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Kunley |
Germaican Observer: Are y'all crazy like your name
Ward 21 implies?
Ward 21: Fi tell yuh di truth, yuh know seh crazy people
don't know if dem really crazy or not.
G.O.: So why the name Ward 21?
W. 21: Well fi tell yuh the truth it no really have
nothing fi do wid the music… it neva did have nothing
fi do wid the music at first, because we did have the name
as a crew of friends before we start do the music… I
guess it's just wi style, some of the lyrics, wi music just
basically different and sometimes people look at something
that's different as crazy or eccentric or whatever.
G.O.: Would that also have anything to do with your
stage performance?
W. 21: Yeah, well that name chemistry, that a just
years of friendship, that come naturally… but we stage
show kinda crazy still, sometimes it conservative still, it
just depends pan the crowd, the age group of the crowd. We
adapt to whatever kind of crowd it is and if it's a wild and
crazy crowd then we get more wild and crazy than them.
Suku |
G.O.: Up to a couple months ago, you weren't putting
out anything new, why was that?
W. 21: Basically, what we were doing is we were recording
exclusively for King Jammys Camp, so that put a limit
on the amount of things we had out because in King Jammys
camp there is only four or five producers, so more than not
it would be like we only had four or five songs out over a
long period of time because of the exclusivity. But now we
realise seh dat nah go really mek it inna di Reggae bizniz,
it might mek it inna some other industry, but not dancehall…
we jus decide fi hit the road and campaign again and spread
wi wings, voice fi other producers… other producers have
good productions too, so wi work wid dem.
G.O.: Does that mean that you won't be working with
King Jammys in the future?
W. 21: Naw man, King Jammys a still wi producer man,
but the exclusivity, we kinda broaden the whole horizon a
wi contract, so we can record for other producers more freely
now.
G.O.: What is it like working with Jammys, he is a
like a 'god' in the Reggae music bizniz?
W. 21: Well, mek mi tell yuh, this is my personal experience
and my personal opinion, yuh see King Jammys, him have the
best ears as a engineer and a producer mi ever witness in
a my life. Yuh see when we come a King Jammys come work, it
was so overwhelming fi know seh three quarter of the DeeJay
fraternity that we consider fi be foundation dancehall artists
started there… I thought it was a great honour to be
a part of that tradition, to start right there.
Kunley |
G.O.: How did you link up with him?
W. 21: All of us born, grow up and use to live in Waterhouse,
everybody within 5 minutes walking distance of the studio,
we were all sound system selectors playing for other sounds
until all four of us starting playing for King Jammys
Superpower and basically that how we met him.
G.O.: With four persons in the group and having up
times when you're hot and the down times, is it worth it montary
wise and do you sometimes get frustrated?
W. 21: Mi can tell yuh this straight, monetary wise
no, it no worth it. But wi no get frustrated by it, because
it's the love of it mek wi do it… when we came into the
bizniz none of us wanted to be performers, we wanted to be
producers we wanted to follow King Jammys footsteps…
and it so happen that we got into the performing world by
accident, was a surprise no.1 song, followed by another no.1
song and we just stuck to it because we did like it. Money
pays the bills, but hey a music we love still.
G.O.: Putting out your album with Greensleeves
and it basically flopping and seeing what VP is doing,
do you have regrets that …
W. 21: Well, mi no really look pan it dah way deh still,
yuh have a little thing name greensleeves.net and anybody
weh wah mek dem complaints or whatever dem can go deh so.
We were contracted to do a job and we did it, submit it to
dem and they took three years to put it out, it's not our
fault… it was not our fault I'm sure they can confirm
it, we did it on time. Originally we had a five album deal,
so we did the album in the first year of the contract.
Mean Dawg |
G.O.: What your personal feelings about it…
W. 21: Basically the way me see it, because me no really
know who in charge cause we no really get that deep inna it,
but the way I see it I think that weh dem do that kinda mash
up wi career and that did wicked when it come to day to day
livity and wi earnings, because wi coulda capitalise pan di
hype weh wi did have if dem did just deal wid di ting at that
time and wi work from there… but dem mek di hype cool
down and then put it out, it crazy still but I believe everything
happen fi a good reason and a so God work it so a so dat did
fi happen. Di ting wid VP now, yuh now seh dis interview weh
mi a do now a di first time mi ever look pan it from that
perspective, because the way me did see it a jus Reggae Music
and not who doing what … me just glad seh Reggae reach
weh part it reach and it shoulda deh deh from long time.
Nuff man go a di door and hol on pan di door knob, but dem
turn back Shaggy, Paul and Wayne dem
open it and a go through now and after dem go through it going
to be easier for everybody following.
G.O.: Seeing what's happening for Sean Paul,
how does that make you feel?
W. 21: Sean a mi friend, mi love weh a happen
fi Sean, mi talk to him yesterday and Sean is
the same person, no hype behind it he is the same person,
him just walk around with him brother and friend and mi love
dat… mi so glad fi him, cause a nuff artist use to 'fight'
him, nuff artist neva rate him and nuff artist never like
him, mi glad fi him. Is a youth weh me and him use to play
Basketball.
Kunley & Suku |
G.O.: Your current style is different, tell me about
that.
W. 21: Basically what we have new is wi style, especially
the lyrics the kinda lyrics weh mi a write right now, there
are some songs that we have that are very simple and very
catchy, but there are some songs that you really, really have
to listen to. There are songs that provoke your thought…
if you don't have a general thoght of what's going on in the
world around you right now, there are some songs that you
won't even understand. Now we use a lot of metaphors and a
lot of references to current affairs.
We need to show the other music industry dem that reggae music
just as advanced both rhythmically, lyrically and whatever,
yuh see mi
G.O.: You have produced some really good riddims like
'Badda Badda' and 'Trilogy' what's coming next and do you
produce together?
W. 21: Everybody together, the next riddim that we
have coming out is 'Cashmere'…
G.O.: Who's on the 'Cashmere'?
W. 21: On the 'Cashmere' we have Elephant, wi
have a combination with Bounti and us, Buccaneer,
Red Rat… mi can tell you who we don't have, cause
mi caan remember who we have, wi don't have Beenie Man,
Capleton and Sizzla… wi even have D-Flame
(german HipHop/Dancehall Artist).
G.O.: When you voice other do you have to pay them
or is it artist voice for artist?
W. 21: Artist voice for artist but when yuh mek yuh
ting yuh a fi thump dem a thing, fi show appreciation and
say yeah yuh do the work fi mi, so here is a ting.
G.O.: So like yuh say Flame is on riddim, how
did that come about?
W. 21: D-Flame is a youth who we rate from long
time, from wi first year at Splash! (german HipHop
& Reggae Festival) we did meet him, Is only one problem
mi did have and is that mi just wasn't understanding what
him was saying…
Rumblood |
G.O.: So you have worked with a german artist, tell
me about working with Pionear the german producer?
W. 21: Well hear weh mi like wid working with Pionear
now, him allow me fi put our creativity inna whatever
wi a do and wi love dat, cause there are nuff producers who
say "yo mi want a gal tune, mi want a dis or a dat, mek
it clean so mi nah fi do much editing or whatever." Pionear
just allow wi fi do wi ting and just let us be Ward 21
and mi like dat. That's basically how voicing for wi self
is.
G.O.: You are gonna be doing a couple of shows here
next month, what do you have in store for the fans?
W. 21: Wi naw tell dem wah fi expect, just come out
and see Ward 21 and just know she dem a go get di music
weh dem love and dem a go get Ward 21.
G.O.: The new album coming out soon?
W. 21: Yeah, it's finished
G.O.: Is it again with Greensleeves?
W. 21:Yeah, we submit it to Greensleeves, wi
no hear back nothing from dem.
G.O.: So what is this album like, party, hardcore…
W. 21: Party, hardcore, girl… hardcore girl party,
yeah man it have everything and it whole heap more mature
than the first album, me can tell you that the maturity level
much higher.
G.O.: What's the most embarrassing thing that has
happening to you while performing?
W. 21: Mi do a show and mi a dance cross the stage
and mi pants drop off, I had on hospital scrubs, we were wearing
hopsital scrubs as costumes but mi neva tie the lace, mi did
have on a sweatpants underneath it and the lace a dat did
tie so it did feel like the scrubs lace did tie… so I'm
was there dancing and doing my walk across the stage and mi
pants just drop off, so mi jus kick it off and tek off mi
shirt and jus continue and say "yeah dis ya' next one
name 'change the clothes'".
G.O.: How do you deal with the girls when they come
on and want to be more than a fan, do like just 'tek a slap'
or say no mi have mi girl?
W. 21: Over the years the way we deal wid it change,
in the beginning from yuh have mi number yuh get a 'kill',
now mi nuh do dat again… cause now mi have mi 'wife'
and ting, mi nuh married but mi find the one so mi nuh really
do dat again and dat a too much stress yah man fi deal wid
yuh career and all a dat crap cause yuh know is not everything
good when it come to dat… there's a lot of garbage and
a lot of mixup and mi caan deal wid dat, dat too stressful
right now and it's too expensive fi have nuff girls.
G.O.: When you get compared to TOK does that
bother y'all…
W. 21: This is so funny cause I was just talking to
Flexx from TOK yesterday and we were talking
about the same thing yesterday and we understand that we are
so much different from them, they understand that they are
so much different from us… but is just people that don't
see that, is just the public that don't see that… yuh
see TOK is my favourite group yuh nuh and Ward 21
is Flexx favourite group, mi nuh know bout di rest
a man dem.
G.O.: TOK do nuff promo stuff, a paractice not really
synonymous with Jamaican artists…
W. 21: Mi nuh know bout di rest a artist dem but Ward
21 has been doing free shit forever, we been doing the
promotional shows and the 'peanut' money shows, but like mi
say before it's just the love and the devotion, so what if
a promoter caan pay yuh US$5000 fi do a show, at least yuh
going to make somebody in the venue happy and a di people
wi mek the music for and not the promoter… and God reward
yuh if you don't get monetary reward.
G.O.: What do you see yourself doing in five years?
W. 21: Five years from now, in a big fat pan di poolside
sipping lemonade, five years from now mi wah be a top producer,
wi nah concentrate wi energy pan performing yuh nuh, dat a
nuh wi goal yuh nuh I mean dat a part a wi job but that aint
the main thing that we do… dat a nuh wi main love, wi
main love is the production, wi like making the music for
people to enjoy it… performing wi music is like making
it more fun, when yuh start from 0 and yuh come up something
wicked yuh get more satisfaction, to me yuh get more satisfaction
.
G.O.: The music scene in Jamaica right now, what's
it like?
W. 21: Everybody nice now from Sean gone through,
everybody see the light a di end a di tunnel everybody a work
hard.
G.O.: Thank you and hoping to see you when you come
in june!
Ward 21: yeah, a nuff niceness!
Nadine Reid - G.O.Crew, Leipzig/Germany
www.ward21.tk
Ward 21 - Shows Germany June 2003
June 5th Munich - Muffathalle
June 6th Lindau - Club Vaudeville
June 7th Hahn - Kultur Event Arena (Rodigan's 25th Anniversary
Bashment)
June 8th Berlin - 2be Club
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