The TRUTH About "Who Let the Dogs Out" | Anslem Douglas Sets the Record Straight

Before the world knew "Who Let the Dogs Out," the song belonged to Anslem Douglas.

In this episode, the Trinidad and Tobago music icon shares the untold story behind the Grammy-winning hit, clearing up decades of misconceptions about its journey from the Caribbean to the global stage.

We also explore the golden era of Carnival, the making of classics like Raggapumpum, Good Music to Dance, Jump and Mash Up the Party, and When Ah Dead Bury Meh Clothes, why soca must think beyond Monday and Tuesday, and how Caribbean artists can build lasting international careers.

Beyond the music, Anslem opens up about his faith, his passion for writing children's books, using his platform to raise awareness about domestic violence, and why he's still creating with the same purpose after more than four decades in the industry.

A masterclass in music, storytelling, longevity, and Caribbean culture.

Transcript

Rallying Around Oscar B

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Song release Bahaman Vision. It don't rock my world. Oh, so you felt that way too. We as artists need to start thinking beyond Frederick Street, beyond Monday and Tuesday. You know, people think that I had beef for the Bahaman. I never had beef. I wish you could take four more of my songs.

SPEAKER_03 0:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

I sing in the soccer, quiver the under notes and things like this. Take a walk. Jump and wave. Anyway, you say you lost the work. That was always about women. You know, men follow. Men don't like so, you know. Men like women. Men like women who like soccer. If a woman dancing and song and I go, look, look, go look, take a look, take a look. I just so good, somebody. Yeah, boy. I'm calling to apologize. You say, Well, the song was released and we only did 50,000 copies this week. Look at your boy dance. Five biggest of this also, five thousand copies. My music one couldn't believe that look that I did. Wait, oh, two ways to run. Tati and Sukabogle and all that kind of stuff. I mean, there's a great performer. And it's sad. What you know, we we never know what tomorrow's gonna bring.

Corie 1:39

Of course, for any of us, for any of us.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

For any of us, you know, this situation with him is really sad. And I think as artists, as Trinidad and Tobago, we really had to rally around him and support him through this time because trust me, it takes money. Of course. It takes money and it takes praise. So we gotta keep him in prayer and see if we could extend our you know, we don't we don't feel how to go and buy a bottle of scotch for X amount, you know. Of course. You know, we say to give Oscar so much and so much God, but you know, give.

Corie 2:07

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I want to join that call as well and echo that because I saw him in two places recently. He was in Kaiso Blues and I saw him at um Ozzy Merrick had something on Cipriani Boulevard at Razbar, and he performed there, yeah. And it's really uh it's a good feeling for me when I see people, I consider him like you know, you're that era and also singing any kind of music. Oscar B is a real, real performer. Race Bar had maybe if it had 20 people, it's like plenty. And he performed against that. So I joined the end that called 100%.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

We did a show Easter weekend in Tobago together, right? Poolside show, and you know, that was the last show I did with him because he worked with me at um Cafe Blue, also, right? Right, you know, and then the last show we did together was in Tobago, and then I heard Yeah, yeah, so your first life could change it.

Corie 3:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

We were supposed to do a benefit for David Matthews from WAC, right, right, and he didn't show up, so I was like, this is not like Oscar, you know, and um then we heard that boy this happened, you know. You know, but again, we just had a rally around him in prayer and in coin, yeah.

Corie 3:21

But of course, of course. Thoughts on prayers and all the support we could give. Yes, I appreciate you

Meeting Anselm Douglas

Corie 3:25

saying that. Welcome to the Corey Shepherd Podcast. Welcome back to everybody who's been listening. Thank you for all the new people who are tuning in. I make sure cream muskin and thing today. We have a man here who is his ladies' man. I don't know where you'll find out if it's still the case or if it's if it's a long time thing, if he hangs up your bell. He tells me to refer to him as Mr. Anselm Douglas when he finds a now born.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Welcome to the show, sir.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Hey, thanks for having me, man. It's a pleasure, it's a pleasure to have you here. I'm really good. Listen, oh you're just flying too. Just as it's a street of the jumbo. Street of the jumbo. So New York is home base? Um, you know what? I am kind of like a turkey, you know. So I between Toronto, New York, Trinidad, and Bungston around.

Corie 4:10

Yeah, you're moving.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Yeah.

Corie 4:11

And so yeah, I try. Well, we try to catch up carnival season, but I know it was a busy time. Both of us will be all kinds of things up, so I appreciate you taking any time to come.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

Carnival is always a difficult time for even people who just visiting, you know, family want to see them and they want to go here. We can't see anybody. Carnival is not about that. But you know, the old people saying, what um, what is it? What am mysterious passion?

Corie 4:30

100%, 100%. But I get a chance to listen to your carnival time.

Writing A Real J'ouvert Song

Corie 4:35

Uh-huh. And I see you tell people dip in a tub of mud. That went on our next level. I remember you listening to a man from if time I heard it. I said, Nah, boy, we find this way.

SPEAKER_02 4:44

You wouldn't you wouldn't believe I my brother came to me and said, Listen, they're bringing a juve band. Uh-huh. Write a song for them. And I was like, I called him Red Man, he called me tall boy. I said, Red Man, I good enough. He said, Nah, write a song for them. So, you know, I started to work on this, and this whole the melody for it came. Right. Take a dip in it, but man, baby. I was like, okay. All right. So we started to build from there, and you know, you know, Carnival and Juvet is all about biscuit pan. The original Juve vibe is biscuit pan, and you know, so that whole braga dang, bang, braga dang, we come in down. You know, everything just kind of came together, and lo and behold, we had a song.

Corie 5:28

You know, I was wondering if it's a promo you do for somebody band when they see it on YouTube. So it originally started off from the Juve band wanting a song. Wanting a song, and I did it for them.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Um, and you know that happens all the time. People, you know, they contract an artist to do a song for the steel band. Right, yeah, yeah. Or for the mask band or whatever. So similar.

Corie 5:45

Right. You know. I've been complaining for some years now about Juve, right? I realized that Juve, I feel like people now using it as a replacement for masks. Masks get too expensive Monday and Tuesday, so they play Juve. So when I play Juve, now I only hear in the road match over and over. Right. And I say, but I didn't hear any juve juvenile. What was the response state when you put it out?

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Well, it started off slow because this song was launched since in September of Oh, as early as that. Year before. Yeah, with um the band was launched in New York. So the song was launched out there, and you know, I sent it off to all the DJs and all that stuff. But you know the politics for that. You know, okay. There's a story for another day, you know. So we sent it off to all the DJs and all the radio stations and all of that. But thank God for social media, we started to pump it there, and then I ended up on Young Brother's show. And from there, just kind of you know, and everybody started calling, calling for interviews, calling for the song, calling, you know, so it just took off from that.

Corie 6:40

Yeah, when I was watching Young Brother, that was a nice thing to see. That was a good fight. It seemed like a blessing. Like I saw many, many artists on his show. Jadel was there. I've got a good bit of artists, but true. And then I see this introduced as Anselm D. I say, well, that could only be one man, and I see you pull up. I say, right, let me see what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

So it could be that.

Corie 6:58

Oh, it's all kind of different things. I see, I see. So he came on and thinking, and I have a lot of respect for him and Hotty as DJs. They know music, eh? They know music, they've been studying history. Yeah, so I see you come and you sing and sing, and it looked like the surprise in him build and build and build and build.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

Well, I don't know if if you look at the whole program, you know, you're talking about going back in time. And I said, This one they should know. You say that that's before I born in Mr. 94. Yeah, that's Mr. Anton for sure. That's before I born in Mr. Anson said, Way. But so you didn't know this wasn't planned. No, no, that wasn't planned. I see. We were just vibing, you know. And it when I mentioned things like ragapom-pom, and I thought the songs about it known. So I went up, I brought it up a little more current, and I say, okay, when I dead bury my clothes, he said, I I wasn't born in this.

Corie 7:48

But the reaction to it, because I see from the time you do ragapom pom, they don't matter when you do that, that is a monster song. Yeah, and I see their reaction, they pull it up two, three times and then they're gone again. But I always remember seeing them when you do when a dead bury me closed.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

He says, You never know. But it's nice when you see it do, you know, your material that is over 30 years old, right? And young people could still relate and still vibe with it, you know. It gives you a sense of that you're doing the right thing because now your music it transcends the boundaries of time.

Corie 8:19

Of course, of course. So I guess for them it's classic music for us, but it's it's something new to them. Yeah. But when you do when you do the dipping out of mother, see how the energy picks up in your room, too.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

Yeah, and you're talking to younger people, the room, the room follow is just room mass, a whole lot of young artists, some of them I don't even know. I see. So I am always feeling kind of a little embarrassed because you know, if you're if you're blazing the trail and you want young people to follow or to take example, you should at least know the young people. Right, you know, and I felt kind of you know out of touch because a lot of them didn't know their names. Of course. But they came up to me and introduced themselves and we had conversations, and it was nice, good vibe, you know. But it was a lot of them, a lot.

Corie 8:59

How do you react to the Juve song in the morning?

SPEAKER_02 9:01

They loved it, they loved it, they loved it, they loved it. And I think it's from there really took off, eh? Yeah, yeah, because it's a whole bunch of young artists now vibing with this song. Take a dip in the mud and bathe yourself, and you know, it was really cool.

Corie 9:13

And even as a juvenile, keep billing and billing and billing. By the time you reach Braggadang, well, yeah, we there. Well, I mean, you experienced this.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

You know what? I I just came back from New York and it was like, whoa. You know, people into it. And in fact, I got videos during the carnival season of people, people in the repass and all kinds of serious, yeah. I think that's a repass. There's a week. Well, we call it well, not a week because you say a week. Yeah, there's a repass now. I was like, but what kind of mad people think is this? Because they jumping up like I said, all right, take a pinny mad carry on. Of course, of course.

Corie 9:47

I tell them before we start the amongst the funeral, repass, wake and thing. I play um when I dead bury my clothes, all them thing over the years.

SPEAKER_02 9:55

I sang that enough funeral because the the man, the person who passed, he told his daughter when I he knew he was gonna die. You know, he knew he was terminal. He said, Um, when I die, get Anslim to come and sing when I dead bury my clothes at my funeral. So I sang it to the church. In the church, you know, like, okay, all right.

Corie 10:16

It's a youth men nowadays say when I dead bury my phone, yeah. Then they make it showing no chances, you know.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

A man drink for that particular kind of a man had when I dead bury my stove. Yeah, I know what he wanted, a man cooked by me. I said, but what kind of the real man do they wake it up, you wake it up? Sometimes it's just you know, but I like the novelty songs, you know, when they do something that just continues going and growing generation to generation, you know.

Corie 10:40

Right.

Social Media And Youthful Energy

Corie 10:41

So when you enter in that, where you be up to, where you just be up to?

SPEAKER_02 10:44

Um performing, writing, right? You know, hanging out with my people, you know.

Corie 10:49

Writing for yourself or writing for people and so I you know what, I just write.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

Yeah, I just write if somebody says, Listen, I want a song to do so and my song. I just I always write in.

Corie 11:00

But writing is something I love. I see randomly, and I hope I hope I'm not wrong about this. You have a children's book too. I have a children's book. So you have to do it.

SPEAKER_02 11:05

I have several children, one published so far, right? And that is now we're now moving in the direction of turning it into a 15-episode um television animation series.

Corie 11:16

Oh, seriously, spin and snatch is the name of it.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

The adventures of spin and scratch. It's close. That was close. That was a good swing. The adventures of spin and scratch.

Corie 11:26

He almost won the race. He almost won the race. Second place in bad, second place in bad. So, what makes you decide that you're gonna do a uh a book?

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Um books. I I always from small, I'm always writing. I was into poetry and all that kind of stuff, you know. So I had I can give I'm gonna give you the backstory on this book, right? I drove down from Toronto to see my mom. She was in New York. Um and you know, when people visit and they're coming home, they need 52 barrels, 1200 suitcase. So I I say, I say, old lady, this place looks like a bomb drop. She said, Boy, you know. And I don't know, while talking to her, I said, don't take none of them New York mice and kind of trainer. And as I said that, a light went off in my brain. So I'm talking to my mom like oh, I'm talking to you here. But half of my brain is writing this story about a woman who came to New York. But you know, you had to improvise and you know, create a story around the story. You know, and um this young girl who came um as a nanny to work for a very affluent family, uh, um, and she raised their kids and she raised their grandkids, she stayed with them, she would go on vacations with them, and she ended up spending 40 years. So she left Trinidad when she was like early 20s, and now she's in her 60s and never went home. And she's now relating to her next door neighbor, Jamaican woman, that you know, girl, I've been out here so long, and I have nieces and nephews that I never see. You know. But unknown to her, there's a family of mice living in the walls of her Brooklyn apartment, which is the mother mouse and her two sons spin and scratch. So the mother mouse overheard that conversation, went into panic and went and called her two sons spin and scratch, disturbing them from their martial arts practice because they work out every day, you know. This is a black belt mice we're talking about here, you know. Play with me. It's a no-joke, mouse. They're fellow serious, you know. So she pulled them aside and said, and the plan was, you know what, when Auntie Rubia, she's affectionately called, when she's going back to Trinidad, I will hide you in hide you all in her suitcase.

Corie 13:51

Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

And so said, so done. Um, so they store away. And lo and behold, these two American mice ended up in Trinidad, and that's where the adventure began. That is insane. You come up with a six. I'm doing that while I talk to my brother. Also, you're building up these frame of it. And I'm driving back up to Toronto and just working on this. By the time I got to Toronto, the story was pretty much pretty much done. So I wrote it and keep working on it. Two years pass. And I sent the first draft to my sister. I'm in Trinidad here now. And out of the blue years pass, my sister's gonna call me and say, Listen, that um story I was writing about the mice and stuff, whatever. I said, Oh, it's just there. She said, That's a good story. She said, I'm going through my trunk with all my papers and I saw it and I read it again. She said, That's a good story, you should finish it. So, right there I started to look, seek out the publishers and all of that. And I got into a publish called um Porter House. And when they looked at it, they said, you know what? It is too long to be a picture book and too short to be a chapter book. So we'd have to cut it up and say, don't touch my word. Went back to Detroit board and just opened up the whole story now and ended up with 21 chapters, short chapters because it's for kids between the age of seven and age demographic, seven and eleven, seven, and thirteen. You know, so we put it out there and it was doing five stars on Amazon. Oh, nice. Yeah, it was doing really well, and then I realized I am making no money, the publishers making all the money.

Corie 15:34

Of course.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

So I had the option to pull it after two years, so I did that, right? And then we started to focus on tuning into um animation, television.

Corie 15:42

So in the process of doing that now? Yeah, we're in the process of doing that. Okay, how are you going? It's coming along attraction?

SPEAKER_02 15:47

It's coming along nicely. We already have the trailer done, you know, and I wrote two songs for the trailer, and of course, it's it's it's it's it's coming along, it's coming along, you know.

Corie 15:58

So, a tra a trans book in your mind anyway at that point in time, or with in your writing, you had intentions of writing a trans book at some point?

SPEAKER_02 16:05

Not until that that incident with my mom. Yeah, just full revolution. And then after that, I I I wrote uh what you call a uh one-liner, which would be uh a picture book um based on my niece who was four then she's ten now. You know, my name is Mia, but that's rhyming, and that is for kids who are now getting in getting interested in reading, like bedtime stories, you know. So I there's that, there is um there is uh Andrea and tuna. A story. Now listen, it's very important that you listen to A story of who let the dogs out. Okay. Not the story, the story. A story, and this is based on a veteran, uh a Vietnam vet who's homeless on the street and stumbled on uh a mother dog. We wouldn't use the real word, but a mother dog. Come on, be nice to her. Try it totally trying to keep it, you know. So a mother stumbled on a stumbling on a mother dog. And she was just about to have pops and all that, and one of the pops was Tina, and he and Tina became friends and all that stuff. That's a long, a much longer book that I have something called Um Bako Harry. Uh Bako Harry is I I never said based in Trinidad, but when you read it, you kind of get the vibe because Bako Harry had to leave school at the age of nine or ten to help his father. He was the first of eight children, you know, and he worked hard with his father, and he was always interested in in heavy machinery and all that kind of stuff, and he learned how to fix backhows. And the company he was working for went under, and the boss took a liking to him and gave him a baku. But he used to drive this backhoe up or down like a car. If you go in shopping, you go with the backhoe. So the villagers call it back with. But, anyways.

Corie 18:04

Who is drink? How are you coming up with these things? I need to get someone. We need to let somebody go. A little taste to make a cat test. So you're working on publishing these two. These are publishing. So you're going to go through that.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

I have things on the drawing board right now. There's something that I'm working on. Call arm. I I don't live alone. Right. That is a kind of I don't know what direction I want to take it in yet because it's about a young girl who lives alone. But when she was finished university, she couldn't get a job. So she stayed in the little apartment she was renting as a university student. And then she lost the little job that she had, and she lost her boyfriend. And things in the house started talking to her, and she's talking back to the things in the house. So the fridge will talk to her, and the stove will talk to her. Her laptop.

Corie 18:51

It's not drinks then. You know what it is. There's no drinks. Now a little stronger drinks in the fridge talking.

SPEAKER_02 18:56

Bro, well, stuff going on. So I have a few things on the on on the drawing board.

Corie 19:00

You have intention, like uh, like I look at people like Sean Limes and things. Like when they look at um what Netflix has done or what Tyler Perry and them doing, like people finding great careers now in writing these docuseries or even fictional series. You have them things in mind? Or is it just books for now?

SPEAKER_02 19:16

Well, you know what, it I think one step at a time, and you know, like, and I'm not saying this because we we on be on this kind of platform, but every morning when I plant my feet on the ground, I kind of give the day to God, you know. Say this is your day. You know, just guide me through it. Because I I didn't I I always tell people your alarm don't really wake you up in the morning. If that was Shify alarm is to wake up, we'd have go in the morgue and put on the alarm and would have got up, right? But it's God will wake you up on mornings. So I kind of just give him the day and whatever direction it goes in, I thank him for it. I mean, I'm not like a like a like a like a feather on the wind, you know. But you know, you had a purpose and direction. But if your purpose and direction is not guided and governed by the Supreme, then pretty much you're wasting time.

Corie 20:06

Okay, I

From Children’s Books To Animation

Corie 20:07

would you'll see. So you say a story about who led the dogs out. I hear plenty of a story about who led the dogs out, and I'll show you here.

SPEAKER_02 20:13

Oh, I've heard a million of them.

Corie 20:15

Just a just to pick one. Yeah, well, I want to pick the right one and all. Pick one, pick one. All right, let me pick one, right? I see Manny Fresh, big producer in the States, but popular fella, well known and stuff, and it was going viral maybe earlier this year. Right. Of him saying the Baja men come into the studio not knowing what they want to sing. And he kind of gets them at thing and say, Well, just say who let the dogs out and back after that. No, I'm born in 80 years, but I've grown up fast, so I kind of remember Manny Ransom Douglas sing the exact same song here.

SPEAKER_02 20:43

I think people live in an age of information, and not all information is good. That's gonna say, not all money is good money. Not all information is good information. People need to be able to pick sense out of nonsense. Right? He gave the Baha men to pull any dogs out, but the Baha Men came to me to get a publishing arrangement for the same song that he gave them. I mean, we could we could end that conversation right now. Because if you gave the Baha Men a song, why would the Baha men then come to me? Well, they didn't come to me, they're publishers from Destin Songs, the publishers at the time came to me to make have a publishing arrangement with the Bahamen for a song that was recorded before them. Something something had really added up here. But people say what they want to say.

Corie 21:44

Well, the truth of it is to me, is like it's the same thing you're talking about, like being and we outside by Optimus and then with the young brother. We in the age of information, right? But the last man who tells the most viral storytelling the truth these days, huh? So it's important sometimes to clear these things up because I I mean I hear an insight. Saying it and I'm talking to people now who might listen to this podcast and they don't know that era.

SPEAKER_02 22:04

Right.

Corie 22:04

And then say, wait, that was a good way. That is from home here. So you had the arrangement, they reached out and made the song was done. Remember, I recorded this.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

In fact, me and Beaver had a conversation yesterday. Late last night, I think me and Beaver talk. Right. You say, I ain't for missing this carnival, but we're going on something talking on me. And we talk about that. Is one of the things we spoke about. That song was done for Carnival 1997. Because you know, like it or not, we still do music for Carnival. I would really like, just to go off on a tangent, I'd really like to do everything in my power to break that cycle where our music is just music. I know we have a national festival that we have to provide because carnival, I mean, soccer music is what propels the carnival. You know, people don't leave where they're coming from for anything else other than soccer, calypso, pan, and mass. You know, and now food and lime and all that stuff. But it was still built around that. Still built around that. You know, so I would like I would like to break that. But going back to the story now, we we write music for Carnival, sadly. 1995. Those days we used to sell our music to New York to Master. That's what we're called, a dat. Yes. Digital analog tape. Right? We used to say a dat tape, but that is kind of like being without that. Yeah. Digital analog tape, right? So we send that out to New York, and Tatty had a ridiculous snowstorm in New York. And the music never came back in until after Super Blue released. And in those days when Super released Carnaval done. Forget about it. When Super said, Yeah. I don't know how you do that. I don't know.

Corie 24:14

Yeah. Yeah, we gotta keep your thing your voice here. Something like that, he does.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

Yeah. Already does that, Carnival done. My music came in after. So the following year now I went to Beaver and I said, Beav, I have some material here, boy. I had a song called I Walk With Mine. I had a song called Whether Dead Bury My Clothes. I had a song called Who Let The Dogs Out. And some of the song. So I was singing it down for him. The studio was in Sang all the time. And he said, You see the song Who Let the Dogs Out and Slim? You're coming off a bad year. I mean, prior to that, he had good music to dance, rock back on it, rag a pum-pom, jump and mash up the party. I had a series of hits coming up the road. And then it falls flat. And you know it's a business about what have you done for me lately, you know. Um, which is another sad thing. The people don't really judge you based on the body of work that you have. So we are this year, boy. Yeah, us, we, yeah, we do. We judge like that. So he said, You're coming off a really hard year. So you need a showfire because this who lady dogs out could be a big hit, or it could be a big boss.

Corie 25:30

It's beaver saying this. It's beaver saying that.

SPEAKER_02 25:32

And he was right. So I said, Well, where do you want to go with? He said, Let's go with the stick fight song.

unknown 25:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:41

But when I wrote the stick fight song, I had a chorus for every verse. A different chorus. Beaver say, You're going mad now. Because you say, You know, it's the chorus, everybody's waiting for it. That's all. So, how you could just have a different chorus? So, I had to be thinking, what verse is this and what chorus coming? So, I say, okay, right. You say choose a chorus now. So, I end up choosing one of dead bear metals because it had choruses like um Ali Get A Gall, Ali Get A Gall is poison.

Corie 26:10

It have um so it was all stick fight choruses.

SPEAKER_02 26:12

All stick fight choruses, Mooma, Mooma, your son in the grave already, your son in the grave already. Take our topula and burn him.

Corie 26:19

Yeah, that would have been bad, and we should make a version for everyone.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

So that was the whole plan. I know, so we were saying let's choose one chorus, and we went with that, and the rest is history. Yeah, so who lady dogs was done since '96 for Carnival '97. But by that time, my good friend from back then called Ozzy Girly started recording, started doing recordings. He recorded um Ronnie, Nigel, and Marvin. He was doing some good work. So I say, you know what? I'm in Toronto already. Let me let me go here. And I did that. So we recorded the song. I personally didn't like the final mix. I thought it was a bit noisy, but it just took off in Trinidad. It just took off. People started buying dog colour woman work.

Corie 27:08

They say I get dog colour to buy in the game.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

Primo, I got a little deal with Primo, the door company. Right. And people start walking a woman coming to a fet with a man with dog colour and things.

Corie 27:20

He's still laughing. It's then they come.

SPEAKER_02 27:22

No, because no for real women won't and men cool with it. Because up to now, tell us something. People never realized that I was a man-bashing song.

Corie 27:31

Yeah, well, this is why it's a little youth man the other day. I said, You're a listening song good. Because when you say Millie Bug and Skatel, there's a response.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

Because a couple of years before that, there was a thing that was eating trees called Millibog. Right. And fellas was calling you, it's an old Millie Bug, the old Sketel. Yeah. And it was like, okay. And a guy sang a song, I think, the year before. Sketel, don't call me that. Skatel. Right. So I now decided, you know what? I will do somebody the girls respond to the call. Who let the dogs out? Get back, Fluffy, Mash Fluffy, get back, you flea-infested mongrel. You know what Mongrel is up, has so much mixes in it, you don't even know what breed it is. But people didn't really care about that. They just waited for who let the dogs out and was just backing and carried on. You know, and that was so it was released in November of '97 for Carnival 98. And it just by 1999 now. No, Carnival 2000. I got a call from a gentleman by the name of Winston Simone. And artists always doing that stupidness and pick up the phone and call your poor accent and pretend something. So I think I say, Who played the food here this morning? You know, because I know come on the shower in Gonzales right there. Somebody call. I say, yo, yo, I really have time for this. And say, what's going on? American accent. Come on, man. I can't talk like that, but you know then I realized this is for real. So I told him, Hey, call Francis. I'm gonna give you a number now, Francis S.

SPEAKER_03 29:22

Guy.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

And Francis ended up jumping in as manager because you know, and organized the deal and all of that. Lo and behold, we in New York and we're talking. And that conversation was so enlightening. Listen, we sat down there, and this gentleman tell me, tell me about yourself, Ansla. Tell me about yourself. So I used to have a talk, man. I used to talk about what's the biggest song? I said rabbit, pum-pum. I had songs like goodness, jump and mash up the party. And he said, How many, how many copies you saw? I said about 5,000. I think in my hey, 5,000 copies. 5,000 copies, man. And this Jewish brother said I'm looking at me like that. Listen. He said, Well, clearly, Anselm, you have a lot of talent. Say, but um you say, you know, we give away 5,000 CDs to promote, to promote. So I was like, listen to me. Look at me. I guess I feel so small. And say, you know, we give away 5,000 CDs to DJs and stuff in clubs to promote music. I was like, really? He said, yeah. You say 5,000. He said how many people in Trinidad and Tobago? I said about those, I said about 1.3 million, somewhere around there. He said, let me give you some math, you know, because numbers do lie. You say you do this to make money. You but love it, but you do it to make money. You say anybody under the age of 17, they have no purchasing power. Take out that chunk.

Corie 31:07

Oh, so you're cutting only 1.3 at one time.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

He said most people, 65 and above, they study in their bank book and their Bible. They're not into it. They're not infected, mad party. He said that you have the religious sector. They're not into that. He said there are people in hospital, in jail, who all of them all them make up part of that. Of course. He said, so you have this little portion here now in the middle. He said you had to take a look at the church. There are people who don't like you.

Corie 31:39

Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_02 31:42

He said, don't think because you sing it, everybody. There are people who don't like you. So take that out. He's saying no, boy, what? 5,000 people. That's what he said.

Corie 31:50

So it's only all market, you're maxed it out.

SPEAKER_02 31:51

You're maxed out. I was like, whoa.

Corie 31:54

Interesting, huh?

SPEAKER_02 31:56

But let me tell you something. If as an artist, your career is hinged on 5,000 people in the wrong business.

The Global Math Of Music

SPEAKER_02 32:11

You say it, you know, it's over 7 billion people in the world. Why are you catering for 5,000 people? And that just I never figured out a conversation because the whole idea is now I know as a trend become I have an obligation to do music for my national festival. I feel it's an obligation. Beyond Monday and Tuesday. You know, and start to do music that has nothing to do with carnival. And we have songs like that. Sadly, we haven't drawn a line and differentiate what is carnival and what's just music. Because that's songs that a song like Take a Dip in the Mot, that is definite carnival music. So if you don't play that after carnival, that's fine. But people write songs for Carnaval on the road, take a jump, we in the fet, you do, yeah. And then there's music like just just nice music. I could play anytime. So those are songs out, and the tons of songs like that. Tons. So those are songs that should really get right after carnival is over. Because if you jump in my car now and you hear chestnuts roasting on an open farm, you say stop smoking that thing. You'll say you start back. So if your music is designed for a particular festival and season, I can't be vexed with you if you don't play it outside of that because the season is over. Right? The good thing is we export it. So you could go to Jamaica and play the same song. And New York and Boston and Baltimore. For all the carnivals, right? But outside of the carnivals, we have music that could be played that has nothing to do with carnival. So music. Sure. Just really nice soccer music. And I think that is where we could break the mole and break out of this play carnival music for carnival. And outside of that, there's songs that have really had nothing to do with carnival, but it's real good sounds played there.

Corie 34:36

Yeah, and sometimes it comes down to the name because I think the expectation of and maybe as a fan, we might be driving from us. When I hear Anson Douglas, anything he sings must be so car and it must mash up the place and when he sings we go a little too far from that, yeah, it's a question, innit? Yeah, yeah. I want to come

The Baha Men Deal And Fallout

Corie 34:52

back to that. But in that room, then when you're talking about the song, they're bringing you to talk about doing the song or to give it to somebody.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

No, they they brought they brought us in to talk about contract.

Corie 35:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 35:02

Because they said no, for the Bahamen. Okay, got it. So, because they said they found a band, a group that they want to do a cover version of the song.

SPEAKER_03 35:13

Right.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

So, of course, contracts were drawn up and all that stuff. And you know, people think that I had beef for the Baha Men. I never had beef. I wish they could take four more of the songs.

Corie 35:21

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, you make millions and millions. What David Roder said they go on with dollars. Go on with billions.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

People say you make millions of dollars to make a song in movies. People have the impression that I was backstroking on Bills and got it like that. People make up stuff in their head, you know. I think people wake up in the morning just like that and say, What room I can spread today? Sparrow dead.

Corie 35:45

Yeah, well, uh here that many times.

SPEAKER_02 35:48

You know, this I mean, it's crazy. I don't know, I don't know where where it comes from, but it's just you know, so that was for the Bahaman. That that meeting was about the Bahaman, and lo and behold, the follow. I'll give you a quick story. That's part of the story. Sure. Song release. Song release.

Corie 36:08

This is Bahaman version, no.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

This is 2000 now. Song release, Bahaman version. When they send the CD to me, in the mail, I tell you, stick it in home in Toronto, listen to it. It didn't rock my world because Oh, so you felt that way too. It didn't rock my world. Okay. I'll be honest. But when a producer who paid their money, or a publisher, so who paid their money, say, how are we doing this? I like it, man.

Corie 36:33

Hey, come on, talking millions, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

I say, I like it, I like it, I like it, you know. Say, oh, it's it it's it's different, but I like it. Uh it will grow on me, and you know, that kind of thing. I'm in New York now. This is coming down to they sent it to me before it was released. So now it's released. And the person who used to run the office, his name was Adam. Adam gave me a call in New York and he said, Hey, what's up, man? I say, I'm good, I'm good. He says, I'm calling to apologize. I say, about what? He said, Well, the song was released, and we only did 50,000 copies this week. This week? We only did 50,000. Look at your boy now. Man, because my my biggest, my biggest selling song sell 5,000 copies in the whole life. You called me to tell me, uh, Anselm, don't worry yourself, you know. Um, it's gonna pick up, I promise you. We only did 50,000 this week, but it's gonna grow. And I'm like, yeah, man, I hope it grows. I heard before I said, but this man is that kind of mad man. 50,000 copies in a week. Imagine, imagine. The following week, Adam called me and say, see what I told you? We did 75,000 this week. And from there he said, okay, so we could predict the platinum bash. And lo and behold, they set up the platinum bash and song went platinum, double platinum. I think after triple platinum, they just say multi-platinum. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:13

Okay, grats.

SPEAKER_02 38:14

And then it started to be um what was the word translated into different languages? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And um and then movies, TV series, and you just picked it up and and all that kind of stuff. And lo and behold, I'm driving down the highway. Because you know, the Grammys is very close to Carnival. It's February month, right there. Okay. And Martin Raymond, McDay Mice, come in and say, Yo, your song just win the Grammy. I am a very kind of flatline guy, you know. Not a fool that's gonna be. I had a pull-a-side card, come out, and was like, whoa, my music won a Grammy, and I couldn't wrap my brain around it. Because it was like, you know, I think because it's kind of the standard that everybody musically try to aspire to, you know, a Grammy. When they win a Grammy's like, hey, you did it, you made it, you know. So I'm like, I couldn't believe that work that I did went on to win a Grammy. Who Lady Dogs out won best dance track for 2001 Grammys? I'm like, wow. By the time I reached home, I was staying in Gonzalez because when I come home for Carnival, I used to stay in Gonzalez by my family there. And the whole, every media house was in front of my house. Like, big light, big, big light like that, like really doing road work. Yeah. Look at that big spotlight. That is what's going on there. I'm like, whoa, and everybody wanna have a conversation and talk, and and you know, I it it it was a really exciting moment that gave me gave me a vibe to just work harder and understand that while Trinidad is your home and your base, there's a bigger world. And on that note, I think we need you know, you know which people come up to me and say, Anselm, Anslim Douglas, I'm your biggest fan, you know. I'd be tempted to say, when last you buy any of my music, yeah, one last you stream any of my music, when last you download something from me and pay one dollar for it. When I have in a party, you still want me, I feel like you give me two comps away. Yeah, you know, you know, you're not support. Because we have a way, and I say we have a way that we think entertainment should be free. You know, people look at me still after 40 years on stage and still say, So, other than music, where it is dupe. Nobody walk up to the policeman and ask him that. Other than looking on people, where he doesn't do it.

SPEAKER_00 41:05

Better put yourself after these riots and cigarettes. No, but you're I would say a hundred.

SPEAKER_02 41:11

Okay, let's not use police. That's that's a bad example. No, but you wait a hundred. How many people walk up to a school teacher and say, So, other than educating children, what do you do? You know?

Corie 41:20

Or to say it differently, like, how many I hear many people come here and say, like, when they tell the parents what they want to be, or you know, music is like, oh, no social.

SPEAKER_02 41:29

And and there's good reason for that. Of course. Because it's just like you might be a good basketball player and want to get into the NBA. But when you look at the handful of people who really get into the NBA, it's like winning a lot of. So your parents now would always tell you, chase your dream, but that's something to fall back on.

Corie 41:51

Yeah, they want to minimize risk missing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:52

And that's all it's not like well, back then I couldn't tell my mother I want to be a musician, you're mad. No.

Corie 42:00

But I want to go back to those days too. So that discussion around, and this is thanks to everybody who's been saying so music, yeah, when I grammy, yeah. Thanks for clearing that up, friends. But um what let me just talk as a fan, like hearing it for the first time. We don't know the whole behind the scenes, right? So we don't know what's coming, right? But we fetch who let the dogs out. I know what the song is, I know who you are on a stage, and then I hear Bahaman sing what I would call a very watered on tame version of just a song like the song, right? So I don't like it at all. I'm surprised to hear you say that. I was like, I don't like it at all.

SPEAKER_02 42:29

No, no, no, no, no.

Corie 42:32

Is that crazy? I get to love it. I don't remember who is this really, but I mean you do feel proud when you understand, you understand that it's a mindset, it is because we want your ways and we want that. We want to hold on to ours as let's see. You're following Denise Bellphone and Drake. No, with the with she has a song, Drake just sampled it on one of his latest records. Um I was here about him, but I what you're waiting for, but back in it several times we sampled in Musical Award. I was in a I was in a very fine establishment in Miami that should remain unnamed. I hear the song come on at throw all my ones. It was it was chaotic. Well, school event, school event, school event, one at a time. Yeah, but I I I feel good and I feel proud when I see those things, but I also feel like I want to be sure that Denise Belfort benefits and she does well coming off of it. And she she said that in a recent interview that she the business was proper and that kind of thing. So above board, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But glad to hear you say that the business was the business of it.

SPEAKER_02 43:32

Yeah, it was all it was all done. Francis S. I handled most of it, and you know, it was it was really cool. So people think that me and the Bahaman had beef, we never had no beef.

Corie 43:39

Nothing like that. How about Manny Fresh? You know him, you see him this man anyway, you know this person.

SPEAKER_02 43:43

No, and you know what? If I see him now, I'd pass him like a full bus because I really didn't pay attention to him. I just realized that people say things, you know why God gave you two nostrils and two eyes and two ears and two hands and two foot and one mouth? All right, well, leave it right there.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

Oh, wait a hundred percent. One mouth.

SPEAKER_02 44:03

One mouth. If you had two, you know, see this. Bible tells that, you know, life and death is in the tongue, you know. So you gotta be careful about what comes out of that. Because we like to do that.

Corie 44:13

Of course, of course.

SPEAKER_02 44:14

We like to do that, of course. Especially when we have a camera, we sort of say all kinds of things that song good then.

Corie 44:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:20

Not realizing that it will go viral and people will question it and people will ask.

Corie 44:24

Especially in today's world. In today's world. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everything could be viral.

SPEAKER_02 44:27

I remember singing um in a in a seniors woman function in City Hall in San Fernando. I honestly forgot that the the um the counselor had asked me to come and perform for them. And I am in a meeting now with my then publicist. Short pants and no, I don't know, jeans and slippers. It's normal. And the the the the um the counselor called and said, answer how far away are you? I said, from what? I forget. She said, today everything with I say, I said, Madam Councillor, how gosh? I in a state. I just have one of the jeans, she said, come we take in a job. I know music, no flash drive, nothing. Reach City Hall, my phone, email music to the DJ, because I have instrumentals and you know TV visuals and call up on stage, I in a jeans and a flip-flop in my foot and a t-shirt. Them old women didn't care.

SPEAKER_03 45:33

Yeah, well.

SPEAKER_02 45:34

So I explained to them, look, there's a situation. I take off my slippers and I perform. We had a good time. By nighttime, my son calling me from the west coast in Canada and saying, Well, man, you're piping out. Same day. Same day.

Corie 45:48

Different world, right?

SPEAKER_02 45:50

He on the West Coast in Canada, somewhere out Vancouver, somewhere.

Corie 45:54

And seeing you perform barefoot, something right?

SPEAKER_02 45:57

Big man you're piping out. I said, no boy, your father get caught up in that thing. You know, because but that's just to show you how it's it's right there.

Corie 46:06

Nothing you do now, it's it's it's private or even safe. No, no, no. And it can't go unchecked. It can't go unchecked. So those early days. What

Growing Up With Rhythm And Faith

Corie 46:15

what if you can't tell your parents you're doing music and thing? What are you telling them? What was your ambition when you young?

SPEAKER_02 46:20

Well, before the Laramie Community Center, I'm from Laramie.

Corie 46:25

Right.

SPEAKER_02 46:25

Before the Laramie Community Center was built, the best village thing used to be downstairs my grandfather's house. And they used to put me on a little wooden Pepsi box with a drum between my leg and I drumming. So people come in from all over to see this little four-year-old boy drumming. But when the community center was finished, of course, everything moved. That's finished. My mother sends her a little child out of the road. Because them days, Rastafari thing now start and little weed pulley. So I started drumming everything, the table, the banister, the port. Right. I drum in every single thing. We used to move the furniture in the living room because we had hardwood floor. Them floors had a polished Christmas time. Of course. Wax. I move it on Morris chairs. You might know it's Morris Chairs. I know Morris chairs. Right. So we used to move the Morris chairs on them and put on the radiogram. You know that radiogram? That I know. Put on the radiogram because it has Dave Elcock hit parade. Dave Elcock used to have a hit parade on a Sunday evening. On Saturday morning, it had somebody called Billy Reese the Bad Lad.

SPEAKER_00 47:43

If I know Bad Lad thinks bad, and Dave Elcock thinks bad.

SPEAKER_02 47:46

Billy Reese the Bad Lad and on Saturday mornings and on Sunday nights, Sunday evenings used to have hit parade with Dave Elcock. And I used to be like putting on your socks and you're skating and you're saying, playing Michael Jackson and you know, and when it's when a sparrow came on and singing, because calypso music was only played at a certain period of the year. You know, as Lent Coming, that's it, they're done until the following year. But he had artists like Duke and Kitchener and Sparrow and Shadow. A few of them used to actually record, but a lot of the artists never really used to record. You gotta go to the tent to hear them. But um I say, Mommy, ain't that song like Sparrow when I sing? Well, little boys and Mammy, that song like Sparrow. She said, You can't sing like Sparrow, you mad? But from small, she knew that I was I was in love with music. But when you I didn't know only when I turned a big man, I realized we were poor. I did, I thought, I thought we were I didn't know we were poor. I I didn't know because all the kids growing up, we had we shared this, we shared made our toys. You had your slinging shot, you had your boxcart, you make your kite. Right. So you had a happy childhood, but I didn't realize, wait a minute, we didn't have a lot of money. You know, so it would have been difficult to send you to music's music class. And I remember when I was writing at the those days, common entrance. Right. I say, mommy, if I pass common entrance, I'll get I'll get a chopper. Yeah, but you know that chopper supposed to buy with it all hands. I want chopper boy, she said. If you pass for a five-year school, because those days had um junior sec and junior sec, to be honest, was looked down upon. Of course. I don't know. It was, I think Eric Williams put it for people who were more trade inclined than academic, you know. So they were kind of looked down upon, and the five-year schools and the colleges were looked up like, yeah, you're going to a prestige school. So she said, if you pass for a five-year school, I'll buy a bike for you.

unknown 49:48

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 49:50

Well, the results used to come out in the papers, but they get influenced in school. Well, I passed for Benedict's college when I reached home. Babe, bike, bike. What's the matter with Benedict? I watch up. Benedict. I come right up the hill, bike, bike, bike, bike. You know, you don't like when in school and they see fighting when it fight. Bike, bike, bike. She said, bike, bike, my foot. What's cool they passed for? Benedict's mommy. She said, Okay, you make me proud. I said, Mammy, I'll get a bike. She said, Well, it's bike or books, choose one. Up to today, I never see a chopper. I see them boys riding one, but I never see one. Mission accomplished. But the thing about it is you never grows. Well, you play always tell us something back then. You understood that, hey, can afford it.

Corie 50:43

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:43

But that was it, wasn't like no temper tantrum. No, no, it wasn't that.

Corie 50:47

Yeah, I guess it's all relative to if you and your partners, I was just saying, enjoying your childhood at that point.

SPEAKER_02 50:51

I had a real listen, I had slinging shot. I I play Batman and Robin in Hammock. Me and Jairam, God rest the soul. I had real fun climbing trees, pick eating fruit. Sometimes you eat so much fruit, you get what they call colic.

Corie 51:14

They stop make colic when they stop make morrest chair. All them things done, they're solved for that loss.

SPEAKER_02 51:20

But yeah, she she knew I was I was musically inclined, but the reality is it couldn't happen. And then I started in church and I started singing in the church, and then I started in the choir in church. I told where I come from choir. Right. You know, we had to sing parts and learn harmonies, and and then I started doing lead for the choir. Right. And then me and a few guys at the church created our all-boys group. All well, I was the boy, but everybody was older than me. Right. And we had a uh a little group called Exodus, which was doing really well. As a band? As a band, yeah. As a band. So I would play drums and sing. Kind of Phil Collins kind of style of playing drums. Yeah, yeah. But I wasn't really the real, real drummer.

SPEAKER_00 51:59

Right.

SPEAKER_02 51:59

But when the drummer is singing, I would play drums. Oh, gosh. And we would switch. And sometimes the bass man would play keyboard and the keyboardist would play guitar, and everybody was kind of doing their own thing.

Corie 52:07

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 52:08

It was a really nice, tight unit.

Corie 52:10

And um singing gospel music in the band coming out. Stick with gospel, even in the band.

SPEAKER_02 52:15

No, that the band was in church.

Corie 52:16

Oh, the band was in church?

SPEAKER_02 52:17

Yeah, church band, gosh.

SPEAKER_00 52:23

Oh, you tell them when you do it eventually.

SPEAKER_02 52:25

No, I was I was 15 years old. I call it a big one. All right, good. 15 years old. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was doing my thing, and you know, but as you get older, you start to stray and what they call it your backslide.

Corie 52:37

But in the right place, landlord.

SPEAKER_02 52:40

But you know what? I always kind of maintain the teachings. You know, try and live as you know, my righteousness is not righteous, but I try to live good with everybody. Yeah, like I I don't think I have an enemy in the world. Really, I don't have people who don't like me, and I can't fix that. Yeah, but I don't really think I have an enemy to say. Not really. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Gotcha, gotcha.

Corie 53:04

So in Benedict, you do any calypso competitions, you're doing them types of things, or no, I was still in church dwelling.

SPEAKER_02 53:10

Still in church and thing, and you know, singing in school, but still more on the church side. And then when I left school, hmm. I left school and I ended up working at my uncle's hotel called Dougie's in South.

Coast Guard Gigs And First Breaks

SPEAKER_02 53:24

Right. Dougie's is one of those hotels. Right? David? So I was I was working at Doggy's, and um I think from there, I'm I'm grateful and thankful for the opportunity to work there, but I I saw life in a whole different through some different lens, man. It's like, wow. You know, you saw some people who coming in there and paying for rooms and everyone. But she married us also. Or do I just joke? I am joking, I didn't say that. But um, no, but it I started seeing life through a completely different pair of lens, you know, satellites. And um, after that, I went into the Coast Guard. Right. You know, straight from there into the Coast Guard. And of course, you know, Coast Guard is you know the several sailors, wine woman and song. So started to enjoy all three. At the same time, yeah, like wine woman and song. And I've been a good time, and it's really Coast Guard. I decided, you know what, I'm gonna go on Scouting. Right. That's Scouting for Talent with Holiday. And um Beaver had a band that was doing the backup band for scouting. And when I eventually got to get on to the show, as I was finished, Beaver came to me and he said, as soon as you finish this competition, I want to change my band as vocalist. It's Fireflight now. So this was in the 80s. So lo and behold, I'm in Fireflight, and that didn't last long, it lasted two years. At the time you're going into Fireflight, it's covers mostly you're doing? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did my first recording was with Fireflight back in the 50s. You know, it didn't really do anything, but it was nice to be able to do what you've been dreaming about and do what you see people do on TV. You put the hands on the air and you go in the room and you sing, sing your heart out. And and then after Fireflight, I realized I really want to do this thing, you know.

Corie 55:30

So wait, you went scouting or no, no, I think I come third or fourth or something like that. But I guess he sees the talent first.

SPEAKER_02 55:36

He saw the talent, yeah, yeah. And um I went to a funny story, you know. There's a politician in Trinidad who was hired and fired, and we had the shortest run as a as a PM. I had the shortest run as a lead vocalist. Fireflight? No, Fireflight lasted two years. But I'm in Coast Guard now, and I am on the jetty doing my work, and a guy comes in and said, Commanding officer, I want to see you now. Commanding officer was Mr. Kelly show all the time. So I said, well, I had to go and change into whites. He said, No, no, you want to see you just had a blues dirty. Went to salute. Say, um, say like the same. Say, yes, sir. He said, All right, get your civilian clothes. Corn up in the dormitory, shower, civilian clothes, driving out a coast guard in one CG1. Went to second image because his daughter Kel Show was singing in second image every time. I said, Well, sing something. I do a person across, I get a job. Say, all right, so we have rehearsal, so I say I had to check my schedule. Schedule, like for what? I said, Well, I need the coast car. They say, No, no, no, no, no, you lost the job. I say, I say, okay. All right. That was it. I get it, I get a job and lose the job in a in a sentence. I said, all right, cool. Go on St. James by this is on my own now.

Corie 57:16

Right.

SPEAKER_02 57:16

Go on St. James by Colin, Colin Lucas. First and chorus, they get a job. It's song rev no. Time for real. Lost the job. Again. Boom, boom. I said, but what kind of mad people think is this? Going by um taxi with Robin Imam Shannon. Right. Same thing. The only thing Robin said different is man, you have a voice, but you're singing it too much, man. Because I sing in the soaker, like you know. Yeah, yeah, your gospel background too. Yeah, and I really sing in the soaker with quiver the under notes and thinking of artness. Take a wine, jump away. Robin was like, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. But don't make it short and sharp now.

SPEAKER_00 58:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 58:12

You know, short and sharp. It's thinking too much, you know. So anyway, you say you lost the work. Long story short, you lost the work. So I'm like, well, what the hell is this? Well I realized that I have the potential to get the job. So I left Coast Guard right after my contract was up right at the end of the attempted coup in 1990. Okay. And I came up with strength. And Kenny Phillip called me and said, listen, I have a medley for you to do of all the hit songs that year. So this is now in 1991 after 91 carnival. So I did that medley and uh it just started to play. So people were like, Who's who's this man? Who's who's but there was a company just started up by the name of Kiskity Records with Robert A. Marley. Yeah. And they sent for me and recording contract, publishing deal, all that stuff.

Corie 59:11

But you was performing outside, I was like, Oh, Kenny knows a call here to get out.

SPEAKER_02 59:15

Well, all of us from South, Laramie. And I I used to be singing all over the place with people like Kenny G, God Rest His Soul, and Francis Prime, the saxophonist. We had our own band thing performing in South. Right. So I've been on stage for like a hundred years, you know. I see, so you're kidding me. You know, so Kenny knew of me and he called for me to come and do this thing. And then, based on the kind of airplate that got, Kiske the Records called for me.

SPEAKER_03 59:38

Right.

SPEAKER_02 59:39

But right as Kiske the Record, as I signed that contract on the 15th of September 1991, less than uh two weeks after that, Cliff Harris pulled up in front of my house. Cliff Harris, Panky Borings, the bass player. And Colin Huntley, they came to the house and they said, Listen, we want you to be the lead vocalist in the band because Nolly Charles, KV Charles, just left the band in New York. And, you know, so we have a open for a vocalist. I said, by now sign a contract with Kiskity Records. So I'll talk with Cliff and you know. And they they had their conversations, and lo and behold, I ended up working with Atlantic, and now I'm recording with two labels, the JW label that Atlantic used to record under, and Kiskity Records. So I think I might be the only artist then and probably now who's signed to two labels, recording with two labels and all of that, you know. So the first song I had with Atlantic would have been good music to dance, you know, which was a big song, I think. Yeah, and then the following year I did something with Kiskity, Rock Back on it. So it was left and right, just going left and right, and then after rock back on it, um my run with Atlantic came to an end and it was

When Bands Ruled The Fete

SPEAKER_02 1:00:57

Kiskity.

Corie 1:00:57

So I So how long you were with Atlantic? Just two carnivals.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:00

But just two carnivals since you had a people people tend to think it was a long, it was just two carnivals, you know, and then I worked with Kiskity Records. Who else was on Atlantic at the time you were there? Me, Steve Silly, Nigel Lewis, Carla Gonzalves. That was the front line. Francis Prime was on trumpet, on on saxophone, Robbie was on trumpet, um Spicer, who God rests his soul, he a lot of people died, but whoa. Um he was on trombone. Um was on keyboards, of course.

Corie 1:01:36

Yeah, was it like lead singer in a band? Because I mean he had the experience from Fireflight and so, but that era too was the bands, was bands, yeah, it was big bands. So, like we'll talk sometimes about a fet. When you say fet, uh in that era meant a ban. But now I don't know that they have a whole lot of. Well, we don't we we we don't fet again.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:56

Trinidad is we don't we don't fet again. We go out, we socialize, but we don't fet. I'm talking fet, and I always say it one on the stage. I know fet when women used to leave fett with a shoe in the hand. You know, when when Rice Road was the Fet Capital, you're talking fire fat, then kitchener tent, then licensing, flower, then flower fet, then you know, that whole stretch, uh, sooker village, um holiday in party. That was just fed. And when you're fetting, you're Burkey Short Pants Party on a carnival Monday night or the Monday before carnival, when you go Burkey Short Pants party is bottom falling out. You know, it's real short pants.

Corie 1:02:41

Yeah, bumps to come home, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:43

Yeah, and now people well, fet is about women. Look at the front stage. Fat was always about women, right? You know, men follow, men don't like soccer, you know. Men like women, men like women who like soccer. Yeah, if a woman dances and go, look, look, look, look, take a look, and she's so good. Yeah, boy. This song is bad because he he on the trail of a bomb C never seven. It must be bad. You're on the trail of a bomb see. You're not really interested in this song. After you're winding it two, three times you realize so good. As long as woman to go look a look, too look that's on real bad. Yeah, yeah, but hey, that's song real bad. And you try to convince the part that too, you know. That's some bad boy. Yeah, listen, yeah, you have to listen to the beating that trying to con try to unmote the song. Here the lyrical content and the melodic flow. It's a bottom yon in that story.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:40

You're trying to convince the money to that is nice, that is nice, that is nice.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:44

Yeah, but back then we had feds.

Corie 1:03:45

I always wonder what's like for performer, like yourself, because when you're talking about that era Atlantic or you say Steve or Nigel and Marvin, like using using like moving to the left as an example, right? Yeah, that was chaotic.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:56

In fact, that was when Nigel and they went with Roy Game.

Corie 1:03:58

Yeah, it was long after, but it's an example of what y'all would have seen in um on Rice Road as they say PSA and them places. It was uh when the feds left up, it's a different world. Listen, and I wonder no when you're performing and you're watching the phones and well, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:14

I remember people performing moving to the left, and those dictates had something called big line. Yeah, but it's a big line up.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:26

What do you think about it?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:28

Right, and they put on your big lime and your cup on your thing, and your little eyes moving to the left, don't, don't, don't move into the left when they come back because you go on to the left, somebody pick up your bucket, and then once by the time you come back, it's like when people was right here, liquor gone, you know. But it it was fun. We used to have fun, it used to have steel ban in the fit too. You know, sometimes at the end of the fet, you hear you know they're chipping out to women on the bass. That was fit. Now, and you know it's a different era, so I want to sound like if I'd knock in it because teachers own, and every era comes with its own vibe and energy. But now women who run the parties, they leave parties looking pretty than when they came in. Because they have a way to what is called duck mouth, though? Yeah, I I don't know. I just say, I just say why here leave me alone. Me, even bothering you. I don't even bothering you. What I say is they have these kind of duck mouths and so no, am I lying? Yeah, they're talking a hundred percent facts. I can't do it good, but it's only I don't know. So am I working hard on stage on you?

Corie 1:05:45

Yeah, yeah, I've seen it now. Even when they are known. Sometimes they're nonsense, the person coming on all phones.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:53

Yeah, so I think now artists have to start to use that to their advantage, you know, yeah. Let me see your phones. And if you have some cheap phone, don't put it in. No way recording me, no cheap phone. I don't want expensive phones. Put your phone in the air. Well you see that people do it.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:08

People do it.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:08

Everybody's phone in the air. But make it mandatory now. Instead of like, oh god, no, yeah. Let me see some rags now. The rag you've done is phone you run. Right, yeah, yeah. So use that. What else you could do? Yeah, I guess you don't have to do that. When they give you a lemon, make lemonade. It makes sense.

Corie 1:06:24

It makes sense. So in the Atlantic era, and is is ban there's a competitiveness among the bands. I had Eddie Charles, David Burns.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:32

It was friendly rivalry. Right. It was we're gonna blow them out tonight. We're gonna mash up the place. Yeah. Because I was a fine like chili baby. Yeah. You know, we're gonna mash up the place tonight. And that was the whole intention to to move the crowd. And I remember one year, I think Super had Lara. I think it was Lara. Every band in Spectrum. Spectrum is where Movie Tong is now. Every band. Let me call it bands that was there. Ruth was there. Roder was on the stage with Roots. Um Chandelay. Blue Ventures. Atlantic. Traffic. I'm talking bands because they're different stages. Right, yeah. So you didn't have to wait for what you wrote. So bands wrap around. It was concrete stage, eh? And every band plays a super blue song. But super blue is closer with us. Atlantic. So I tell him Steve, I say, Steve, by the time Super comes on, that that song will be dead. Steve saying. I frightened for Super Blue because everybody singing the man's song. And he's a guest artist on the show and in the fair. Listen, when we are known super, super come out and do so.

unknown 1:08:02

I can't do that.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:05

And do the mic like that. And flick it from hand. Fed done. Fet done. Or to go home. Fed done. Sharp. By the time you climb up on top of a super speaker box. I stand up watching us saying, oh God, Lord Jesus, help us. And it's like, fet done.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:25

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:27

It's like, wait, that is power, boy.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There were a few people who had that. I had a little bit of a.

Corie 1:08:37

No, but you on a stage was the same thing. But I mean, when you're talking, I forget that Steve was there too. And it's something that I wonder. I mean, like you say, era is Europe, and I had my time, I had a great time them times. And I sure these youths go say this is your best era ever. And they're that's okay. Best era for them. Of course, of course. But I wish they could experience well, two things that mashup kind of thing, but also different people singing different people's songs. I think it was a special thing to see you singing a super or Marshall singing a song from Ronald.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:07

I was talking with um Oscar B. Right, right. You know, a few weeks ago before before that tragic thing that happened to him. And we were talking about, I say, Oscar, you realize that we people like me, you, Ronnie, Ajala, Dennis Belfone, Marshall. We are the first true soccer artists in the fete, you know. Always think about what I just say. Prior to us being we were band singers.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:38

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:40

Prior to us, the people who was mashing up the fet was Baron and Duke. They were crazy, they were Calypsonians. Crazy was a Calypso. Of course. But our earlier tonight is Tonda, that was Mashon of the Fed, but they were Calypsoans. Um, Johnny King, they were Calypsoans. You understand what I'm saying? 100%. Even Rudder. Well, Ruddha was kind of so calypso.

Corie 1:10:06

Right, I guess, yeah, transition point. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:09

But when when we, as people like Ajala and myself and and and Alan Welsh, who passed to and and and and um uh Marshall and all of us came into the Fed now, was the first batch of soak artists who turned solo and was in the fed because prior to us there were Calypsonians in the Fed.

Corie 1:10:32

Of course, of course, of course. Yeah, it's interesting.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:35

Swallow from from um from Antigua. Antigua. Yeah, fire in the band. They were really considered Calypsonians. Makes sense, it makes sense. But they were mashing up fed.

Corie 1:10:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:46

Like mashing up the feds.

Corie 1:10:48

So within the band, the band scene, you're doing your own recording, so you're you're conscious of playing your own songs, you're people looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:54

Bands used to record, everybody recording, but you had to do the big songs of the year. So you might have a big song in your band, right, but you're going on stage for an hour. And we never used to do song and stop and song and stop. It was kind of like a medley, you know. So you had to go to the band room and rehearse. Okay, when we reach here, we go here and you do this and we'll drop that. That'll match them up. Yeah, and so it's a whole stuff, it's a whole production you're doing to come out there and work that crowd for the carnival season. Of course, of course. When you go PSA and you see seven, eight bands line off for brass festival, and it's dust.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:31

That's chaotic, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:32

Dust, dust and short pants, dust and women in short pants.

Corie 1:11:36

And we're going back and say we had the best time ever. Your lungs are no pressure.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:41

I'll tell you something briefly here. My son, when he started to go parties in Toronto, he said, I get up on morning, I come. They went to party tonight. I come back, come downstairs, and I see pants here, shoes here, sure. I say, What? You like your rolling the fed last night?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:03

Yeah. And go back in recovery mode.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:10

We really roll in the fed. So I think they got the last of which part people used to do anything. When Ronnie sing um donkey, yeah, and and I mean, and back to front door. Well, being able to go into that. Yeah, them laughing again. No, but back to front door was a real thing. That's why she laughed. And Ronnie said back to front donkey. People experience memories.

Corie 1:12:34

People are bringing back memories, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:37

We used to fat. Yeah, we used to fetch it.

Corie 1:12:39

It was different, it was unique.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:40

We used to fet when when super command park the center and red sea, and my god, my god, yeah, yeah. Fat was uh fat was a something, yeah.

Corie 1:12:51

For sure, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:52

You know, when a man buy a beer now, he has sprayed that in the air, right?

Corie 1:12:55

No, no, no, not at this price.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:57

Not at this price. You fold that bottle with water, 100%, 100%.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:01

Yeah, used to be sprayed in the air. We had fat.

Corie 1:13:05

That's what we came for. That's what we came for.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:06

And again, we can't say that who fed it now, not having a good time.

Corie 1:13:10

No, I'm not having that time. That melting must try to make sense.

Going Solo And Surviving Carnival

Corie 1:13:15

So your solo career, at that point, you had to leave in Atlantic to go solo like consciously or want to be a solo at us, or no, it didn't happen that way.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:22

Um, Cliff Harris told me that he's gonna change the front line of the band and go for I I think the era was changing, and you wanted to catch that era.

Corie 1:13:32

Um that was Tony Prescott on the Tony Prescott on the era.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:36

And I ended up going solo. Right. And that was I that was kind of my fluke because I went to Toronto and ended up in Montreal for their carnival to go to a fet. And the promoter said, Hey, I want you on my fet.

Corie 1:13:52

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:53

And lo and behold, I launched my solo career in Montreal in 1993. Right. And that'd have been what, 30, 36 years ago? 33 years ago, sorry. In 1993, I launched my solo career. And then um what happened after that? From Montreal, I did Toronto, from Toronto, I did New York, from New York, I did London, come back into Trilidan and record ragapumpum for 94.

Corie 1:14:23

So even going solo like that, because I understand that the bands play covers as well as well as doing recordings. When you're solo, you're just doing your own songs, or you're doing it.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:31

Yeah, because now they're only hiring you to come and perform your solo activities.

Corie 1:14:34

Oh, so you go, you do your songs at night?

SPEAKER_02 1:14:36

So now I could do five fets in a night. Touch it. All right, okay. And what happened in all the bands doing your song too? So the more bands do your song and become more popular. And so now we could run on any stage because everybody's doing your song, you know. So you could do five fets in a night and then still find time to consider my smokey and bouncy and drink something before the sun comes up. No, I I we line till the sun comes up by smoky and then, and then go home and get up the next morning and do three schools. Oh, nice. Because you had to do the schools, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You do the schools, you do the interviews, you do the rehearsals because sometimes I have a rehearsal with a band that goes on a performing later. You know, and after all of that, you end up in the tent. Gotcha, of course, right? When is it the carnival over your soil? Yeah, you get you get meager.

Corie 1:15:22

But wait, how your voice? Because you have a voice for you know I mean you are one of them voices. Your voice used to hold up for the whole season. Later, hold up, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:32

Pocket used to talk the voice, you know. Pocket tell voice, hey, don't clear it me, you know. I need my money, you know.

Corie 1:15:39

Pocket used to have major conversations with people because them days it's annoyable to sing.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:45

You had a sing. You had a sing. If you move the mic from your mouth, nothing coming up.

Corie 1:15:50

It's nice that like you could see a lot of that's on YouTube now. You could go back and you see them performing something, and it's a sing. It's a different thing to see.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:58

Most of them get horse and you know, you lose your voice, and it's just through tiredness. Because tiredness shows on your voice first. You know, I was reading a book on voice training, and they talk about a trained, a professionally trained singer should be able to sing for three hours and with sufficient rest, do it the following night. As a professionally trained person singing in a controlled environment with a proper song system, but when you're talking carnaval, which part? You're tapping your mind, so you say, give us a boy monitor.

Corie 1:16:32

Yeah, give us a monitor. Environment and so controlled the day before you come and sing Man was Lilith and driving that apartment doing the driving test.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:39

It's craziness, it's craziness, you know. But you singing over that, and half of the time you're hearing yourself properly, you're on the run from there to our next one, and then you're taking a little sowers in the middle of that.

Corie 1:16:52

Smokey other cell.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:52

You take smokey out of the cell, you know, and you talk his chip and it's in a smoky environment. Yes, you know, yes, I guess. So 94 is when you come back and you do ragapum pum. 94 was ragapom pum. 95 was jump and mash up the party. 96 is the year when I tell you super blue. Came out and I didn't have no music. Ah, gotcha, gotcha.

Corie 1:17:10

You know how you talk about ragapom pum? Mm-hmm. You say somebody wrote it, right? Yeah, that was Blackstone. Right. At that point, you're still taking songs from writers, or you're you're gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:19

I was writing, I was writing already. You're right.

Corie 1:17:20

The first recordings with Kiskity Records. You had written. Yeah, I did the writing for that. So you just hear it and like it all.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:26

No, he they came to me with the song and say, hey, Robin, I think it was Robin Mamsha. Oh, okay. He couldn't be able to do that. Robin was working with Kiskidi. Okay. Was it Robin? Someone of them fellas came and said, Hey, there's this song. I want to listen to the black stone. I say, Raga Pum Pum. Why I I because even from that, from that time in my career, I knew where I wanted to go musically. Okay, you know, and ragapom pum didn't fit the mool that I was trying to rapum boom, rapum boom. I'm like, what this song is about again. And they say, well, everybody in pum-pum shorts and a tear up now, so it's a ragapum, but we can't say ragapum shorts.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:15

Excuse me. Too many syllables, ra pum pum. And went in the studio by Leston, and when Leston started players and said, There's a big song. Oh, in the I'm gonna show you Leicester. There's Lesson. Slim. There's a big song. So the the the there's a big song.

Corie 1:18:43

And not a man you could don't.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:45

So I sang only the song and I go on my way, and he did everything. When I come back to put on final voice, I was like, whoa. Did the final voice and as a drop. That was it. That was it, Conclair. Conclair.

Corie 1:19:03

So when you're singing it now, because in the choir and singing. Everybody, I remember the first. Everybody's singing grandma boom boom, if I remember right, I can remember. So how you see that's on your mind?

SPEAKER_02 1:19:13

By that time, I was I was I was I was house trained. I get fixed, I understand how you think that's hope. Sing it, take it, sing it. Yes, but the thing is, I I learned how to do that and I could still switch and do a convincing ballad for you. Of course. You know, of course. And and come back and rough it up. And I ain't gonna sing rag a boom boom. I ain't doing that, you know. I ain't doing that, but you know, we're roughing it up there and you can still do that. So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But ragaboom boom was just one of the one of those songs that just went on. The funny thing about it is Blackstone came to me after and said, I'm gonna write some songs for you, you know. Yeah I said, All right. He comes and he said, Here the song for you next year. Kakale, I say, hey, hey, hey, hey, mash your breaks back. I say, no, but so he do, he gave Zenith Bells for Kakalele, and I write my song Jump and Mash Up the Party. Everybody jump jump and mash up the party. I do that. You can imagine this, no, really?

Corie 1:20:21

I imagine that. Come on now, man. So Rag Bum bum take off immediately. I remember I mean, and I don't know if I was wrong about this, but like we were talking ragasoka, like that was a big thought at one point in time. But that's the first song I really hear. Even in the phrase, and we begin Raga, dum dum. I don't know if I hear anything like that. It was very, very unique.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:39

Well, that is that is less than basically. But I think the writing is what influenced that movement. You know, it's almost like it was a call and response. But it actually was caller response, like raga, boom, boom, raga, boom, boom. You know, so you get a call and response, and now you could work it on stage. When I say raga, you say boom, boom, raga, boom, boom, and you know, you just work the song because it's one thing to have a song is about getting on stage now and working that song to the point which part the audience really enjoy the song and the performance. But they did because some songs just get bigger than the artists, you know. I guess. You know, the artists go on stage and they can't work it because the song is bigger than them. And yeah, we've seen that happen.

Corie 1:21:23

Yeah, that ain't happened to you though. That was chaotic, chaotic, chaotic. I remember built stages where people waiting. And so that year, you're coming on with bands performing solo. You're not you're not athletic singing in a band with a sort of. No, no, no. I just run it on as a solo actor. Who used to run on just anybody?

SPEAKER_02 1:21:37

Yeah, suppose that someone's all the bands, all the bands are doing it. So anybody who hire me for a fet, um, be it Cliff Harris, Roy Mirage, um the Martinos, whoever, whoever having a fet, and they call it because sometimes for the carnival season I see one year, I had 21 fets to do. You know, 21 fets. So it's pretty much every night you're German. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, no 21 fets from one promoter, sorry. Oh, yeah, yeah. For one promoter. So when you look at it, I had to create my own calendar on the wall because the little almanac. So you create your own calendar on the wall and they're writing and they put your stickies on.

Corie 1:22:16

I'm glad you do that, so you know, no slipper again, like dong and sounds like a big trick schedule. Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:23

Yeah, so uh you know, and then the following year was jump and mash up the party. I was crazy. Which one was getting the reason why I wonder what's going on? I think jump rack was a big song, but jump and mash up the party, because you were running from a massive year into a next massive year, it's just kind of like mushroom and turn into this whole this whole movement. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All star is the following year, nothing when music gets stuck in New York. And that's when when our dead boy metals came the following year. So that was the break in the whole decade of the 90s. Gotcha, was that? That 96 was a big snowstorm. Yeah, that snowstorm.

Corie 1:23:03

Let's talk about that for a minute now, because you said that, and I hear you talk about it in other interviews too, where we judge our artists, who is our heroes to me, by not the catalogue, by what you do this year. Yeah. So I I don't know the inner workings of the industry, right? So if I don't know nothing stuck in New York or nothing, I just know answer don't come at nothing this year. Right. Uh, what's your thoughts on it in general? Because we do make music for the festival, that could be a blessing, but uh I've had Destra here, David Roder. I don't understand this thing where people who have done so much on this huge stars still have to prove themselves alongside brand new artists every year.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:40

I I think as a people, we are party people, that's a fact, right? We love to party. But we only love to party with the new. You know, people say one is but one of them have new people. You know, they're not looking at the catalogue and the body of work that you've put down for 35, 40 years of recordings, you know. Um the and I think the sad thing about it is is the marriage of the music to the festival. Because last week or no, not last week, no, but three weeks ago, we had air supply here. Air supply? We didn't sing new and people buy tickets to what's the air supply? You know, we will bring Binny Man. I don't know if Beanie Man had a new song in the last. I I don't know. I don't know. He will come, he could come every year and but when it comes to our artists, it's like what he has new, and I think is that I I'm believing it has a lot to do with the whole you come out with something for carnival. And as I said, the only way we could really break that is play carnival music for carnival, and the artists who are doing music that is not necessarily carnival-oriented or carnival driven, play that music all through the year. So all of a sudden now soaker music is just music, and it's not a festival music, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not like carols to Christmas.

Corie 1:25:21

You see, carols tied to Christmas, and you don't get anywhere else except well, now we have Christmas in July, and as I hold the footing, but even the carols you bring up, because the truth is when you bring up a carol, you say chestnuts or cinnamon, that's right in 1704 or something like that. And it's still every Christmas you bring it back. But for this carnival, you had to feed this beast every single year, regardless.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:40

We want that, we want that, and as I said, it's okay to do music for your national festival. I ain't knocking that. Sure. You know, I do it, but I also do music that is that will fall under the umbrella of soccer that has nothing to do with carnival. Why this music don't play outside of the carnival season? Why are we not interested in

Year Round Music And Serious Messages

SPEAKER_02 1:26:05

it? Even if you try to push it on social media, you know, we just wait away.

Corie 1:26:10

Yeah, reggae artists just drop music and we we love it. But you do all genres of music, you you do covers in all genres, but you do RB and jazz and so albums.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:19

I have written three smooth jazz albums. I had music, smooth jazz music on the Canadian charts and thing already. I've never played in Jordan.

Corie 1:26:26

Never played. And they play nobody, they're on the charts.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:28

Yeah.

Corie 1:26:29

So what's your response to just follow up with DJs and things? Because we have smooth listening station here and things we know.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:34

We do. I I don't like I would go on a radio station and play one of my songs from one of my smooth jazz albums. I'd just say, that's you. Yeah. How I never hear this. I say it's been there, been released, been on social media. But it it might be poor marketing on my I don't, I don't, I really don't know. I really don't know. Roger George poured some kind of music too that's amazing, but you don't hear it. Yeah, yeah. You know, so I think we just want from our artists take a dip in the mud. I guess.

Corie 1:27:13

I guess you know the other song I was listening to your music, and there's a song you have called Break the Cycle. I don't break that cycle. What you would call it, RB?

SPEAKER_02 1:27:20

Well, break that cycle is I don't know if a lot of people know, but I've been pushing this. I use my platform to bring awareness to um domestic violence and spousal abuse. Sure. And I have break that cycle, I have um abuse and all these songs. Break that cycle is kind of called ambient, or just pop. Okay. Just pop. Yeah. Yeah. But it's all the message behind it about you know, this domestic violence, which is a real scourge on our society, not only ours, because it's it's not indigenous to Trinidad. That is, you know, it's only a certain class. Of people that that beat their wife or through her toil in their manners and that kind of stupidness, you know. Yeah. You know, there's lawyers, doctors, politicians, you know, policemen, teachers, you know, all fall victim to domestic violence and spousal abuse. So I try to bring it to the people in song. So when I do concerts now, I try to, because now we have a seated audience, audience that come to listen. They're spraying behind the air and they're pouting people. I talk a little less than that. I talk it seriously, and you you get kicks. I don't understand that. This serious thing. You know, but um now we have an audience that is seated and they're ready to listen, and you can have conversations with them. Sure, sure, sure. And they they feel you then because now this is not the answer who is on stage and he's quite there. This is give my bounce, you're right there. This is ask me a question while while you perform what's going on. You gotta have a conversation. You know, so it's it's it's more fellowship than anything, and I use those instances to share that type of music.

Corie 1:29:09

What makes it spark that to talk about domestic violence in music like now?

SPEAKER_02 1:29:13

Because I since since I was small, I realized that we used to take it as a joke. Well, yeah, you're LBT wife last night is like how could a man watch a woman and punch her in her face and then say you see what you make me do? You know, all of you, right? It's like that is weird. It just doesn't it don't balance in my head. You know, that is weird. I I get what is the the the the the the the condition where you have imbalance because of something in your air vote, votigo yeah votigo, votigo, yeah. I get emotional votigo because I can't I can't I can't balance it. I can't it don't make sense. Oh, it's yeah it don't make sense, you know. And I I remember as a little boy, those days you had to go on full water by the standpipe because you didn't have pipe on water run into your house, you had to go on full, and you have people talking about yeah, you well beat she last night, yes. I won't say this good for she. And we're like it's normal conversation, yeah. Even in one of Nelson's songs, we like it. There's a line in that song. I don't know if anybody ever listens to it when you talk about um something about man beating husbands, mindfully husband, and something about man beating woman, we like it. It was like and it was okay, but what was okay 40 years ago is not okay now. Yeah, it was okay to smoke on a plane 35 years ago, but you can't do that now, yeah. Right? So times change, and I think my job as an artist, as an entertainer, with a voice and with a mic, is to try and bring some kind of awareness to that so people could sort of check themselves, you know, because it's nothing funny. There's nothing funny about somebody being ill-treated because it's not only the man or the woman who's fallen victim to that, to have children, it have you know younger people who observing this and realizing that this is Yeah.

Corie 1:31:13

The society suffers from that. The society suffers from that.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:16

People learn what they live, you know. So if you live that, there's a very good chance you would learn it. Of course, and you might think it's okay to beat your girlfriend. And this thing, and this thing is only about married people and would have boyfriends and girlfriends in school, people going through it, yeah. And and people being people putting their hand on people, children, and things, of course, of course. So I think it's it's something we really had to look at in society.

Corie 1:31:41

And I only appreciate you shedding lights on it using the platform to shed lights and putting out songs like those. I and all when I listening to it in the car, I'd come on and say, something very, very different from the ragapombo for sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:52

But you're expecting to hear that booming voice coming out to you, but it's nice.

Corie 1:31:57

So uh you went on to do the um with a stick fright love. Well, it was really interesting to hear say that beaver's a little do. I would love to hear that with the different love way mixed into it.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:06

That yeah, it was but in hindsight, it would have been. Yeah, it would have been, but when you're writing it thinking, ah boy, and then I was dropping this one here, and but you've seen it from the writer's standpoint, but not the receiver.

Corie 1:32:18

Yeah, the receiver would just went a dead bury my clothes because that just it's emblazoned in your mind.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:22

It's too much at every verse I think was the chorus coming here, man. Yeah, you know, was it no? And when people had a little sowers in the head, of course, they don't they don't really want to think too much, they don't want to think too much. Like somebody told me at the time, Anslo. You have really good music, uh good melodies. Say, but you just write too much, man. You just write too too much words.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:46

I have to understand when the books come out now.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:48

You can write, you can write too much words, uh just give me four line four words now, and what but I drink my room, I don't want to remember all them words. No, no, no, we don't sometimes you gotta listen to the people and understand. Well, okay, I hear what you're saying, but I don't want you to just enjoy my music when you're intoxicated. I want when you're driving the car, you say, Oh shucks, that is what you say. And again, a fresh new liking for the song because now it's gonna make sense because you know, lyric is the last thing you really learn in a song. I don't know if you ever had the experience of singing a song for years and then one day actually get a copy of the lyric and realize, oh my god. That's what I was saying. I was singing the wrong thing. And it makes it make sense in your head. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It makes it make sense in your head because you sing the wrong thing for so long, it's like, holy crap. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course, of course. Because the first thing that attracts you in a song is the beat. If you see a two-year-old in a diaper and hear a beat and girl, and start to dance out, no coordination, baby, you know, but after moving them. You know, then after the beat, you get your melody. You know, you jump in a maxi and you try for 45 minutes when you come out. You know the lyric by Sarah Hummer. Why you have this melody, boy? Melody haunting it whole year. And as time goes along, you start to learn a line here and a learner line here, and you start to sing. Now, the thing that would outlast all of them is the melody. So if you don't have strong melodies, you have a problem. You know, if I tell you sing a verse in ragapumpum, you cannot do remember the words. You know, ragapumpum. And make some noise, and you can hum it because the melody is there. Of course. So if you have a melody, melodies outlast everything else. And that's what gives your song longevity. If you have no melodies, sometimes people say, as soon as Carnaval is done, they can't remember what was playing yesterday because there's no there's no real melody. Melody is what holds you. They beat your dance it, but you know, you can't whistle it.

Corie 1:35:00

It's funny you say that. That's what Pelama's saying when he was here, you know. Really? Yeah, he said exactly that. He said that we say when you reduce songs to just a rhythm, he said rhythm is the most basic part of the music. Yeah, he says, So what because I asked him about the longevity of music, like why it all last. And he said, he said, well, what two things he said, the melody, and then he said, There's give vocals too much work in music today. Right. He said, Nobody does variation in music, he's like progression and yeah. When he said sugar boom, I was remembering it. And he said, Look, Kitchener never say that, but you remember that. Yeah, and he was just talking about music today.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:33

Right, right, right.

Corie 1:35:35

Of course,

New Releases Concerts And Closing

Corie 1:35:36

of course, of course. So today, what what is it like for you producing music, putting it out? You enjoying it?

SPEAKER_02 1:35:41

Yes, I still enjoy it. And I think I'm enjoying it more now because knowledge increased. Right. So I know what I'm doing more now, and and you know, you take time off to understand the people that you're doing it for.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:53

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:54

And it's is this a beautiful thing being able to like me and my team, we're getting ready to release four songs off my last Moochaz album. Oh nice, you know. Um, so I'm I'm writing and I'm I'm excited about the thing. I'm I'm excited about it again. You know, and and then you see the internet that that just makes life so much, so much more fun.

Corie 1:36:20

Because it's a tool, and if you use a tool right, you know, yeah, it could be unlimited. So when you do things like that, you're usually your mind is on other markets.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:28

Yeah, on the global markets. You wanna move to other markets because the idea is that that's the whole idea between behind the concerts. Sure. Because I started doing smaller concerts, you know, smaller shows. And um in fact, the first person who did the concert with me was a young lady by the name of Michelle Hart. Right? And after that I said, you know what, this is something I should continue doing. And I did continue doing it. Small groups, you know, small rooms and watch it grow. You know, watch it just grow. And now we be looking at Queen's Hall in November, where you would get the the polar answer from Raga Pum Pum to I Cried to Good Music to Dance to Stick Fight or you know, and then I do covers of other people's songs too. You know. So when you come to a concert, you your your your your entertainment appetite should be well satisfied. Yeah, yeah. You know, so the the the the concerts is what will provide that vehicle to get that music out and get it to to other audiences because somebody will say, hey, I wait handsome concert next time we go in, you know, and that way, yeah. It's it's it's a CD plant.

Corie 1:37:58

I witch you, I with you, I witch you. Well, I appreciate you coming, I appreciate you taking time, and it's something that we must look forward to in November as well. Because like I I enjoy seeing that moment when Young Brother discovers you sing stick fights, right? And I feel like if concerts like those could introduce the new audiences to your music, so I shouldn't be surprised when I hear you sing songs. Who is this? Right. And but you should you were surprised when you heard yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:20

Um break that cycle, yeah.

Corie 1:38:23

And it just came on a I guess it was a playlist. Yeah, and I said, Well, how do they come off? Answer us, Ansam and try and listen to him and not sing them, but and it's a really, really good song, an important message, too. Yeah, so I encourage I encourage people to go to the concert, check it out. Uh I wonder, I hope that people understand the kind of performer, like we're reminiscent on some of these things, but is this it's impossible to describe to people what Ryson Road was really like. Right, yeah, yeah. It's impossible to describe it.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:48

Remember, cars couldn't pass.

Corie 1:38:49

No, it isn't. Because when you have And it was a walking thing, but now it's a driving and a big thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:53

When think about it, when you have the Calypso tent, and those days the Calypso tent, you had to buy tickets in advance because you can't get a seat. When the Calypso tent over, but right there is the same night with licensing fit. Walk down the roads, you know, it's it's it's just scars. No cars, no cars can't pass.

Corie 1:39:12

Is it's well, you call the names now. Yes, I tell people this all the time. You, Steve, Marshall, Jalo, that group you call the even coming down to Tony. Is all your men make KFC suddenly most things down tongue in a day in life? And you're drunk like a fish and walk down tongue and go KFC.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:32

I see women walking down Rice Road with a shoe in their hand and not the shirt, you know, the shot open, and they come on the road and it was lying. Nobody has told anybody's. No, no, no, no, no. Different things, different things. People to go to party and running shoes.

Corie 1:39:47

Yeah, it was a normal thing, no team. But like you say, they enjoyed it, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:39:53

People ask it.

Corie 1:39:55

Of course, of course, of course.