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Germaican Observer: What is the name Spragga Benz
all about?
Spragga Benz: Spragga is coming from Spaghetti,
because I was skinny and the Benz come up from a soundsystem
that my friends own, by the name of LaBenz so mi just
put them together.
G.O: How was growing up in Rae Town, Kingston
as a child different from that of today?
S.B: Is not much difference, is just the same Rae
Town that was there, nothing change... probably more guns
are there now and a little bit more crime and people are still
suffering there, still a ghetto… I haven't seen any social
improvements for the residents there, not much things have
changed.
G.O: Was your family poor?
S.B: Financially but rich in love, I had good parents…
my parents took good care of me and I had my family.
G.O: So familily is very important for you?
S.B: Family in Jamaica is very close, family love each other
in Jamaica and defend each other to the last… if yuh
eeva trouble a man cousin outta street a war because he is
defending his cousin. I am really happy with mine, I think
I am blessed to have the family that I have… I have really
nice kids, smart and beautiful and everything, their mothers
are wonderful women. My immediate family brothers and sisters
we are very close as well. Family in Jamaica is just as good
as any where else in the world if not better.
G.O: Looking back to your very first stage performance, what
was that like for you, how did you feel?
S.B: It was just hurrying to get off stage…
G.O: Were you very nervous?
S.B: Yeah I was nervous because it was my very first time
on stage, I wasn't really afraid because I had songs to defend
myself but being infront of 30 - 40,000 people for the very
first time being on stage...
G.O: How did that come about, did somebody like call you
on stage or what?
S.B: That was at Reggae Sunsplash, it just came about
from me being one of the leading upcoming artistes at the
time…
G.O: If it was your first time on stage performing how could
you have been one of the leading upcoming artistes when nobody
knew you?
S.B: Dem don't know my face, but dem know my songs… I
was already popular…
G.O: So that would mean that you already had songs released?
S.B: I had lots of songs out, but I hadn't been on stage yet…
the first time I went on stage there was a lot of anticipations.
G.O: So what is your performance like today as to back then,
do you still get nervous and do you plan what you are gonna
do and so on?
S.B: Yeah, now I am more comfortable on stage and I take the
time and do whatever I have to do and show the people a good
time.
G.O: When you do a song, do you live by the words of that
song or is it just for entertainment purposes?
S.B: Most of the times I live by the words of the song…
G.O: So when you sing a song with lyrics like "kak it
up, jack it up dig out the red," what is going through
your mind?
S.B: But remember the beginning of that song says "sex
for pleasure, not for pain tantalise the body mesmerise the
brain" but if a girl want to gwaan 'dread' you have to
tek it to the extreme and deal wid it proper and a lot of
people enjoy it like that.
G.O: Would you consider yourself to be an underground artist,
because you don't perform a lot and you don't put out a lot
of singles?
S.B: Not really underground because I am still in the mainstream
but I am not one of the highlighted one, I can fit in whether
it be underground or in the mainstream, I can fit in.
G.O: So why is it that you don't perform more often in Jamaica
and there aren't more releases from you, is there a plan that
you have or is it that you just don't have any time?
S.B: That is just my way, I didn't perform in Jamaica because
there were a lot of 'call names' and a lot of stuff were happening
that I didn't really want to be associated with… and
I refused to be apart of that, so I just stayed away from
that, I didn't want to be on everybody's riddim, I didn't
want to be on everybody's stage… the few riddims that
I do like, I said yes to if they are professional and I worked
with those, can't let every man that have a riddim and yuh
a voice pan it…
G.O: Dancehall artistes in Jamaica earn their money from
performing at stage shows, they don't really see much from
record sales…
S.B: We don't get any from record sales...
G.O: So how do you earn your money, when you don't really
perform or release singles?
S.B: Me already have mi house and mi cars… I'm just chilling
and doing the work that God want me to.
G.O: Benzspeculous, is that your crew?
S.B: That is just my label, if I am dealing with anybody it
goes through Benzspeculous. I don't officially have
artistes on my label because I don't want that responsibility,
but I have friends who I program with and they are artistes
as well so I kinda look out for them… it's not like I
have people signed to the label.
G.O: Do you sometimes get tired of being an artiste and always
being in the publics eye?
S.B: No, I don't… As long as I am able to do it I would
love to do it an do it well.
G.O: Are you always so humble and soft spoken, I know it's
not the same when you go on stage?
S.B: When I am on stage I am a totally different person, you
have to be an artiste… but when you are off stage you
can just be your natural normal self, I try to always be humble
and keep a cool level head… it don't make no sense otherwise.
G.O: When you worked with artists like KRS ONE and
Wyclef Jean how is that experience for you?
S.B: That just show me that my music is on the same level
as everybody else's because we all work together, nobody's
music is above… my music is not above theirs and their
music is not above mine, it's all music and it's all good.
I enjoy working with them because they do things differently
from us, it's all good.
G.O: When you see foreign artistes doing Dancehall and getting
the rewards from it, how does that make you feel?
S.B: Like what Timbaland and Missy is doing
now and all the others… I don't feel any way because
I understand they love our music and want to do our music
and they can do the music in the language that their market
know and can understand. Pronunciation, vocabulary has a lot
to do with music, your accent and stuff yuh nuh, because if
a Dancehall person is singing dancehall in chinese him going
to be big in China…
G.O: You have a role in the movie Shotters coming
out in Summer and you were also in Brooklyn Babylon,
would you consider yourself to be an actor and is acting something
that you would branch out into?
S.B: I had fun and I would do I again… I would do it
if I got the chance to, because it is nice and I enjoyed it.
G.O: I am sure you get asked a lot about your relationship
with Foxy Brown are you guys still together?
S.B: Ahmm… plead the fifth on that one, I really don't
want to answer no questions about Inga and it's no
disrespect still.
G.O: What is your Stay in School program all about?
S.B: I am trying to highlight the importance of education
and not just to school kids out there, but people who are
already out of school… no matter how you are out of school,
always keep your mind in school and open to learn new things.
Trying to encourage kids to remain in school, to make most
of the opportunity for the time that they're there.
G.O: Did that come about in anyway in regards to your school
experience while growing up in Jamaica?
S.B: No, it just come from feeling that is the right thing
to do and wanting to encourage them to stay I school and get
a education.
G.O: What do you do in your 'chill out' time?
S.B: I have no spare time, I am always on the go… going
to the studio, writing songs things like that.
G.O: Your album is entitled Thug Nature, why a title
like that?
S.B: Because that's how we have to do it, yuh nuh, thugging
it out because we don't really have the assistance of the
bigger players in the business… that has always been
our nature from morning because we don't really look for hand
outs from anybody. So Thug Nature is all about us being
natural born fighters and my album is undiluted Dancehall
from Jamaica, which is the subtitle and that's what I am trying
to promote, Dancehall music in it's trueness form from Jamaica…
without any influences of any other music. Don't get me wrong
we love other people's music and appreciate it but some people
don't know what the real hardcore Dancehall is, they don't
remember. My album is real, it's the realest dancehall you
gonna get for a long time.
G.O: When you are doing your album and you go to the record
company and they they look at things that you have done before
like movie soundtracks… do you think that makes it easier
for you and that you get the co-operation in comparison to
an unknown upcoming artiste?
S.B: No, it don't really make a difference because it's the
way how they view it and it's company politics as well, because
they might view the upcoming artiste as the newest latest
thing… and they can view an artiste who has been around
a long time as somebody that people already used to.
G.O: What plans do you have for your future?
S.B: I don't really have any immediate plans for the future,
I just want to continue doing the work that Jah want me to
do.
G.O: It's the second time is this interview that you have
talked about God, are you a Christian?
S.B: Mi nuh go church, I used to go to church on sundays but
I haven't been there for a while… me fear God, Him is
there to fear.
G.O: What always puts a smile on your face?
S.B: Kids, not only my kids but kids on a whole.
Germaican Observer: Thank you Spragga for the
interesting interview and all the best for you!
Spragga Benz: Thank you, and keep it real...
Nadine Reid
G.O. Crew Leipzig/SN., Germany
Image source: www.spraggabenz.com
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