy, busy.
You was in a ministry beforeeverybody busy.
So if we do this one by one andchange them things, I hear for
it, and a panel is a part of theway to do that.

(01:34:58):
Yeah, because this is educationmultiple interviews in one
episode.
Well, think about this.
So a part of a part of mypurpose now is so that I I I
spoke to a man yesterday.
I call him alvin daniel.
You remember alvin daniel usedto calypso showcase.
So I doing I had to do so muchresearch watching his show and I
said, but if I'm watching ashow from the 80s, 90s, somebody

(01:35:20):
had to do a show now Becauseyou had to see how you had
Muhammad and them fresh face.
They had to see all of themhere now.
Then they had to see all ofthem great up all these youths.
It's important and importantand that is the education,
because at least if they have ayou if this is some, don't fix
it before we go and they have ayoutube curious, the youth must

(01:35:41):
pull up my phone and see aboutthree hours.
Well, that is a big problem thatI think exists in china, not
just in soca music.
But documentation is a seriousissue.
We have here they from ourhistory as a country, there's
not a lot of documented, um, Idon't know, like it's not well
documented, nothing and whatdocument is difficult to access.

(01:36:03):
A lot of it is in membrane.
Yeah, so that's why, if we comehere, become into it in your
brain.
No, because they'd have nocurriculum developer who come in
and sit down and say, mevonon,kit, casey, kyle, kyle, whoever,
yeah, come, I want to get allyour experiences and put it on
Spotify.
It does not happen.
It doesn't exist.
No, it does exist.
So we had to change it.

(01:36:24):
Let me change it right here.
We're still in the recording.
It's good, yeah, when we seeyou and Daron stay out of the
box.
I only had to meet one another.
I don't mind.
I don't mind.
I'm always up for them.
Things, bro, alright, good.
So the panel is the next step.
I did, thank you.

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