DJ Bravo: The Mindset Behind the Champion | Corie Sheppard Podcast

DJ Bravo: From Santa Cruz to Global Champion | The Corie Sheppard Podcast

Dwayne “DJ Bravo” Bravo is one of the most iconic cricketers in the history of West Indies cricket and one of the most successful T20 players of all time. In this episode of The Corie Sheppard Podcast, Bravo reflects on his journey from growing up in Santa Cruz and playing cricket in Tranquillity to becoming a global champion on the biggest stages in world cricket.

Bravo shares powerful stories about his upbringing, the influence of his father, and the early mentors who shaped his discipline and love for the game. He explains how joining the Queen’s Park Cricket Club as a child transformed his understanding of structure and professionalism, ultimately setting the foundation for his international career.

The conversation explores Bravo’s debut for West Indies at Lord’s under Brian Lara, the sacrifices he made early in his career, and the mindset that helped him thrive under pressure in high-stakes moments. Bravo also discusses the evolution of T20 cricket, his role in redefining the all-rounder position, and how his success helped inspire the next generation of West Indies cricketers.

Beyond cricket, Bravo opens up about building the 47 brand, trademarking his identity as an athlete and entertainer, and his unexpected journey into music. He recounts the story behind his global hit “Champion,” the influence of Jamaican dancehall culture, and how his friendship with Beenie Man helped introduce him to the music industry.

The episode also dives into leadership, discipline, fatherhood, and Bravo’s transition into coaching, where he now focuses on developing young players and giving back to the sport that shaped his life.

This is a candid and insightful conversation about ambition, resilience, Caribbean culture, and what it truly means to be a champion.

Topics Covered

• Growing up in Santa Cruz and Tranquillity
• Early cricket development at Queen’s Park Cricket Club
• Making his West Indies debut at Lord’s
• Playing under Brian Lara
• The rise of T20 cricket and the modern all-rounder
• Building the 47 brand and trademarking his identity
• The story behind the song Champion
• Dancehall, Beenie Man, and Bravo’s music journey
• Leadership, discipline, and handling pressure
• Coaching and developing the next generation of cricketers

Watch / Listen to the full episode.
Click the link in my bio for the full episode.

#coriesheppardpodcast #djbravo #westindiescricket #champion #47 #t20cricket #caribbeanculture #trinidadandtobago #cricketlegend

Transcript

Tranquil Roots And Early Discipline

Corie 0:01

We good? Welcome to the Cory Shepherd Podcast. Welcome back to everybody who's been listening. Thank you for all the new listeners, David. So watch your camera and sword. I have today at a tranquil man. I like to come here and talk about Fatima all the time. I'm going to have a tranquil man. Because people know that I do so I repeat so much times in Fatima, they pull them out. I do A levels and tranquil. And bumps up this man playing cricket in Tranquil Days. On Bravo. Everything good? Respect. It's a pleasure to be here. Good job. Pleasure, that pleasure having you here. Remember the Tranquil Days? Yeah, yeah. Bring up Pops. Bring up Pops. Yeah, boy. Paul Clark, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Paul Clark is the reason. David, I could have been playing with Bravo in IPL. I'm thinking about Paul Clark is the reason why I was, I never, I never continued. I'm telling you something. When I was in Fatima, I was playing, right? When I switched, uh, it's another day I went and everybody in there white something. And I have on a short pants. Rebellious and no discipline. I have on our short pants. I'm a coach salute to Mr. Ram that's anytime. Tell me, go ahead and play. He said, You'll be just feeling today. Go ahead. And I in a black short pants when I'm putting a white. And Paul Clark, you remember the coaches used to umpire the game? Yeah. Paul Clark says, He can't play. Yeah. No discipline. And put more off. And he had an extra no discipline. When I read Tranquil, I'll say Paul Clark. I see me and play with no ball back. But the true story might also be that Bravo batten in the network. I see Jackson. You remember doing Jackson? Jackson was bowling and Bravo Batten. I said, Alright, I can't make this things back. Hey, let me start with most important things first. Ways we doing your father, boy. They'd be real frightening, man.

Father, Food, And Family Bond

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Everybody's always um look forward to that to that and talk about it. Um but my father, uh myself, we share a very strong, strong bun. Um my mom as well, but my mom obviously, um my dad is the one who cooked for me. And the moment since I leave Santa Cruz and um move out when I was 17, 18, them kind of age, yeah. Um, my father took it upon himself to be that person to cook. I can't cook. Yeah, up to no, still I can't cook. Even though my father is one of the best cooks, yeah. Um I can't cook, and I never even try to cook, you know. So um, and yeah, since I moved off from Santa Cruz, first place I was Marval, and then I moved to the east. Um he just charging along no matter where I go. Yeah, and he just comes and cook early. So uh if people see on my social media by 10 a.m. my food done. Yeah, yeah, I don't have breakfast, I don't have eggs and them kind of thing on the morning. No, food. Jamaican style, you eat food on food, proper food, proper food.

Corie 2:46

It's real nice to see that interaction at all. You know, he's a man needy on channel because he is a whole vibe you're talking about. He love for Kaison thing before we start to.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Yeah, yeah. Uh growing up, um, you know, back in the days, me growing up, it was just like two main radio stations, um, 98 and 96. Right, right. Right. And my elder brother, um, Lyndon Bravo, he um he's big in dance hall, right? I'm a father. We used to have to hide to listen to them kind of radio stations at the moment we know that daddy coming home, yeah. And then switch them stations. He's looking for 105. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's how so I used to call my we call our dad Morgan. Right. And that's his nickname. He gets that nickname because of the show Morgan. You know, Morgan Job who passed away.

Corie 3:36

Right, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Right. This is because of that guy, that name stick on my father. My father, yeah. That he said I was listening to Morgan Job. Right. Right, true. Morgan Job, Morgan. So we didn't call him Morgan, and that name stick on him.

Corie 3:55

Morgan Job was serious.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Yeah, and I'm not missing that boss. And it's like, so growing up, these are the things the the disciplines that we had as as they didn't grow up naturally, where wherever is whatever, you know, even thing like news. Like for me, I still watch news. Yeah, yeah. Like if I retrown before 7 p.m., everybody who around me know news time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't talk where I watch my news.

Corie 4:25

Yeah, but you're frightening the man in our way, so you talk about him good, but boy, is it you know the prank thing run through the family? That one time I see your daughter catch you with a crack TV screen. I ain't think I laugh so in a long time. Is your face when you come and see you? You really believe she catches you.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yeah, she catches her, but my my reaction was then like like for me, my first thing was okay, I have to call. I have a guy named Ravi. Right? He's he's my guy that anything I need. I need a phone, I need a flight book, I need something pay quick. Yeah, Ravi. Yeah, sort out this thing. I need an iPad sort of so at that moment then when I see it, I was like, fuck yeah, boy. So then I started dipping my pocket, right? Taking over a phone and she daddy way doing it. I said, I'm gonna call Uncle Ravi, like you know, because to me it's okay, I have to ban your TV now.

Corie 5:22

You know, there's not much I could do again. Different from when we grew up, right? You can imagine you break down for this TV screen long time. That's a different story. Nobody can call no Ravi now. Different kind of ravi getting called lit. Yeah, lit for sure. More home things, right? How the 47 mansion going a seen it coming along?

Radio, Culture, And Morgan Job

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Yeah, it's been a while. Um, two years, a year and a half, two years building. Um, I always wanted to have, you know, when I finished playing, because most of my time I travel. And you know, I always wanted my dream house at the back end of my career. But then I had a house there that you know I was feeling comfortable. You know, man, I get here. I don't need no, you know, I live by myself, you know, single life, you know, that kind of thing. And then my brother Darren, right? Because he's big into that. He's big into building and these kind of things. And um, he has his own company. And he said, he has to build my house for me. I was like, build my house. I say, but have a house, like a good, like, you know, nice. Yeah. He was like, nah. So where you achieve and what you achieve in life, and you know, where you come from, you need to have a house that is your identity, your liking. And I said, um it was half him to convince me. Then he he and my manager both have that conversation, and the two of them decided, yeah, we have to do that. And so once they decided, I said, okay, well, then let me look for the land, and we get the land, and so happen. I get the land in the same compound.

Corie 6:55

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

So we are now. Yeah, so basically I'm old neighbor. I walk out my house, I walk on the next street, my next house there, you know, and uh so now when I see it, I really happy that I make the decision to go ahead and build it because it's really something that really matches my personality. And um, my children and everybody and my friends could come over and relax and enjoy it. It's spacious, it's it's modern, and so I'm grateful.

Corie 7:24

Yeah, and the family vibe is like from just being Trin Begonian and the pride that I feel when I drive by the savannah and watch Lara House. Yeah, you know, you go by the fet. I guess it it makes sense. So the Bravo Fet when it comes, right? When the time comes, 47th party in the mansion, yeah. The 47th party, the 47th party. And that's about 47. Why 47? How you come up with the number?

SPEAKER_01 7:49

That number was given to me when I make my debut for West Indies. Um, so um 2004, make my one-day international debut. The first thing you want to see is what number I get. You know, some people had the opportunity, the choice to pick a number. Right. My number was given to me. So, how come you couldn't pick it? Just run your number. Yeah, they do it, they just give. So, like I said, some people, some players back then had the chance to pick, and some the numbers was given. So I remember Brad Shaw and myself, we both get into the team at the same time. He gets 46, I get 47. So when I see the 47, honestly, back then I was like, 47, what kind of number is this? You know, because um if it's my choice, I picked like a number 19, number 14, and I kind of like piggyback on the Stonger and the Dwight Young number kind of thing, you know. So um, but then now 47 become part of me and my brand and who I am. So when people see 47, they automatically think about me. And I'm just you know, happy that I was able to take that number and make it my identity.

Corie 9:00

Yeah, well, branding is a thing that you're big on ever since.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Huge. Um, I I always believe that um as an athlete entertainer, um, image is everything, and also your brand, you know how, and I I take a lot of pride in my brand and myself, and like I said, everything is C47, uh DJ Bravo, and my my stuff a trademark also. So you do, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think I am my lawyer was actually saying to me that I think is I am one out of three top athletes in the Caribbean that actually have trademarks.

Corie 9:43

Oh, I wish it was different than that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Yeah, no, which is strange. Um, but I think it's myself both and somebody else.

Corie 9:51

Well, is an IP lawyer to tell me the other day that most people when they're most people say they have a brand or they build in it, but they usually wait till it gets momentum or traction. And who advice the people is like do it one time. One time. So the in terms of uh trademarking, the the celebration when you take a wicket, that's also your because see that SEA used that as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Corie 10:11

So Jordan is the first place, nice to do that.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

All that is trademark, so nobody can't go and put that on a bottle or no cup or anything like that. No, uh next idea, David.

Corie 10:24

On to the next one. I had to talk to you about some of them early days, right? Because I was telling you before we started that that salute to Mo and Ali and their podcasters are a great, great podcast. People should take it in. But you know what's still out to me when you're talking to them, you keep saying, nah, I don't get flustered by that. I calm in them situations and things. And I wonder if it started off that way as early as Tranquil and stuff. Because when I by the time I came into Tranquil, by the time people know you're special, you're already on the youth teams and saying you're better than everybody else, you've seen it. Yeah, even from as early as that, you had that temperament?

Pranks, Parenting, And Home Life

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Yeah, as early as six, seven. Yeah, because I remember um so growing up in Santa Cruz, like you know, my elder brother, my cousins, all the guys in the village who are older than me. I will always play whenever they play. And um my father, when I was like about five years old, he took me to Harvard Coaching Clinic. St. James. Yeah, in St. James, yeah. And um when he went to register me, I was too young. I think Harvard at the time wanted you have to be six and over. And uh my dad, so he joined the line here, and then when they told him I cannot have to wait till next year, he comes in this line and change my data. You change my data, but uh they accept me. Right? Yeah, uh and then uncle. He knows that at that age, even at that age, he thinks I'm good enough, you know. And um, so yeah, I always had that gift where I was always just a little better than my peers. So when I was eight years old, there's this guy by the name of Charles Gillen who saw me batten in Santa Cruz in the tennis court, in the basketball court. And Queen's Park was playing Santa Cruz in a game, and he just he just seen this guy just keep looking, looking, looking. But I just batten, like I bat hold, nobody could help me. And after the game had finished, he walked up to me, he was like, Who's your parents? Where's your parents? So I point at my dad and he tells my dad he wants me to come. Queen's back coaching clinic. Queenspa coaching clinic is expensive. Again, back then, of course, different things. There's no way he can afford to make me join Queen's Park. And um Charles said to him, I've given you one job, just bring him before 9 a.m. on Sunday morning. Everything else, he will cover it. And uh that's where my journey started, you know. And I leave Harvard and I joined Queen's Park at 8. Um, with the guidance of that guy, Charles, he was my coach. I always tell people he is my childhood coach and the person who really makes me already love the game, but that joining Queen's Park at 8 get me to understand how discipline structure because such an early age they are very disciplined and very structured. Yeah, yeah, and that is where it is. I think the fundamentals for the sport and the love for the sport started there. Yeah, because I was looking back and your test debut is Lords, Lords in 2004.

Corie 13:49

Yeah, that could be well, you by that time you love cricket, you know the game. So you know what Lords is. I talk more than I'm a pause. I can't imagine having to walk over the first time you compose that thing as well.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Those are things you hear about when you're listening to the game. Um, you know, playing at Lords is like is like an ultimate dream, you know, playing in playing an international match in the Queen's Park oval, you know. So growing up, hearing these things, hearing what West Indies cricket means to the people of the Caribbean and how we see West Indian players like like gods, like heroes, you know. So and um so Lara obviously and myself from Santa Cruz, and you know, so I know of him, see him a few times, but I never thought that when I started to play cricket, that Lara will still be playing.

Corie 14:41

Oh, yeah, I suppose.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Yeah, you know, and it so happened that when I make my debut, he was the captain. And that was like a dream come true, and then again in Lords, and it's like wow, that was our wow factor. Um, so I was 20 years old. I remember I was in England, that was my first tour with West Indies team. And my girlfriend back then, Ayana, would get pregnant with my daughter, Twin East, and when she was born, I was in England. And I wasn't, I didn't see my daughter for like two and a half months. Right.

Corie 15:13

Because them days when you're young.

The 47 Brand And Trademarks

SPEAKER_01 15:15

Yeah, and tour. And my first tour, I can't say, alright, my daughter born, I want to go back home. Can't have that cache yet. Yeah, I know that did. No, I can't do that. I was a little 20-year-old now starting, and I can't think I'll jump on a plane. And then my brother Darren, right? He was coming to England to play some school cricket tournament, and I get them to give him some of the pictures to bring for me so I could see my daughter. Oh, yeah, I guess it's no social media. He loves the pictures.

Corie 15:59

You know what I mean? Making a mess.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Yes, this man, it worked out perfectly. Um, I come back home and you know, first few years. My daughter, my daughter born living in St.

Corie 16:10

Babs for the first year, live until first year and a half of her life, and um then I moved them out, and then even that I like seeing like it was into a family dynamic. I see her. I mean, sometimes when you're watching y'all as fans, you expect that your daughter is still a little baby, you know. Yeah, you know. So when I see her now and I see your support in her business and stuff, she has an aesthetics business, right? Yes, yes, I see your support, yeah. Yep, very present, yeah, doing your facial and all them things. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

Sometimes she sees my face a little, she said, Daddy, what is this? They need some sunscreen, they need to do this. So sometimes she she herself does buy it and bring it for me and all of these things. Um, if I go to get uh a treatment by her, I'll make sure that then I think listen, in the car, you know, we men can take all them pain and all them things, but she uh I'm happy and proud of her. These are things she wanted to do, and for me, I think the most I can do is uh support her ideas and her vision. Um she will make all she make a lot of mistakes, you know, um, which is expected. Uh, but it's good to see that at such an early age, she already thinking business like and all of these things.

Corie 17:21

So that's nice to see. That's nice to see plenty of us when we were back then. It might be studying, looking for a work, you studying spouse and looking for woman or man or whatever it might be. It's good to see that. And even you as a father, because I always always watching you and yourself. I see you on toy tell them how much of kisses you want. You know, them times is passing after a while. They want to give him more kiss again.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Exactly. You keep asking me recently, as he said, Daddy, how long again I have to go before them kisses. Yeah, how old is now? He's he's eight. So why is that only when they reach 10, like 11, you know, they get big now. So, like more, and I did that with all match. Like, Duane's had that moment when she reached like 10, 11. She's like, she knows okay. Stop. My first son, uh, DJ, same thing. Um, and so he's big now, he's 12. So I don't give him much, but the small one, he's getting. Yeah, he he, but he I said, How long again? I said, two more years.

SPEAKER_03 18:16

It's about timeline, honest.

Corie 18:18

I need my 10 kisses every time I see him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, more important questions because the whole country wants to know. I watch you Christmas time, and you have three children, right? David, just make sure we recorded everything on. But we can't miss this advice here. We can't look at advice. It's a selfish question. Yeah, you had three children, yeah. Three mothers, all always in the same pajamas, Christmas time. That's your Instagram. I see that one. We have an hour and a half to figure out how you accomplish that. We have all men in the career. How everybody is it a money thing? Okay, we can do it when we broke no. How would this work?

SPEAKER_01 18:53

No, you can do it with money or no money, you can do it. I think it's that's a matter of how you live your life. And for me, like for people who know me, they know like money didn't change me who I am. Like, I'm like this in school days. Ever since I'm like this everywhere, like and I just try to live a good life. You know, um, I never it was never my dream to grow up and have three kids in three different women. It happened. And for me, I want to make sure that my kids have a good relationship. And I have a good relationship with the mothers, you know, and the mothers have a good relationship with the people. I'm happy that the mothers are mature enough that they are, you know, they know it's for the children and they and they understand where I come from. Yeah, you know, I don't try to like treat one better than the other. And um, so it's it's simple, you know. People say it's uh for me, it's simple. But um the only thing if you don't have obviously that trip will be costly. So I don't think every and anybody could do something like that.

Corie 19:59

No, but I couldn't afford pajamas. As we've done here, I'm gonna buy six pajamas.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

You see, by the end of this year, bravo say, I have it recorded, I'll play for my wife and I have to think the the key is to have mature ladies, and also for me as a person, I don't believe in somebody not speaking to somebody. Yeah, nah, I can't, I don't know how not to talk to somebody or be and yeah, it's not in my yeah, blood and how I see life, you know.

Corie 20:26

So, and we'll say they are mature land, so definitely have to see it has some interaction of that, especially I suppose it's a real blessing with the career or careers that you chose, where there's a lot of travel involved, uh, yeah, you have to be able to trust them, you know, with the children.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Yeah, and that was a special moment because it was also my first time spending Christmas in UE.

Corie 20:48

I see.

Calm Under Pressure From Childhood

SPEAKER_01 20:49

Normally, as years I spend a lot of Christmas and New Year's in Australia, okay, or back home. But this was the first time, and they also wanted to experience what it is like over there. So I just felt that was the right moment. Um, you know, just tell my manager this is what I'm doing, and yeah, it could this percentage of my salary, so it's okay. But say how much fine percentage come over.

Corie 21:14

Yeah, but you enjoy it only on a good time with it.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

What are the first day we went to the um desert, the ride? So you know, there are those bumper trucks, and like and I remember me come off, come out to take some photos. My list and the small one said, Dad, this is the best day of my life. You know, like it it meant so much to him and seeing them enjoy it. But next time he's into cars, you know, and his mom was able to take him down to Dubai and you know, Dubai when it comes to cars and stuff. You've seen all of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that was on his checklist. Right. You know, he needed to go and see those cars, and um, yeah, it was a great, great experience. Everybody again, I know everybody tried to figure out how, even my even my teammates or I screenshot it. I have my own room. There's nobody's sleeping next. No, no, no.

Corie 22:14

It's like so that no fourth person is not you only because I want to know if you're not going to be able to do it. That's it. But the the Christmas day is big, it's like it's yeah, it was.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Um we're sitting in a hotel and it's a festive time of the year, and a lot of you see a lot of people from outside come and they come and people but they're from Europe or Asia, they come and spend Christmas there, and you know, it and the hotel make it very festive. Yeah, so they had a lot of kids-friendly activities, brunches, and and all of this stuff.

Corie 22:46

Yeah, because I remember, if I remember right, I don't know if it was Dubai or UAE, but that's a couple Christmases ago. I saw Lara York and Latapi over there with their families and that kind of thing, too. So we had something to work towards. It was Dubai. Yeah, yeah. Alright, we had something to work towards. We have someone who's I want to go back to where you say about that thing with before money and after money and not changing it, right? I guess because I'm in Tranquil and seeing you just after Tranquil and just around then, because I'd moved and I was living in Jamaica every time or traveling back and forth. A matter of fact, another time I see you in Quad on one night, and then the next night, Sunday night, I see you in um what was the club name in Marval again? Attic. In Attic. You remember them night? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

And I was like, this one has your time, bro.

Corie 23:26

And I guess them times your career again from school, you know it's something special. But it's nice to see your schoolmates and achieving great things. But I always remember, I just glad to see you in Jamaica. Sometimes you're just glad to see you at Trudy.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

Yeah, and you're in the club, and I know you're alive.

Corie 23:43

I said, Bravo, we're drinking. Yeah. And you say, I don't drink. Yeah. And I say, What are you talking about? If I was you, I'd be drunk every living. They'd never get me off alcohol, but still, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:53

You know, yeah, no, still do indulge in alcohol. Um, I remember one time years ago, Lara tried your best to get him. And but you see, you know, you need to drink some, you like you can score some roll runs. Like I was saying, good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But alcohol, I know I could safely say I will never drink alcohol, I will never gamble, and I'll never do no formal drugs. I know that for sure. Uh why?

Corie 24:22

What's what was what was your stance on them?

Debut At Lord’s And Early Sacrifices

SPEAKER_01 24:25

I just felt that obviously growing up, you know, you think, okay, at the reach a certain age, you drink alcohol, right? So your parents will tell you 18 and over 17, 18, 19, right? But when I look at for me, when I was nine, ten years old, I started playing cricket and the love I have for the sport. So I think when I reach 17, I want to start a drink. I think, you know, when I reach 17, 18, I want to make the national team. And I've experienced that my peers in that time, when they come training, who go out the night before and they drink and they hang over and they come back and they're feeling lazy, they can't train. And I never wanted to be like that, you know. So I always go online. When I come for the game in the camera back then, cricket always played in the morning. You know, like now with the nighttime and these things. You know, so I wake up early, I'm fresh, I'm ready to go. So even though I lined the night before, I'm ready to go. Um and then I started to achieve my targets, my goals that I set myself without indulging in these things. So I just realized that is never important. You know, some people drink because they feel they need to fit in. They drink because they only they feel as the only way they could have fun. I achieve all these things without it. So therefore, you have fun part when I go out and people see me dancing, people think I junk. I dance whole night. Party style, I go home. Yeah, right. I I enjoy myself and I don't need alcohol. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I don't need alcohol to make me feel as to fit in. And I'm a wrong alcohol, yeah, you know, but I just like not that's not for me. Yeah, this is what I want to do, and I hit all my goals and achieve all my targets without it. So therefore, I don't need it. Congrats on that.

Corie 26:14

Congrats on that. Even the dancing, like I remember in quote, I remember watching other people's reaction. Yeah, because them days in West Indies already. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I remember some girls need going up, them days is Golly Creeper and Willie Bumps, and you was by yourself, if I remember right. I didn't really see you coming with nobody, and I heard girls say, Wait, is cricket bravo and dance?

SPEAKER_01 26:33

Yeah, yeah, love, love my dancing. Yeah, love my dancing.

Corie 26:40

So is it not like when somebody told me, you know, oh, maybe some day you're saying Bravo to go on to entertainment. I always felt like if I don't know if Bravo was ever not an entertainer.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

Always, yeah. But it's something I always enjoy doing. Um, I enjoy the um flamboyed side of life. And I enjoy dance all and soccer music. I enjoy listening to music. Right. And um so like so so like Beanie. Beanie is somebody who growing up again, you see him like that Michael Jackson kind of person, like you know, like and I never thought that he'll have meet him. I never thought that I ever got a chance to meet Beanie Man. What's the chances of meeting Beanie Man, like someone who so you know, so when I was 14, 15 years old, he's a mega star already, you know? And um and one one day I was in Jamaica, I made a joke with him and I said, like, back then in the first time I went to Jamaica was in 1998. Right? I was 14 years old. Trinidad and to be on a four on a 15 team. And my brother, my elder brother, he was a Bojo fan and I was a Beanie fan. But he used to always tell me, Boojo better than Beanie. Right, and I used to say, nah, I can't never. When you went to Jamaica that that season, that yeah, Bojo will just drop his album till Shiloh. Oh, right. Right, right. And don't matter where you turn in Jamaica, you're hearing Boojo. You're hearing that me. So I remember saying, I said, well, like Booju really better than Bini. So I feel defeated, right? Yeah, that's a little. And then but I come back on my tell my brother nothing. I don't want to make him feel as though you see I tell it out of everybody. So I said, Well, I said, no, and I just keep it to myself and continue to follow Beanie and you know, big for idolizing and stuff. And when I make West Indies team again in England, on that first store, a guy named Bobby, he's a Jamaican. He hears that I'm a Beanie Man fan. And he was like, Yeah, no, man, next time I go back to Jamaica, let me know. Yeah, make a meet him. So I remind him in 2006. So that was 2004 when I meet Bobby, 2006. I went to Jamaica and I linked him. I said, Yeah, why in Jamaica, you know? You feel like you may link? So, yeah, man, hold on. So he called somebody, and the person he called come and meet me in the Pegasus Hotel. Right. Right? And that brethren who came and picked me up to take me to Mid Beanie Man is still my brethren today. Oh, nice, nice. A guy by the name of Reza. Right? And um, he's also one of the Beanie writers, right? And he takes me to Midbini Man. Corey and exaggerated, innit? Remember that time I was like 22 now. Right? Already playing for Western, he's a household name myself. It's the first time in my life I see a next human and I get starstruck. Yeah. Because when I meet Beanie Man for the first time.

Corie 29:48

After walking out at the Lord's faith.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

Walking out the Lords, meeting the queen.

Corie 29:52

I suppose.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

Like being around Lara and all these men and them. When I see that man for the first time, I was like shocked. He said, You brace me, he said, yo. Yeah, he didn't. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, about you in a brava. But you know not more cricket than it. But my brother tell me about you still, you know, everything alright? I say, yeah, right. And he did just that time he was now about to uh he just dating angel. Right, right. His wife, yeah, ex-wife. And so it spent about 20 minutes and then I leave, and then when I was leaving, he lean over his balcony and say, Where you'll be in August? I say, August? I say, um, I'm not sure. I think I'll be in England. He was like, Alright, I'm coming to England. Take my number. He man gave me his number, right? Right. And I reach back in the hotel and I sit down on my bed and I watching Beanie Man number in my phone like this. And I was like, I really get you, baby.

SPEAKER_03 30:54

You made it.

Present Fatherhood And Supporting Kids

SPEAKER_01 30:55

I made it. I say, Oh, I have been man number. I was like, What? I said, Nah. But I know I'm not gonna call him. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:04

But you have it. I have it. I'm happy that I have it.

SPEAKER_01 31:06

And you're cool all now. And now, yeah, that's my brother. Beanie Man will never come to Trinidad. Beanie Man will come to Trinidad now. I will not stay in a hotel. Yeah, say about you. Yeah, he's staying in my house. He will not stay in a hotel. And he is somebody. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, the man, the man does just, he's like a trini. He's like, he's a family embrace him, everybody. Like, hear my father go consult one another. Like, you know. So it's like I just happy that I was able to build a friendship with somebody like him. Yeah, and that's how I get involved in music. So the the the the when I said to him, like, you the king, and I would like to just do one song with you. He said, Yeah, man, simple thing that man. So he cried me to his studio, and the first song I did was a song called Beanie Man and Bravo. Right. With me and Bini and a girl called Tamika Marshall from Guyana. All right, it's another Tamika Marshall. That when how I know music was so difficult. I was like, Wow, I said, Nah, I doing this again.

Corie 32:04

All the things they accomplished, you realize I think hard.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

I was like, I doing that again. I was like, I take that up. I have a song a bit. Yeah, no, that I good. Yeah, yeah, boy. And that way I started to give artists, everybody have the talent. All right, and they start to appreciate artists more and then the craft and stuff. But it's nothing easy.

Corie 32:25

We were talking about it before we start. That that that starting afresh, trend that music, especially, we're starting afresh every single year. Everybody looking, no matter how big your name is, everybody looking to you for what that thing is. But Bini is a funny one you bring up because I remember seeing Bini, because when you're doing that, Jamaica to trend that all the time you're seeing real artists. Like, that's when I know Mota Baruka Israel walk barefoot and no channel, you know what I mean? Yeah, and I remember seeing Bini on his flights, and when he comes out, he just walks out by himself, like solo walk through the airport. I think Corey Rasta Corey meets him and they're going on. Yeah, but you used to do that when you was gonna start, like so. That's the whole thing about money before, money, after money, or fame. Yeah, because I remember asking you when must be asylum at night. It's like we're going back and say must he peg us or something, it's like how you're rich, and he's like, Walk by yourself. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

So you know it's a little worried and uh even like now recently. I went in the bank, FCB in One Woodbrook. Well, I walk another bank, Jesse Farry G escalator, a guy run me down. He's like, bravo, bravo. So you pull out a card and he gives it to me. He says, I do security detail, like you know, security. You realize you're gonna need it. I said security. I say, see me how I walk in. I said, boss, I don't need no security, I don't have security, I don't want no security. I said I said no, I said, boss, this is how I move. Uh no security. I don't move it, security detail, I don't move it. I don't move it a set of people around me. You know, I have one or two brethren or whatever. Right, nice. That's it. Yeah, I no, no, same with five, six, seven. We see being new to brother. Yeah, yeah.

Corie 34:00

Yeah, I see shows where artists come in and with entourage, we could bust your friend. Wow, yeah, 20 men, yeah, be me.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Still waiting. Yeah, you see it only times. Like I don't know why it is, but I see some even again. I just mentioned so cart, some artists moving now. We're seeing a serious entourage.

Corie 34:22

I mean, another cameraman if it's referring to security, uh brother. I see I see I mean many, many times I see you do it, you're just walking alone. I go that by myself partner.

SPEAKER_01 34:31

I look in, I go and look for two girls and then I leave.

Corie 34:34

Man, and say one of them. You getting the answers here, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

I go by myself, I leave by myself. I leave it somebody, but you know, I can't deal with it. I don't live my life like that. You know, like the other day I traveled from Port of Spain to St. Augustine, and people is like, You traveling? Like, yeah, because I travel, remember from Tranquil? He said, Well, from Tranquil to Dom Talk.

SPEAKER_03 34:59

Yeah, walk.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

And I live in St. James, I have no reason to walk downtop.

Corie 35:02

We just walk in some calls up more.

Blended Family Harmony Explained

SPEAKER_01 35:05

Walk down and then they're gonna take a maxi and they go away. Like, I enjoy them things still.

Corie 35:11

Yeah, even then, because when I came in, I was playing basketball. And when time for cricket trial, it's like bravo and bravo and bravo. I said, Well, who's bravo? You know, because we we play basketball, we only form six blocks, and it's it's big big boy tick. You can't lie me here to do that. And I see bravo, I say, well, this is little you asked. Take advantage of you there.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

Very still in champion and the nets, right? And and the court is right there. Yeah, but they say you can play cricket and play basketball, though. Yeah, yeah. Not gangster, yeah, they're boys.

Corie 35:47

Yeah, because you're to run up to balls in basketball court, you're starting to know. But then again, it's the same thing you're saying, because when you see a matter of fact, Bravo was one of the men used to lime on the phone six blocks from New York Saturn. Nobody couldn't really line. But again, simple, just cool, and just being who he is. So that even in those early days, you're starting to transition. By the time you reach Tranquil, people realize you have a talent, as you say, from six and me. And you're starting to play cricket now on youth teams. So you would have go from playing cricket where only parents and family and friends watching to when the crowd's starting to get bigger and bigger and bigger. How are you maintaining your head at that point in time? Because that's another thing. I never see you swell-headed or how you maintaining it?

SPEAKER_01 36:28

You just because again, my how I my upbringing was um both my parents, mom and dad, very simple, humble, and so that embedded in me. So I don't think that could ever come out, you know. And then um, as you say, from school cricket, like I was always a star, even in school. You know, I was the best. Early girls, bravo gears, and again, even with the girls thing, people think is now I gain girls because I have money. No, I have to talk more.

Corie 37:06

I inform six and I repeat, so I don't know. And Bravo would have been form two, three coming up, and men, the girls inform six. Yeah, yeah. We get the rest whenever Bravo decide.

SPEAKER_01 37:23

Um, but I just never I was just so focused on cricket and my success. Woman, yeah, but this first, right. You know, uh, that is the most important thing for me. And then um, because how I play the game, I don't I I play the game with a lot of passion and a lot of love for it. So whether there is 10 people or 10,000 people watching, I play the game the same way. You know, so again, these things doesn't determine who I am and how I play the sport. You know, um if my contract is ten dollars or ten thousand, I play one way. So once a win. Yeah, yeah, one way. So like even like during COVID, a lot of cricketers struggle during COVID time for different reasons. You're in a bubble, can't go out, then there's no crowds. Yeah, it didn't affect me. Because again, once Empire said play, I ready to go. I not know I wear who out there watching. So you don't hear it. You don't time with that. Well, remember the section and thing, we're making noise for you to hear it. Music and thing is nice, the atmosphere and the boss is nice in it. But again, whether it's 10,000 or I play in one way. Right. So it's not gonna determine how I play the game. Gotcha, gotcha.

Corie 38:43

Yeah, so and those early days I would have seen you. The first time I see you batten, in school you was bowling and thing too.

SPEAKER_01 38:49

Already, yeah, yeah.

Corie 38:50

And you had a passion for one or the other, or you had a favourite at that time?

SPEAKER_01 38:53

I was always bathing, it was always my main thing because in school cricket, I will open the button, score the motion, and then obviously I always have the ability to bowl. And like I said, in school, I was always a little better than the rest. So I will better. Yeah, I'll get through a lot. And uh, but I always have the ability to do both. Uh, when I started playing for the national team, it was more just button only. Right. Early on. Early on, yeah. Earlier, just batten. And then later on, I started bowling. And one one captain, the national captain, Richard Smith at that time, he um he was the one to say boss. He's talking custom. He's a boss. You take a fucking bowling serious, you know. Yeah, once I captain, you have to bowl, you have to bowl. Like, and then I started bowling, and then I my button started to like drop off a bit.

Corie 39:47

Right. And your focus then was on your dreams then or intentions of becoming where you land and bowling in cricket?

SPEAKER_01 39:54

No, um, because when I started bowling and you know, uh my button dropped down a bit, but there's that then I started to see myself as an all-rounder. Right. And a lot of teams now sort of I think after Segari Sobers, I won the first premier real all-rounder that actually played for West Indies that had success. And then after my because after Segari, there was Bernard Julian, one or two games.

Corie 40:22

Right, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

And there was like a couple guys ahead of me, like Dwayne Smith and Dave Bernard Jr., they play one or two games, but none of them then had the success and the impact like I had. Until my time, then I started to see if you look at the all-wronglers who come after me, um, Russell, yeah, um JJ Game, Jason Holler, you know, Polly, you know, um, so all of these guys when they hear them speak, you know, from seeing what I did, and it's like, well, if Bravo could do it, they could do it too. I see, you know, it's so and then the trend for all wronglers now started to come after that. And then now when T20 cricket comes about, yeah, well, all wrongers goal because we went through a long time in West Indies where it was specialists.

Corie 41:11

Hey, they're West Indies, it's had to be specialists coming down. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No all wrongless, and that that that that when your origin days are playing, you have no T20. So your dreams had to be about making runs like Lara and making West Indies, yes. Yes, yes.

Clubs, No Alcohol, And Self-Control

SPEAKER_01 41:27

So my first, like I said, uh I play 40 test matches. Uh so between 2004 to 2010 is where test cricket was the main thing. Because growing up, your dream is to play test cricket, play for West Indies, and back then there's no T-20s. Either you play for West Indies or you play county cricket. And I was able to achieve all those, hit those targets already. Then when the birth of T20 in 2008-2009, when it started to take off, then you see the turn, and okay, all wrongless is the ones who in demand, you know, and then I started to get a lot of calls, and then eventually I I lose my spot investing this test team, and it just happened that you know, okay, when test cricket is going on, I'm free. So when these leaks came about now, I'm able to get these contracts.

Corie 42:18

Yeah, I wonder if people remember it that way because the I see the narrative that Bravo and them done with the test cricket because money was running.

SPEAKER_01 42:25

So, well, if it's the as you say, you're watching Mo and Ali um podcast, and when that when that went out, uh it stood up a lot of things because I speak a lot of facts and a lot of truth, and I explain to people how it went. So where a lot of as I say, a lot of people think that you know these guys are money hungry, they turn the back on West Indies cricket, blah blah blah. That wasn't the case. So when I speak my truth and people get to understand, then people are like, wow, I didn't realize it was like that. You know, so it was never again, it was never my decision. It happened that way. And um, no regrets because I was able to still play 40 test matches, play over 160 one-day internationals, play over 60 T20 internationals or West Indies while I still do what I do in T20 and build my legacy.

Corie 43:22

Yeah, win World Cups and all that too.

SPEAKER_01 43:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Build world, yeah.

Corie 43:26

Yeah, I'd ask like because again, dreaming of being on the West Indies team, as you say, bungs up Lara they're still playing, yeah, then going on to be in the captain. Because the issue and you discussed it on Moon Ali where the team and David and the man, well, we remember the story. There was this story where the team was promised to be paid a certain amount and it was it was it was eliminated. They came to cut. Yeah, you know what I mean? It's almost like they say the and you know when you hear them stories in administration and sports in the Caribbean, you know, if you if you if you replace West Indies cricket ball and you put CTFA, you see a similar Stories like that, same thing, same thing, same thing. So they had cut the players' salaries. Use you captain at the time. Yeah, so what's your thought process when it happened?

SPEAKER_01 44:09

So that now there was a buildup to that. So when the weeper president uh uh Waver Heinz had a meeting, and uh he held that meeting at uh the hotel opposite Hyatt uh with Radisson.

Corie 44:22

Oh, it was not in Radison yet.

SPEAKER_01 44:24

It wasn't Radison. Strong Plaza. Strong Plaza, it was, yes, Strong Plaza. Holiday, Holiday. That is what it is. They had that had that um meeting there and they asked us if the senior men's team is willing to take a pay cut, which we said, and that's this pay cut was going to filter down to the first class cricketers. So we said, yeah, sure, no problem.

Corie 44:48

So in other words, you're getting a pay cut, but the first class will get more.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

Yes, so it's like, okay, not everybody will be able to play for West Indies, but if you're playing for Trinidad, they're playing for Guyana. Um you're playing first class cricket, they want the first class players to get a better payday, which we agree on. All the senior players in the West Indies team, Shiv, Sawa, and myself, everyone who was in that meeting. I remember asking the question, what is the pay cut? And the president said, you know, they they didn't work all the figures yet because they just waiting to see if we would have been willing to take a pay cut. So the fact that they get the yes, they will go back to the board and they will go back to the negotiation. That meeting took place in February. January or February. In that year, I think it was 2013, right? Um no, 2014. January, February 2014, and we went to India in October. Between January to October, there was no kind of communication between the players and the association on the board. So when we get to India, everybody thought our contract will be as normal. Nothing, nothing changed. When guys received the contract, we realized the salaries were cut by 75%.

Corie 46:10

So that was never communicated before. In India, when this happened, yeah.

Music Doors: Beenie Man To Studio Life

SPEAKER_01 46:13

We in India, we did the team in India, we learned already. I was already in India, and the team landed, the player warm up game, and then the manager handled the contracts, and then obviously I'm the captain. So a lot of the guys reach out, yo, we see the contract, X, Y, and Z. I was like, nah, look at it, realize what's going on. I call you president, uh, wave lines at the time and say, boss. There's the scenario here. What to do? He was like telling men and them that this is not in casting stone, they're still working at it, working it out, and they will get back. Okay, cool. So not casting stone in don't sign it, or don't sign it, right? It didn't sign off yet, but they will get back to us. Okay, cool, no problem. The day before the first game, when he threatened to strike, we didn't turn up to practice. We get on the phone again with him, right? On a zoom and you know, try to figure it out, boss. Like there was no information, like, you know, he claimed he talked to Darren Bravo or Dinesh Ramden and Badger and all these things, and it's like, boss, when? When they talk to us, nobody is so it was a whole mess, you know. And uh, we try our best. I try my best as the leader of the team to talk to the president of the board, Mr. Cameron at the time. I talked to Mr. Clive Lloyd, uh, who was the chairman of selector, and also uh Richie Richardson, who was the manager as legends, like all the help us, like help us like this, just because I believe if Sir Clive Lloyd or Richie Richardson pick up their phone and make a phone call, something gonna change. Yeah, I mean, not a normal person calling, you know, so but that never happened. So it's like we just was just left out there, and the president was very arrogant and and you know, these guys are terrorists, and we're gonna send a new team and we're not negotiating. Like them things gonna come out and pay us. So we was on my own, you know, and it just it just was a sad time for West Indies cricket. It was an uncomfortable time for me. Because the reality is, you know, and I say it in different interviews: our contract moved from 5,500 to 2200, right? But I could have afforded to play for 2200 in it. So if I was selfish in her, I could have been saying, no, guys, that we signed the contract, we have to play no matter what. Because when I done move from that tour, I jump on a plane, I go to Australia, I go to England, and I have my big contract. Of course. You know, so the stand was mortal for the next generation. And now these players and them now still suffering.

Corie 48:54

Yeah, imagine.

SPEAKER_01 48:55

Still suffering now with this same kind of thing. So when a player used to make 18,000 a test match, and then move from 18 to 5.5, 6,000, that's a big drop. Like, so there's nobody could tell me right that that makes sense. That could never make sense, no matter what language it speaks. Yeah. Yeah. And as I said in the more podcasts, I was the only player who never got a chance to play ODI cricket again. Yeah, at that point in time, you're not thinking that whole blacklisted thing, and this could be the end of you. I did remember saying to the guys, like it could cost us our career. Um, you know, but we have to be prepared to deal with whatever comes with it. And everybody was done. Everybody was like, if it is what it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Corie 49:45

You know, um, and y'all also at that time as making decisions that not just affecting you all, but what comes next, the people who come next.

SPEAKER_01 49:51

Yeah, the next generation. Because, like I said to you, myself especially was in a position where at that time I can't. Yeah, you play for free. You know, it wasn't really. But if if the guys didn't bring it up, it would not have been something I I would have, you know.

Corie 50:07

So, but yeah, you didn't even watch your contract.

SPEAKER_01 50:09

You can't watch it. I regret it. Uh no. But is that sad? Is this disappointing to see that the things players go through? Yeah, and there's nobody, the players don't have a voice. Like players, if players speak out, like again, they get blacklisted, they get they become, you know, disrespected, they they can't deal with them.

Corie 50:30

Of course, you know, so but and it's funny because even um you also not just in a position to play for free, but you're in a position to speak out and deal with these circumstances. Yeah, he's always got to be mindful that if I need this, because you're like I think fans like myself, this feel sportsmen, they always do it. I know other life to live, it's nothing else they should be doing other than playing cricket, right? But the truth is it all have people in that room who but even 2200 had to take it. Yeah, so when you have a collective stance, yeah, yeah, you have a little bit of a better chance.

SPEAKER_01 51:01

Yes, and as I say, like I know what it is, it will for not everybody have the contracts like what I will have or Polly will have. Right. So, um, you know, guys like Jason Holand, Kim Marooch, these guys were coming up in the team, yeah. Um but my Sunese cricket is the stress here out there. Even like now we talk about it, so it's like I didn't see nothing changing in it. Yeah, nothing changing. Administration changed, the personnel changed, but everything remained the same. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Corie 51:38

What do we do? No, no, oh, sorry. Yeah, what and we by this time now, social media and thing, everybody you see in the reports, you see you pay attention to the comments because at that point in time a lot of the comments were saying because the fans only know the players, yeah. We don't know the administration, so it's looking like if and only through my traveling through the Caribbean I started realize what West Indies cricket means to people, everybody, the richest, the poorest. There's one thing that unites in all of us more than any other sport. So you were paying attention to it, like what people say in all the other things.

SPEAKER_01 52:09

Yeah, um, I'm fully aware. You read some of the comments, yeah, walk in the streets, some people will say some smart comment. Um, but I'm not somebody who will retaliate and or try to go and answer back a fan, and because again, they don't know. I believe in God knows the truth. All right, and eventually the truth will prevail, you know. So at the end of the day, the things I don't have control over, nothing I can do about it. If you were a fan and you fans mostly retaliate based on emotions. And if they say something, and I I will sometimes, if it's something that is logic, that it makes sense, I'll say, okay, at least this person's smart, they know what it's if something they'll make. Yeah. You know, so but I'm not gonna, it's not gonna rile me up for me to a point where I have to come back and try to snap at a fan.

Corie 53:00

Yeah, you never go live and say never see it.

SPEAKER_01 53:03

No, no, no, that will never you'll never see them thing with me. Yeah, them thing, no.

Corie 53:08

Even when you stop getting selected, and then it because we waiting, I suppose as fans, you're waiting to hear you say, Well, or even you, you have a way, you anytime you see you, you smile and you're happy, right? We waiting to see you when you're vexed and they come out and they say you don't do the Trinidad Killer thing. You never had that too.

From All-Rounder Rise To T20 Era

SPEAKER_01 53:27

They're a virgin and they pick up the killer sometime. When you go and you anything, call us a boss, they have a platform, they have a responsibility now. Yeah, boy, brother. Boy, I know you know about the and they know he's starting again his killer, but um, I will come out, I will use my platform to defend somebody. Right, right. If they are wrongfully um, so like I did one time with my brother, one time um Yeah, I see you say that for him. I never see you say that for yourself. Nah, nah, I will I will come out and defend somebody. Right. Um, one time in 2019, Marlon Samez was um he got dropped from the West Indies team when they went to the World Cup in England. And prior to that, he was West Indies' best batsman, you know, and he got dropped. Now I mean Marlon Samez and I people know the history with me and him. We not bodies, we not friends. Right. But I just felt that was wrong. And again, I came out in his defense and talk about it. So I will come out and use my platform to defend somebody or speak out against the system. Right. If it's wrong and you know, things are going, yeah. But when it comes to me, I ain't going line. No, that's not it.

Corie 54:39

Nah, nah, nah, nah. So you didn't feel like at the time when you're not getting selected, like somebody taking a dream from you because you grew up dreaming to do this thing and now you achieve it.

SPEAKER_01 54:48

Yeah, the world is. After that in detector, again, you know, I was the captain of the team, get drop. Um, the World Cup was right around the corner, you know. So I remember all of us are still laughing now. Paul had myself, Sunel, Ravi Rampol, Lendel Simmons. Because at that time, all of us was in the team together. I'm the captain. And this World Cup is it around the corner. And we was like, yo, say when we go to that World Cup, when we come back home, all of us had to buy the same car. Yeah. None of you know high end car. We just had to buy the same car because what's the chances of all of us grow up together? And then we go and play on this big stage together, you know. So, and we say, Yeah, we agree thing to all of them, man.

SPEAKER_03 55:46

I hope they buy the car spell a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 55:49

But when that happened now, and I was like, So there at that moment I didn't know what was next for me. I was like, okay, you legit feel your career could be over then. Yeah, I thought so. And I was like, I started to question myself now, like, what's next for me? Like, because I'm not playing test cricket, now one day cricket, now I'm out of the team, out of the setup, and so this is how so after the World Cup West Indies get knocked out, August was CPL. And this is when TK win the first trophy. I was able to win. So despite what was going on against me, I was able to get back that energy and lead TK to our first championship. Man, when we win that championship now, I felt like I was back on top of the world, like I find back my purpose in life again and my love for the sport. As I despite what they try to do, I was still able to overcome that. And that is how I get the inspiration to write the song champion. It's from that moment there. So I was feeling down and out to win this tournament, go to Jamaica, meet my Brethren Razor. Right. Hear the Colo Colo rhythm. You know, and again my mind, I fresh on winning this championship, and it's like, yeah, yeah, yo. And when he hear the rhythm, he started to put his song together, and that's how champion came about.

Corie 57:16

Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. People just forget it's a rhythm ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:20

People just forget there's a rhythm. And you know what's the weird thing? Some people have forget there's a rhythm, right? Some people think that Champion is the only song on that particular rhythm. And um, but there's a popular rhythm, right? There's some other big artists on it. But is the Trinidad is the least played for Champion? We say it. You see it? Yeah, yeah. When I check my readout and stuff and thing, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:50

Yeah.

Corie 57:50

167 million views is when I check this morning. Yeah. And that's on YouTube alone. Yeah. So that if you have your 1670s, I have a billion and players.

SPEAKER_01 58:01

And he goes. One time I drive in in my car, right? And the rhythm playing. So I drive in and I say, What the cooler, cooler rhythm come on, so gauge come on and thing. Yeah. So I still have a ball. I said, I have a boy, take on the phone and think I said, just no champion coming. Go again and next song. I said, Alright, go again. I said, boss, it had some songs that play on that rhythm that I never even said no, was on that rhythm. I said, What is and then bam, the DJ gone into the next segment. My phone's still in my hand. No champion. When I w station, I said, nah. I call my bruding. I said, yo. Cause I sat the recording thing in the champion coming in. I call my brethren. I say, yo. Who who playing on this on this station here at this time? And I tell him. He called, I think he called you radio director, that they tell him who it is. I said, brother, can you imagine? A man now play eight songs on the cooler cooler rhythm. Yeah, boy. And that man played champion. I said, nah, why them people really out for me? Yeah. Nah nah nah. Them people really out for me. No, there I said, them people really out for me. So then now the radio program director now ends up calling the DJ. Alright, whoever the DJ why DJ say, well, I wasn't in the um station and it was just a mix. I say, okay, but even if he mixes, he physically mixes it. How can you mix a rhythm? Yeah, the old homegrown boy. And they put the biggest song on the rhythm.

Corie 59:39

It's crazy. But I seem to remember when you came out of it. Because first thing people will say is Bravo than Rich. Bravo have everything going on. Wait, as you cut, you pay attention to that too. It's hearing people say that all the time. Industry people, everybody.

India Tour Pay-Cut Standoff

SPEAKER_01 59:54

Yeah, all the time. We get involved with music for the leader. People initially say the song ain't good at all, too. Yeah, yeah, all the all my music they sing. Not only champions, you know, champions get big because they win the World Cup and all kind of thing. But again, brother, that thing will fluster me. Yeah. Right? Because if I feel to record a song, I go record it. Right? And then whether you say whether it's good or anything good. You know why it's all telematists and then all like ding dong and then one time ding dong see me. One time ding-dong see me, carry people party, right? Yeah, yeah. We go in with the thing. So I we backstage. Yeah, I boy small artists where you get killed by so I watch him, right? But he started laugh. I said, brother, I had no problem being a small artist. I said, you see, big artists. Why don't you help me? Yeah. I said, yeah, but yeah, you don't need to help me. So I point out one of my brethren who was an artist rolling at me, right? I said, help him. I say he's a young artist, help him. It means a lot to him. Right? I say, Ding, don't you calling me small artists? I say, you know, anyway you go and perform. Any stage you go and perform, you know, I can perform. I said, but that stage I can perform, you can perform. So there's like who is the big artist there? Because anywhere any of these artists go, uh uh, brother, uh, it's not like it's Caribbean people. Of course, diaspora. And whether they perform in Trinidad, Jamaica, New York, Canada, England, any way they perform, it will be a Caribbean event. And if I walk on stage in a Caribbean event and champ dance at the place, the way they feel is a big song. So I can perform any way any Caribbean artist could perform. Right. But it are places where I could, I know I could perform. Well, we see it. And a lot of them, if they walk on stage, be wondering who is them. Small artists. Yeah, so you understand, but again, I not into battles with artists. Yeah, better take over, but it's gonna book your size. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just want I just I don't okay. Well, let me do a collaboration. You understand? Let me do a collaboration. I have collaborations with Beanie Man, I have collaborations with Egyptian, I have collaborations with QQ. Right? You see my collaborations I have a different artist. Right? I have I was able to produce this time with it for Sisla, you know, Bounty Killer, Mr. Vegas. You know, so these are people that as much as I can sing my music in good, these are the people who I have collabs with and do production with. You understand? So for me, I see myself as a vestible music is concerned. I have a market where it's huge, Asia market, right? India alone. That's why when you look at, I mean, you say champion of 160 million views. If you look at some of my other songs, you think go reach quiet. But it's in the millions. It's in the millions, you know. So the moment I do a song and I put it out there, my fans and them and the market that I have, they gravitate towards it. So all I wanted to do was to collaborate with our artists, show them that next give, introduce them to that next side of the world. Let the world hear about our music. Yeah. You know, but they don't think like that.

Corie 1:03:30

No, because I feel sometimes you just get catchy carnival to carnival thing. And even somebody I was talking to here the other day, people talk about that, right? Even the Trinidad music, they say, because them youth's doing good, they're getting real views and things, but it's be like, I think the number one song in the history of Trinidad is a bagel. I let me say it, right, David? It's champion. People can say whatever they want. I don't know what metric you could use because even when just recently I was watching something on reality TV and they was talking about soaker, and they say, um hot, hot, hot. Them is the song dollar wine. These are songs people just go back to. And when you look at champion and his success of it, it's all there.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:04

And my burden is always telling me, hey, champion. That song and really called champion really blow up in US yet. And I never really get to promote champion and perform it and thing. Remember when champion boss and big? I playing cricket.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:19

Alrighty.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:20

I am not this time. Yeah, and the more you perform a song, the bigger the song will get. So it are places like Costa Rica and thing that champion big that I never get to go them places. Oh, yeah. So this image of my kid that performs in the US and Costa Rica and all of them places where Champion big. I it's a lot of people.

Corie 1:04:39

So no, that way you're gonna do. Even you know, the US market is funny because you end up releasing the 2016 World Cup end up being where it was. Yeah, and when you look at the amount of ways champion could work in the NBA Championship or NFL spell.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:53

Like I said, and and now I if I if I plug in and media right people, because I have connections now to now in the US, right? That I never had before. Um, and now I had more time on my hands. If I really dive into music and give music that energy, I could create some history and move some numbers there that no normal artisan will be able to do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but that industry is so fragile, it doesn't align with spirit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I just allow people to enjoy the moment and I enjoy being part of the moment and the culture and stuff. And um, you know, when men doing the thing and having the success, I enjoy that.

Corie 1:05:37

So when you release a new song and talk at that time and you're seeing it building, because it had to take off way beyond your you what you would imagine.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:44

Yeah, because I mean and you know, with champion, like I say, you know, it is to be in there. When I recorded that song in 2015, right? I didn't release that song till 2016. So holy year and something a holy song, let's have it there. And I just say, all right, this is the moment. And I release it the day, the night before we play with the first game. So I never knew we were going to win the World Cup night. Yeah, I guess. The night before we play with the first game is when I released this song. And we just use that song as our inspiration to get us through. And it worked.

Corie 1:06:19

Yeah, and I think, well, the West Indies again stop when we have a chance in our last over to win our World Cup. So the celebration and everything. I remember I was teaching a class. Takeoff. We couldn't. The class must be about 100 people in CTS College and Shogunas though. And like lecturing for a while, yeah, they started to realize people getting tired. But we now come off a break, right? And I find people distracted, boy. Me and paying attention to what's going on. And people, I say, what's going on? What happened? Nobody ain't taking me on this like boy Westin D's and then the final.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:49

Yeah.

Corie 1:06:49

I said, all right, let me go and lunch and take it. And we went Shogunas Main Road by Wendy's at a TV. If you see how pack inside it was. And then when you see the champion dance, the place stopped. The place stopped because it was one of them wins to those iconic in sports industry. So I guess you're right with that alignment, you know. Yeah, the whole stage and dancing dance too.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:12

Yeah. But you should see when these that are about 70-something thousand people in the stadium, huh?

Corie 1:07:23

And I suppose if India, if the stadium has 70,000, there's there's a billion people who listening, watching, and a lot of people was backing and supporting Westernies because it was Western East versus England.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:33

India was out, and we were like our the next favorite team. Yeah, once it's not India, it's Western East, right?

Corie 1:07:38

Yeah, so like you say, it's a perfect storm for a song. Yeah, and then all of a sudden we song in the insane song is shit again. No, everybody doing the dance, everybody going to the went viral. Yeah, viral, viral on a different level.

Fallout, Blacklist Fears, And Resolve

SPEAKER_04 1:07:52

But um, but just ask the question. As uh now you're going into coaching, yeah. So I was just thinking what you said about that US market, and I was thinking that um UPA, you can continue being an influence in cricket in the US because cricket is now a license board in the US, you know, in the US and thing that teams be woke up and that kind of thing. So do you have any aspirations of continuing maybe coaching?

SPEAKER_01 1:08:22

So well, my I have a three-year deal with Knight Riders and Knight Riders have teams in the US in UAE, Trinidad, and also in India. So um the tournament in the US has normally been in June. So we always go over there in June. And um, yeah, but like I said, I now in a position where I align in my production company, my music with my cricket. Right. Merging it together. So if you look at CPL this year, last well, obviously last year, right? It had uh it's the first time CPL had a halftime entertainment show. And that halftime entertainment show, I was the brain behind that. I said to CPL, let's do a half-time entertainment show. And it's like, but how that's gonna work, DJ? It's only 20 minutes break. I said, yeah, it's gonna work. I said, this is what we're gonna do. Because I believe in new talent, right? I said we're gonna get a new talent to perform for three minutes, then we're gonna get a main act to perform for nine minutes. Right, and that's your show. Right? And that's 12 minutes. We still have eight minutes for mental warm up and do whatever. So when I sell it like that for them, they was like, wow, good concept. So it's like, okay, how are we gonna go about getting the artists? And them in each island, it's easy to get. It's just a phone call away. Right. What are we gonna do? So I have an app called Collab. Right? It's a creative app for creative people. So we put on a competition and you download the app, you upload the music, you send it in, we see like the best out of the lot. And each island had the opportunities to have two artists perform. And that was a success. So I had two artists in St. Kids, two in Antigua, St. Lucia, come Trinidad. We had four artists and four unknown and four main artists, you know. And what I also did, I had Trinidad was the only time I had two DJs go up against each other. Okay. I had DJ Anna and DJ Charlotte.

Corie 1:10:35

Oh nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:36

Go head to head, and I wanted to give that. And this thing is broadcast live, eh?

Corie 1:10:40

Well, I see the reaction in the stadiums, but the yeah, the the fans at home enjoy it too. So for you, it's really just bringing the new energy into the space.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:49

Yeah, yeah. So it's not necessarily 47 artists or anything like that. You don't know anybody. So Tony had one 47 artist, there was a girl named 47 Ramsey. Right. But everybody else was unknown. They follow the process, they upload the music, and you select, and you get selected. One the standout story for that for me was that girl in St. Lucia. She um, when she gets selected, right? Now I'm in St. Lucia. And I tried reaching out to her, she didn't answer. Then we went to the game. Obviously, in cricket, they had to switch off a phone as soon as I get to the stadium. Turn back on my phone after the game. Now, this was now after 11 in the night. The girl message. She was like, Who is this? So I was like, DJ Bravo. No, no, no, no, this cannot be stopped playing. This is not true. Who is this? I was like, this is DJ Bravo. Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this? This is fake. This is uh so I get upset, right? I was like, boss, I'm 42 years old, right? XYS you and I say. And she, okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. So then I say, here what? Because we're leaving the next morning to go back to come to Trinidad. I say, how far you live from that? Ask her, how far you live from the hotel? She said she lives about 25 minutes. I say, if you can come in the hotel before 11 a.m., then you'll get to meet me. She said, okay. 10 a.m., she reached the hotel, she comes, she messaged me, and I come downstairs. I even post that on my page and stuff. She comes downstairs. That girl break down in tears. She was like, There is no way this could be happening to her. Not that she meeting me, that she actually gets elected to perform because she was like, She said she don't think anybody knows about her music. The girl, like, in tears, boss. She's like, I never thought a day like this would ever come where people even hear my music. And I was like, this is what this was about for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, so for me, I appreciate artists who have success, but I just also want artists to also pull along people with them and give them that opportunity as well and that platform. You can still shine, you can still be the main star, you will always be the main star. Right? But bring along others with you.

CPL Redemption And Writing Champion

Corie 1:13:12

Well, even when you say, and and salute to Nicolab for that too, because when you when you compare it, and is on fair comparison, sometimes when you look at Bini or Bounty, and you look at I was looking at somebody talking about how much artists Bonty Killer just put on. You see. And when you ask me if you have a label or if you sign, you say, When you're interested in signing, people are interested in in helping people, giving them that platform.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:32

I do it, I do it in quick because I always do like I have a niece. Her name is Antonelle Bravo, right? Um, that's my sister daughter. So my sister sometimes reached out to me recently in tears, and you know, you niece into this music thing, and then helping her, like if you do so much, and da da da, there's so much access. I say, Listen, a lot of people think I have a lot of access and influence when music is concerned. But the reality is I don't because again, it's not like cricket, even cricket, only cricket space, and I pick up my phone and call somebody who say boss, I send in Corey up there. Yeah, things moving, things will happen, right? I know that for sure. But music is different, it's harder, right? I know I will call her, say, boy. If I call a radio station, or they could get that interview, you know. Right. But then when you walk out that building there, that's it for you. That is it for you. This song never plays. Like there's only so much I could do, but a lot of people think because of who I am, I have influence, right? But my my influence isn't cricket, yeah. My influence is not like that in music. Yeah, that's right. Right? Yeah, say if I had this kind of influence, you think I would have one artist of 47? You think you think I my my studio would would have been the buzz and the talk of the tongue, which would have been buzzing or whatever the case is. So even for me, I also still try and still find my way with this music thing. Yeah. While I know, because again, it's not about for me. Like I want to be able to have a whole clique of 47 artists going around and giving them this platform. And you know, I have again the kind of people who just passed through my studio. Yeah, we see all of them. We see all of them. Access. Access. Because remember, them them people, especially Jamaicans and them, man. They mean seeing me as DJ Bravo, cricket time money, you know. Wow, champion. I'm telling man, respect, full respect. And you have a studio like this? No, man. They meant sleeping there. Yeah. Sleeping there. So you build a studio, there's state of the art, this world like it. You know, Burgeon, my same Burgen Razer is all this time. You say champion. Anyhow, it put this studio in Jamaica in a champion. Yeah, I can imagine.

Corie 1:16:02

You'd have artists outside every time. Yeah, people in the lineup.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:06

No, no, no. You say anytime something like that is in Jamaica, that was it.

Corie 1:16:10

Yeah, and I heard you say in an interview too about artists, and every artist you're talking about looking for that hit song. It is a holy grail kind of thing. Everybody wants that. So you're saying that the Jamaican artists respect you for being able to achieve that regardless.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:23

So they respect me, the person, and they respect the fact that I could have taken my money and invest it in something else. Or nothing. Yeah, I can't. A little comfortable, more pajamas. Yeah, the booth. And exchampion man comfortable. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Like so when they see it, because I remember when Bounty Killer walked in my studio for the first time, and because people here have my studio, but when they walk in and see it, different, they get different, like, nah, boy, that wow factor really comes in. So I remember telling Killer one time, I say, yo, DJ, we're gonna check my studio now. You know? I said, alright, how far a studio then? I said you stay in the hill ted. So you tell him, say, all right, there we go. Pull up. And Bung T walk in his studio. Have any blood clad this man? Yeah. I said, you this studio not normal been ready to work. Kill I say bravo, me come to check the place. We thought it was like a studio, me coming, you know, girl strength 20 minutes out. No, yeah, killer stay there, killer stuff to record, start to record. Killer in go mode by you all of them. All of them. And bosses I record two albums in my studio. So let's like that.

Corie 1:17:53

Yeah, I see Sisla Dong like went by standards of one of them and buy a speaker or that thing. The other man just loves to record. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:01

Next level. I appreciate, like I said, I appreciate the culture and appreciate like me. I don't watch people. Right. I don't deal in who to deal with who. That's not to do with me. Right. Wrong industry for that. Yeah, I ain't into that. I I about just inspiring others and trying to uplift others in different ways, any way possible. If I can't do it myself, I might know somebody who could do it. Yeah. You know, look like like my boy Polly. The rich uncle. Right?

Corie 1:18:33

Well, they get the boat or no. What went on to the boat?

Industry Pushback And Global Reach

SPEAKER_01 1:18:36

He said he can't wasn't working, so we ain't got it. So you better buy the boat. So uh at some point in time. You know, so even like him, his story. If you get uh interview with him and hear his story, right? How he gets his break in India. It was me. I was the first one who tell Mumma Indians about him, who call him and say, Boss, have this team out here, come up here. Yeah, you know, when we went to India in 2009, I tell the owners, I said, Boss, we have this young player. Let me sign him. They went to sign him, you know. So we only boss four years in age difference, you know. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not to say he's a young, young girl, yeah. You know, but and he's our wrong guy. You know, so we compete for sports. But for me, I don't see him as a competition. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't see people as competition. I believe in what is for you is for you, you know, and yeah, they give him his biggest break.

Corie 1:19:39

Yeah, well, I see a lot of many cricketers say that, which you you probably hear a lot of poor and talking about it. Like a lot of people talk about how you influence them and influence their career. But I get that again, uh it's it's that good energy and good vibe. You exude it. Yeah, but it's had times where people come in, come in at you, right? So champion was one of them too, where I see people say you only call black people in champion. You're paying attention to that too. Yeah, they say, boy, good, good, soon he'll get leave out. Are you Wendy? Well, names call. You immortalize some people in song, but you get some licks, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:14

I got some licks, but I can get it. But it's something that again, people who know me, they know that it's far from me. I don't think like that, right? I just go with some of the names, how it flows into each other. Right. Right, because you remember you're writing a song. I'm not gonna sit down and write a song. I say I'm not gonna put no Indian name in it or no white man name in it. And uh, like that is the furthest thing from my mind. Um, but then I've boss, let me say this here now the original champion, the original champion, the first version of the champion, had Kamala name in it, seriously, and had Porsche Simpson name in it. Oh because back then, if you go back and check, they were the two female prime ministers in the Caribbean, I suppose. And my brethren who helped me write it, he's a Jamaican, ice trainie, right? And so I was like I say, you know, Kamala Champion, Porsche, those two names wasn't it, right? And when I come back to Trinidad, right, and I wanted to redo it in terms of execute it better from a vocal's point of view, right? I don't call you at his name, but he said when he hear it, he said, yo, politics, politics. I mean, boy, so you should take all that to that, right? And I listened to him because there's somebody I respect. Right? There's somebody who I respect, and you know, um, and I say, well, alright, no problem. I say, but how are good? And then I say, uh, you know, what about as a Rihanna? Who are who has I put? Serena. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I put Serena and somebody else, all right. And then I was like, and that is how that name comes. Serious, you know, yeah.

Corie 1:22:03

So your logic for the long time is when you say this will be 2015. But even though they can demand a little thing out, but see this election time. I see you come out and you say where you had to first and see you see you you do a post and delete a kind of thing. Can I see it? Or did you delete? Nah, man. You really nah. I didn't that fade away. At first, you had to say you support the one of them a story.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:58

Oh, I see, I see, I see. Right. And then obviously one of them a paid. So they story too. Let me give you that nose, that story then. They will hear that also, right? Um politics thing, boy. Jesus Christ. We'll go deep here.

Corie 1:23:18

What you do that for now.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:20

If I was you, I would have stayed clear. I don't get involved in politics. Right. All right. I don't believe in politics because I don't like at the end of the day. Again, my values and how I live life, I don't believe politicians just make up like that. And that is on either side. Right? Now my affiliation with yellow, come back again, it'll go back to the beanie time. Right. So I go take it back now, right? It had one election. They had fly beanie to come and perform for them. Right? I think um Pandey was um as early as that. Yeah. That was in Arangwa Savannah.

Corie 1:24:03

Right?

SPEAKER_01 1:24:04

Again, I was like in the day. 22 or something like that, 23. Right.

Corie 1:24:09

Oh, two, or three.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:11

No, I was about to go. I was about 23. 22, 23, around that time. So when they fly Beanie Dunk to come and perform for them in Aranguest Savannah, right? Um I went to rally with Beanie. Right. Right? Now, if he was performing in Edith for real, I would have go there. It doesn't matter when you make sense. I rocking with Beanie, right? So when I rock with Beanie now, um on that stage, and I dance, I went on stage and I danced with him, and then obviously Mr. Pandey come on and we take pictures and all of these things. Next morning, me and Beanie jump on uh because that jet they bring him now. Jump on Beanie Jet, go on Jamaica. I go on Jamaica too. Right, yeah, yeah. Why next I see when I land my mother calling me there, killing many papers there in Trinidad. Right, licks using over the ass over Jess.

Corie 1:25:07

Right? That no in your mind when you go in there. You just go in the street.

Collaboration, Mentorship, And Access

SPEAKER_01 1:25:11

Right, right. So anyway, now that command happened, right? And I remember in 2007 was the World Cup, 2007, that hosted in the West Indies. Pollard and myself, both of us were two young players, and uh Dinad Ran Rang had got a meeting with us. With back then, he was the Minister of Housing, Dr. Rowley. And he said, you know. So we thought, okay, we'd go there to meet the minister and then either help us and get a house. Because again, Paul had now 19 or something like that. I was 23, 22, now starting off my career, you know. So we had that conversation with him, and we leave they were not empty-handed, nothing. No conversation about house, nothing. I said, Well, what are we talking about? So I was like, I asked the lady, I said, How do we go about applying for AGC house? And the lady explained to me. And I was like, okay, I went and applied for AGC house, and I said, Well, I had no property on my name them time neither. And nothing. So I said, I was qualified and pay my deposit, right? That time it was 50,000. I said, good. That was 2007, my bro. And I waited, waiting, waiting, nothing, nothing, nothing. I said, the jail is this, right? So then now I remember seeing Mr. the late Patrick Manning on a flight. Right? And I asked him if he could help me. All right, he said, no problem. Where it is. I said, well, I'd apply anyway, it don't matter. I said, but there are some houses in Federation Park, they now started. Right? He's like, no, no, no, no, they're for special people. But you know, I will I will look into it for you. I said, okay, no problem. Just let me know. Again, dead silence, nothing. In 2011, governments change. Right? And when government changed, I was able to get access to the house. But then now when it moved upon 2011, I was in a better position financially. So I'm a own property, so I no longer qualify for it. So what I did now, I said, okay, my daughter, mom don't have a place. Let me put that towards that. Right? So that's how I make this switch and say, okay, give them their own house or whatever the case is. So and for me, why why I align myself with yellow is because I felt that they are more accessible and they they they treat me with respect. Right. You know, whereas the other party, I never felt as though they acknowledge my success or they acknowledge what I have done to the country or anything like that. And so I just align myself with me, lying, and this time, this year why I come out. This time is because obviously the last 10 years. Again, for me, I'm about helping somebody. And if it is, I can pick up my phone and message you and say, Yo, Corey, I need a favor here. And I don't have the access, there's then I can help somebody. Whereas now I know if this people in power is a different. Yeah. I could now I could tell I can message five, four, six. Even the prime minister I can message. Right. Right. But I don't take that for granted. You know, because I respect people and their positions. You know, even like the PMSA, you can message me anytime. I don't. Sorry, sorry. So then now that yellow window, because I endorse them, people think that I have all the powers now. So no. No, no, no, no. It's not like that. I just support the people and then because I know history has shown that they are more people's party. You know, culture does benefit more. Right. Sports does benefit more. Right. And um, so that's why I support them and will continue to support them. Okay.

Corie 1:29:13

So you don't worry about the risk of the blow back, and because this is a country where you pick a side, you're damned by the other side.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:18

Well, like I said to you, Fums, Fumpson's dancing on Studed Bini Man was. So yeah, I guess they're damned anyway. Yeah, they already are lying sideline me. Makes sense. So if I look at back at even a simple thing as being acknowledged as a um a public figure iconic person, you know, the only time I ever achieve uh receive uh the Human Bird Medal was under in 2015. So you never hear about consideration face at all before then or no no no no so so when people try to talk about the race card and these kind of things, like I I saw, right? Um I my disappointment though is that I felt that because when you look at it, how many years we are independence nation? 60 or months. 60 something now.

Corie 1:30:08

63 63 63, right?

Politics, Community, And Using Influence

SPEAKER_01 1:30:12

Which party governed more for most of it 63 45, right? And my biggest disappointment is honestly is that if we check some of the most underdeveloped places in Trinidad is their stronghold. Right? So I don't like that, and I don't find that right. And even if if yellow is in power now, me in my position, I will try to use my influence to try to help everybody and uplift and better everybody's environment. Right? Now, it's not my I don't have the last say. Of course, of course. The most I could do is so like yes, uh two days ago, I went and see the national woman rugby team training in the savannah. I said, Well, you guys just train. And this is like I meet one of the players in the mall casually in. I in the mall buying a pair of shoes, and she's there and she's there, she little daughter, and it's like she's contemplating whether she can buy the shoes or not, right? So I just overhear the conversation. I look at her, strong, tall. I say, What is the? She said she's a national rugby player. National rugby player. I say, how long now? She said, 12 years. I say, wow. I say, and where you do this work. She said she's a police officer. I said, so you represent any country on both faces. And I say, I say, so I take her number and thing, and we started talking thing. So I went and see the yeah, right opposite the zoo there, right? And I record that thing, partner, and I see that, and the man tell me, he said, Bravo, you're lucky kind of good thing, cannibal coming around the corner. It's a lot better. It cut now, right? I say, you serious? He said, Yeah. I said, so I'm to like outside the stadium and I stay. We don't have access today. So for me, in my position, these are things I want to get changed. I want to see athletes on the whole. Once you represent any country, red, white, and black, you should be treated a certain way. Not just the footballers or the cricketers or the track athletes. Representation. You are national athletes. Now this girl represents the country over a decade. And she's still fighting up. So when I went there now, and I said, So, do you all do any like sponsorship, anything? You say, Bravo, nothing. And I look in the wrong. So one time I went into action mode. So I pick up my phone. I have a lot of sponsors. So I call big up to the Sani. There's a I call um my girl at the Sani. I said, listen, the national woman teams training here. Is it possible that you know you guys can send some water, some power raids, and you know, the flavoured waters that you all have? And she was like, Yeah, doing sure, no problem. You know, so things like that. But it shouldn't have to be me doing these things. I mean, too. But I just find these are things should be standard, you know, and now that yellow is in power, I feel as though I have the opportunity to go and fight for these things.

Corie 1:33:27

Well, from everything you say, you making it your priority to use your influence for things like us. Even before we start, I don't know if it was in your recording or that you're talking about something similar with helping Sparrow. You're just identifying that this is our problem. It's not a good look for somebody who represents us in that way. No. And you know what break my heart boy here is say the facilities that we have for cricket. When you look at you, you were talking about why we start off as a dominant T20 team and why we end up just fading away. Yeah. And for you to say that it's heartbreaking because you say in some of the same facilities you see run down when you start to play cricket.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:01

It's the same sort of facilities and technology that we're using now. Same thing, nothing improved. And they don't, and and they figure like people in administration and in power, they always feel athletics complain too much. They always feel uh have it too easy, you know. Cause I and I can tell in cricket is the same thing. I remember we had uh when uh when they've officially made my ambassador, had a meeting with the sports minister, and I said to him, You need to get all the NGBs, all the sports people, all the big heads in one room. Let's have a conversation, let's hear the concerns, let's see how we could take sports next direction. So we had this meeting in the stadium, his crawford stadium and stuff and whether it's combat sports and it's hockey and everything talking. The vice president in cricket stand up, and he stands up now, he sung like a arrogant man, right? And he stands up and started to talk with authority, like he's talking down to the minister. What are you gonna do for cricket? And when I look at cricket, it's the premium sport in the country, and you know, when I look at the facilities and the grounds and the schools and the nets and so now the way how you started to talk already kind of threw me off, right? So I say, excuse me, sir. Since we had to talk about cricket, I think I'm qualified to talk about it, right? I say the same things you're talking about and complaining about, the national cricket center where the national team is training. The nets is not good, the facilities is not good, the washroom and toilet is not good, the covers is not good. I say, so you first need to fix your home before you come in and talking a set of like we will get to that stage. The minister already commit and say he wants to take sport and next direction. They're in office like eight months, nine months, there's not much you can do, right? So, but you fix your home first. And again, like I in my position, bro, like I will not be in a position just for being a position's sake. If I try and I try and I realize, like, listen, if I say minister, let me help the rugby people. Let me see about the female athletes. Right. You know, there's a girl named Melee, she will call she's a champ. Football. Then people will be staying house of football. I say, Captain, house of football, why is that? No. National momentum, no, calls bam bam bam. So make some changes. Hilton. Um, Normandy. Like make these people and then feel appreciated. You know, so for me, again, that was why I support Yellow. I will continue to support them. Yeah. Now, if they're doing things wrong, and uh, I will align with that. Yeah, you go make back an expose again. Uh well, I ain't gonna do that. I don't criticize people publicly, yeah. But I will support them, and if they're not doing something right, I will also go to them and say, boss, I inside and I'm not happy with this. Even with all right, Shampa, I can say this here on air. Right. When they had come in office and she became the sports minister, we had just win a CPL tournament. And I remember talking to her right there in Lara after giving her the trophy, right? And I said to her, Minister, I'm not a PM, I don't support the party, right? I said, but I am prepared to make you the best sports minister this country ever seen. And she hugged me up and she said, Let's work. And I only had one meeting with her after that time. Never did not. That was it. I was messing and ignored and we get in it. Yeah. So like even when she sees me now when they're out of office, yeah. This girl had a boxing thing in tea and a guy in in thing. I went to that and I saw Shamfa. And they had now announced me as sports ambassador. And she sees me and she comes and she hugged me up. She said, Congratulations. And I say, Minister, this is what I wanted you to do for me. She laughed, she don't worry. Uh next time I come back in office and whatever. You know, but like I said, uh long and short of the story, I'm not a politician. I'm not getting into politics.

Corie 1:38:24

So it's not something you would do. You don't want to do the ministerial. What about West Indies cricket and thing? You would do the board work and that kind of thing is something you would consider?

SPEAKER_01 1:38:32

Now coaching, but not not administrating. Not administration. No, I like because I like to be hands-on in development. Develop the next generation of athlete stars, and and I also, because administration, I also like to challenge them. But challenge them not in an arrogant way, challenge them in a way for betterment. Better, like, why this like this? Why it is you come here to train and there's no water. Yeah, it's of course. The facilities is like this. Um, that is my thing. I will be the voice for the voiceless.

Corie 1:39:08

Oh, with you. Oh, with you.

Facilities, Athlete Care, And Standards

SPEAKER_01 1:39:09

And again, I again access is what I wanted. And even in the ministers can say, like, if I mess with a minister in, it's not for something for me. It's for somebody else. Like, I'm not interested in anything.

Corie 1:39:22

But you're saying so, even though you have your own music career and you think you're doing it for artists or for other people. Yeah, I don't want anything. You know, just similar to the same thing with the 5500 to the 2200. You're really battling for for somebody.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:34

Yeah, that is the whole of the time uh this fella, uh, we name this DJ. Um Akeem Point oh, right, yeah, 5.0. Yeah, okay. You know, he when they when they see I post in it. What? Again, and everybody feeling bravo get money, bravo get buyout, yeah, yeah, yeah. Bravo and get nothing. I don't want anything because I don't want nobody to come back and say, Yeah, brother, if you're gonna do any research and thing, not a sorry for question, but nothing. Because I don't want anything, even like people, yo, we can get contract. I say, Brother, I want a contract. I good. Because I don't want when they're out in office 20 years down the road, five years down the road, yeah, somebody could come back and say X, Y, and Z. Mine, I reach in life without any party.

Corie 1:40:24

Yeah, and you say the same thing, you know. If you if you your brand so important to you, you go you go take it seriously. Yeah, no, you say hands-on, right? It's something I see you as you you transition to coaching now. Yeah, uh, in the here as well. Your last CPL is yours too, right? As I coach, yeah. Are you enjoying that? Because that's an only hands on with you. Doesn't it still boy? Is that a man with coach like he played still like a box?

SPEAKER_01 1:40:49

All right, good. Yeah, so that's why I say I say um I call myself the new generation coach. Because I coach in like if I still play, right? And I guess the amount of game I play and the amount of success that I have, I see the game differently. Whereas you might it I can predict what will happen four overs down the road. Whereas you might, by the time you reach here, I quite don't care. Right? So when I realize certain things are about to transpired, I will come down and speak to the captain or speak to a senior player to go and get this message to the captain. Let me do this, let me shut down the game now because this is gonna happen. Right? And I'm happy that I have that gift. And the players and them trust me because again, my success record speaks for itself. And I don't believe in just sitting down and watching the game because again, I don't write down things like that. I everything will be calculated.

Corie 1:41:50

Everything because Dredd, I see a man ask you in an interviewer time about they was talking greatest T20 players, right? And of course, you're only list sooner, and they were talking more things and that. But but I think she had phrased the question wrong, and she said CPL by mistake. And she says, Scott, uh stylus, and you say CPL. Almost as if you almost off the bat, you know, it can't be CPL. So what your memory and thing, how you use it for the game? You just have all these things.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:17

Like I said, there, bro, this is my life, you know. Cricket is my life, this is all I know I could do. And I dedicate my life towards the sport, you know, and the lifestyle that I have, the sports give it to me. So I can half-tooth it. I I dedicate, I marry the cricket. Yeah, yeah, that's uh so I have one of my coaches with me. A young fella, we play you cricket together for training, a guy named Jibran Mohammed. Come through the ranks together. Young coaching. So I bring him part of my staff as an assistant coach. Right? And he ever he's he everything he's right down, right? Everything he's be writing down. I call him YouTube, right? Because sometimes he goes come and bring a uh a strategy with me. He said, Bravo, we think about this. I was watching YouTube and I see this, and I say, brother, you're on a YouTube thing. Well I'm to you, brother. I said you're watching too much fucking YouTube, right? This game going away from that. I say, Well, I'm to you. But you're serious, boy. So it's like, yes. Sometimes I say, Jebron, do a drill a field and drill, right? He goes complicated thing. Cause he wants to do what I say, boss, simplified, simple. Yeah, yeah. Right? And so, like, even like the things he go right on, I go tell him everything he write on in his book, and he'll go back. I say, right in the fifth over, this happened. When he go back, yeah, boy. I say in the 11th over this happen. Yeah, yeah. So my my crooked brain, yeah, it's different.

Corie 1:43:50

Yeah, it's on point, it's on point, it's on point. And plenty of people like and I guess your favorite athlete is a funny thing for a fan, right? Nobody wants to see Bravo go to be to be one of the greatest T20 players all the time, West Indies legend, or you know what I mean? Go and coach now and get it like dirt. They say you should never be coaching every single sport, but you're doing it. And I always wondered the passion side of it because it's not near achieve. So, but when you go CPL and you're still willing to make a statement about Guyana and Trinidad flag and thing, this is at late stages in your career.

Coaching Philosophy And Winning Drive

SPEAKER_01 1:44:23

You didn't want to play for where you're finding that's dream drive and passion. Nah, um, so for me in sports, winning is important for me. So that's why even like now me and my rich uncle that still compete about everything. Still the most titles. So why is all this killing me? And I say, when I retire, yeah, you see when I announce my retirement, I retire as the most successful player. I had the most trophies as a player. So now you're going past me. I say you still playing. Yeah, yeah. I say, but remember, I had trophies as a coach now. Right? So regardless of how you look at it, show together. You know what's that the coach, or you had this, you still had to come and catch up. Yeah right. But my philosophy is to win. I want to win. And if I win, I must come close to winning. My team must look good. My team, my team must look like a team that, yeah, boy, that team is well organized, well drilled, and you know. Um, and again, it for me, I I need to have a good staff around me. So it's important as a coach to have a good coaching staff. My assistant coach, um, my feeling coach, my bowling coach, all these people, because there are things they will be good at that I'm not good at. But I know what I'm good at, they're also not good at. You know, so I also need those people to, yeah. Um, but yeah, that that that passion is for winning and for success. I just as just as I want to be the best player, most successful player now in my coaching journey. My aim is here, more tight as I could win. Yeah, still at that drive. Yeah, yeah. That is my drive now. You're still locking up yourself when you lost something as well. Coach trying, yeah. Yeah, they know that they know everybody knows that when I lost, I can't come outside. I'm gonna go outside and drink and socialize and eat. I can't do that.

Corie 1:46:10

Nah, I ain't doing that. David is the last thing, right? There's a man who accustomed coming in in the last over. So you're like the most important thing in the last five minutes. When the bowling or the death exactly the LSD code is the most important thing, it might be, it might be that. Well, never tell me that the the the the the the thing I always wonder about is you taking that ball for them last overs. Yeah, and I saw the oval I see it in Guyana too where people saying don't get bravo. Whatever it is you do, don't get bravo. You know what I mean? Because after all the success you had, I don't think it might have a yeah, you know, uh sports fans, but you're gonna take it. Win, lose, or draw, you're going for it. Where uh you don't feel flustered, you don't feel nervous, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:54

No, because again, it's something I do in the nets over and over and over again. And so if you look and I listen to the likes of Kobe and Jordan and Christian, how much free kicks he'll take, how much shots Jordan will take on Kobe. Like for me, I do it in the nets over and over, and my ratio percentage will show that if I pull the last over in 10 games, I will win seven and lost three. But the fan will remember the three that I lost or that particular game, and they will cost me and you understand. But again, I will not retaliate because I know in two games later I will take it and win it. You know, and it I'll I I win games where nobody believed the team could win. And I'll come and bowl a loss over and win the game for them. So, like I said, my record is there to show that in the debt overs, my success ratio is higher than losing. Right? But that comes from in the nets because in the nets, I will challenge myself in the nets. I will give a scenario in the nets, and once I feel comfortable, go into the game and execute.

Corie 1:47:56

Yeah, yeah, it's one of those things where you're going home, you lock yourself in the room when you lost, but nothing in your telling you, don't take the ball and you can't.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:04

No, give me it. Let's game laws in my hands. Yeah, yeah, I prefer that.

Corie 1:48:09

Alright, last question before I go to David. Last one, last one. I remember my first thing in tranquil was an see all your bowl and thing, and I bowl one ball and it was a slow ball.

SPEAKER_03 1:48:17

You take that from my philosophy. If you could wrong your hammer the same speed and bowl a slow ball, not for me, man. Yeah, all right, good.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:31

Your coaching record is mainly most at home in your time three, that's the world coach for lesson with um CTL.

Note: Reserved For Earlier Topic Alignment

SPEAKER_01 1:48:43

What question is um I think eventually one day I will get that call. Um, I don't know when they try to get me to come to go with this World Cup, yeah, as the director cricket mentioned in a few interviews ago. But to me, that is like a PR stint because the reality is the World Cup is in two weeks' time, February, right? And I get that call a week ago. Whereas Afghanistan had offered me that same opportunity in October last year, right? So I said no to them. So what I explained to him, I said the timing doesn't allow me to come to this World Cup, and that was the reason why I said no to Afghanistan. So let's say I wanted to go to the World Cup, it's still not been my studies because I had a commit to Afghanistan since October last year. So when you come a week before the team announced to tell me you want me to come to the World Cup, make it make sense. Yeah, and then now when I say no, you know the public will think. Bravo hate Westonies. I ain't interested in coaching Westonies. I ain't interested in helping. I ain't interested in all. I don't think that is fair also. Like I think if you wanted someone like myself or Paul or anybody, you know the You know from the last World Cup that they only make all the mistake already, that the next World Cup is in two years, if only one. Yeah, start that conversation. Yeah, you know. Get me involved early. You know, let me be a part of some of the series and them and start a build for this World Cup. Yeah. You don't come a week before and say, you know, I know you might get offers, but where you think? Like, brother. Yeah, you're trying to use your name. No, don't do that. And then you come and make a statement that, you know, we had conversation, but it didn't work out. Of course. Of course it didn't work out if you come a week before. Yeah, and the fans will never know. And the fans didn't gonna know that. The only fans go think they're gonna start to cost me again. Like I, you know? Yeah. So the fans know now on this show here that this is my reason why. I was I turned on Afghanistan in October because I need time home. Alright, and the world is just before the IPL. So I didn't want to spend all that time away from home and stuff. So and then West Indies come a week before, and because I already said no to one nation. It will be disrespectful of me to turn up. Even as West Indies, moral, it's not right. I understand. And I believe in principle and moral. You know, that shows, that shows, that's clear.

Corie 1:51:32

We appreciate that. And listen, I want to tell you as a as a trend big owner and a tranquil man, we're proud of you. Yeah. We're watching all the things you do, cricket, music, your careers that come before. Even you're fighting for the youth, even the yellow is your code. We're proud, not so much David and proud of that, but we're proud of it. We're proud of it because you're making these stances for you. We're gonna talk to the board and see if we could get 2200 for you to coach, right? 2200, they say you're gonna work for it already.

SPEAKER_03 1:51:55

That's a very good one. I appreciate it. This was great. Good job, good job. Thanks, man.