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Immediately
after Spragga's 2 hr set, we ran downstairs and backstage to catch up with him. It was already packed in there, and he was signing
away autographs for the women. We managed to
squeeze in and he was kind enough to grant us an interview amidst the chaos. Mr.
Blonde: Spragga, Spragga...Whats your real name? Carlton
Grant. MB:
How Did You Get Your DJ name? Well,
originally mi name a Spragga. Mi breddrin
used to call me that caw me kinda skinny like spaghetti.
So them just mix it up until it reach Spragga di Benz, coming from the sound
name LaBenz. MB:
Where are you from? Kingston
Jamaica, Dunkirk to be exact. MB:
What are your major influences, musically? You
mean artists? MB:
DJ's, selectors, sounds, anything. Well,
everybody, everything me a interest. Everything. Mi really have no major, just a whole heap-every
artist, every person, every friend.
The
whole of them, anysound which a juggle good music. Me
listen to any sound, whether it be a big sound or a small sound, mi nuh mind. MB:
What types of riddims are your favorite to record over? Fast
adrenaline type of music. Heavy baselines... MB:
For example, Madrock? Yeah,
for example Madrock, but lately you have a new riddim called Earth, Wind, and Fire, the
Diwali, The Japanese Monkey. MB:
I'm waitng for something new to come off the Rookie lable.
What's... Yeah
well them a work pon mi album right now so thats why them not really produce nothing. Them a work pon the exclusive Spragga Benz
project. MB:
So is Rookie Productions your stuff? Yeah,
mi him a name, but him kinda exclusive to Spragga in a certain way. MB:
Whats your favorite song that you have done? Well,
its a song mi did just the otherday it name For (4?) Youth.
Supposed to be on my next CD, come in yuh know. Some kids in Atlanta produced it named Platinum
Brothers. MB:
What was that song you did Diamonds in the Sky? Diamonds
in the Sunshine. Well, Stephen Marley
produced that one. Thats forth coming from mi
next CD as well. The next CD ago be
different. MB:
By the way, the show was WICKED!!! This man
was jumping out of his pants, man (points towards Wrecka,
everyone shares a laugh). We
were yelling Red Alert the whole time. Is
that tune available? Red
Rose and the girls from John John did that. Too
many songs mi have done. I think it was
originally a dubplate, I really don't remember. MB:
How do you feel about Beenie Man and Sean Paul representing Jamaica right now? Do you feel they carry the flag well? Yeah. MB:
Do you feel there should be another artist up doin it? There
will be more. It not up to we. America, the system cause it, but we a flood it
already. Them better look out because we a
coming! MB:
I mean, would you prefer someone else do it? No,
no mon! Them good enough, we just want others
to come up there too. All a we, Assassin,
myself, Red Squre Crew, every body-Scare Dem, Bounty Killer, everybody... MB:
All right, question from the ladies. Are you
single? (Pause)...Not
married.
Yeah. MB:
Boy, Girl? Both,
boys and girls. MB:
A lot of people also wanted to know, you collaborated with Foxy Brown... You
wander too much! You wander too much! MB: Are you still friends? Do you talk? Yeah
mon, we talk. MB:
Do you have a relationship or is it just a collaboration thing? Cho! Leave that. That
sound like a Hollywood type question. MB:
Sorry, I'm just asking some stuff the people off the internet wanted to know. Understand. I understand.
Lets just stick to the musical aspects of it yuh know? MB:
Whats sounds have you played on? Yeah
well, me used to play pon La Benz soundsystem until my breddren die, him a Ricky Villian,
may him rest in peace. MB:
What artists are you best friends with? All
of them cool. Assassin a mi best friend. Red Square Crew.
Me no really associate much, but Assassin a mi best DJ breddren. MB:
Do you know a CD sound won World Clash? Yeah
um Rebel...Whey they name? MB:
You heard about that then, Rebel Tone from Canada? Yeah. MB: How do you feel about that? It
good for the business that somebody outside of the Jamaican, the New York scene won. Wrecka:
Like the Japanese a few years ago? Let me
interject this. First of all, Japanese girl
come down and fly inna Jamaica and win off dancehall
dance conteset! Yeah,
it go so. For real becaw it show dem that the music get
international. So that is a good thing right
there. W:
True but
when you go Japan, it a go like
basically if I take Ninjaman style I sell more record in Japan than Ninjaman if you go
there. Japan
have more people than Jamaica you know. Much
much more. Japan a one of the most populated
country on Earth. And if you a go talk
Japanese, naturally you gonna sell more than Ninjaman because them ago uderstand whey you
a say. MB: Going back to World Clash, seeing a CD sound win,
do you feel its fair that a sound can download just about any tune, besides dubs, for
free? Piracy,
you can't get rid of that. So it go, the way
of the World. Inna time a come them a find a
way to curb it so in the meantime mek them gwaan lef them do it.
For
now. You can't fight it. Thats how things go. MB:
OK, so, you've worked with Dave Kelly a lot in the past.
How come you don't work with him anymore? Him
relocate from Jamaica, and me a stay a based in Jamaica. MB: What do you think of his new riddims? Yeah
mon, them nice. Same way, Dave have him vibe. Dave a creative person inna the dancehall MB:
Can you see yourself voicing over something like The Return? Mi
voice over any riddim seen (laughs)? Any
riddim you give me coulda voice over it. W:
Let me interject. You know the Neptunes,
right? Yeah. W:
Thema drop a whole heap of hot tunes pon the charts right.
Neptunes we feel just sign Supercat and might do something with Lady Saw. Now, the Neptunes have a really stripped down type
of beat, very very different from what usually come out of the dancehall. Different from Q45, David Kelly, Jeremy Harding. What do you feel about that? The Startrack lable and Neptunes? Would you rather see more dancehall artist on
Startrack or more dancehall artists on their Jamiacan lables? Well,
me a hope say inna the dancehall is that the
whole of them can go worlwide and any way the riddim dem dey whatever type of riddim, them
can just attack it and take it over. That a
we intention, whatever it is, any riddim, cause all of them-you could have R&B, jazz,
funk, house, whatever. W:
Do you prefer the dancehall riddim dem with the hip-hop pon it, or danchall pon hip-hop
riddim dem, me just want to ask a dancehall artist all the same, like you, Spragga one
inna the business long long time. Its like
the fans them prefer rap, me a hear them prefer a hip hop lyric over a danchall riddim vs.
a dancehall lyric over a hip-hop riddim. Depends
how you do it. W:
Yeah but it says a lot about Jamaican music all the same.
Especially when dancehall a come here and a lose a premier beatmaker, poeple
like David Kelly to America. I
wouldn't say I lose him. Cause him still a
produce dancehall. I guess him can't really
survive inna Jamiaca the way him waan live-it no luxurious yuh know so him move along to
greener pastures. W:
Money run things all the same right? In
most cases, not all the time. MB:
How many singles do you out out a month? I
don't know. Just give me a bad beat, take my
vibe, and just voice fi it. Me a probably
bring it down to about 5 or so. MB:
Alright, Spragga, what in the reggae business could be changed to make the music better-To
reach the World? Starting from the grassroots
up? Soudsystems, producers, DJ's, everyone? When
the sounsystem ting come up, dem should try to work with the newer artists more and not
just stick to the same set of artists inna the circle from day one-the Bounty Killers,
Spragga Benzes, and Beenie Mans, the Capletons. W:
Who has come up that you really like? That
me rate? Alright. Assassin, Vybes Cartel, a kid named Shano-a little
14 year old-him bad, him bad. You have a
whole heap. W:
One more. As
new artists coming up, you have a next likkle yout name Killer Bee from the Wasp Nest Crew
as a rude bwoy DJ, but him a gangster in a certain way.
But if him leave the gangsterism and start
DJ him ago bad bad. W:
So when them all get big they'll be paying you royalty right? Nuh mon! Its
a question you a ask. From a producer point then...The producer need to
spend more time inna the production of the music itself and not just beat a riddim and put
10 tune pon it. They need to make some more
exclusive songs pon the beats. That means it
can represent itself. And them fi market them
thing more. They need to promote what they
are doing and not just throw it out there and wait for something to happen. They need to make a decent production like how
Dave or Tony or Rookie do and know say, alright, this dem ago work with and promote this
because them spend the time fi make sure say the quality is up there. I think that thing will start to make people take
dancehall more seriously. MB:
Well, it seems like many times when people do that the product comes out diluted. For example, Thug Nature? Are the tunes completely dancehall? It
say it right there-undiluted dancehall from Jamaica (points to promo poster he is
signing). MB
(feeling like a jackass): There you go, hey. So
there are no collaborations with any American artists? You
have collaborations with Red Square Crew, Sugar Slick... MB:
Future plans for Red Square? Well,
Gregory Hines still a build him ting and him a get better a wha him a do. And you have Briggy who still a come up, and
Slick, as a singer, Suger Slick rude. Dem a
represent themselves. So in the meantime the
artists a there right now, dem just a hone dem skills. W:
What do you feel about, like tonight, Mercinary Crew come, them outta New York, right? Yeah. You have
Glamour Kid outta England, him kind of settle off the past 2 years, but when him first
buss he was hot right? Yeah. So how do
you feel about non Jamaican artists a lick pon dancehall? Non
Jamaicann artists? Them just like the
Japanese, me a love that. Cause the Japanese
when you say them sing Ninja Man style and rae rae, them a non Jamacain too. It means more people love the music and the music
spread Worlwide. W:
Them more see The Mercinary Crew than Japanese, so
from a Jamaican artists standpoint, who has
been in the business for 10 years, you must feel a different way about Japanese artists
who do a Jamaican thing versus a English or American artist who do a Jamacain thing-who
are real Jamaican descendents. Yeah,
well, dem a Jamaican by descent vs non Jamaican (laughs-for real girlfriend stop me say a
feel me up,< girl to the left keeps rubbing his thigh>). A Jamaican them still. Jamaican by descent... W:
What I'm trying to say is this: As an artist like you who've been in the business for 10+ years, when you see a Japanese youth bust and
him a sell millions, or Glamour Kid sign to BMG or a major label, or a Mercenary a try to
get a deal outta New York, from a artist standpoint from Jamaica, which one would you a
rather see move on and move up. Most
talented one. MB:
Do you have any hobbies that may surprise people? No. Music a me hobby.
Music a everything. MB:
What sort of music do you listen to besides reggae or hip-hop? Whatever. Whatever type of music. Right now me a listen to Barry Manilow, me a listen to Ella Fitzgerald. Manilow? Yeah! Anything. Music, just a music, cause me a musician. Carla
(who was listening in): How do you feel about the clashes between the Jamaican DJ's like
Beenie and Bounty? As
long as it fun me love it yo. For real. Sound clash, DJ clash, anything becaw it keep on
the cutting edge. Love it. MB:
Alright, a lot of people on the dancehall boards on the internet, when it comes to who is
the most underrated DJ, its always Spragga Benz. Eh? Fi real? Thats
what them a say? MB:
Yes, they say your one of the best but you don't get your props. How do you feel about that? Mi
glad them feel that way. MB:
Go to dancehallreggae.com, and there was a whole thread recently of people throwing out
your lyrics. Well,
that's props right there! MB:
Spragga, thank you very much. It was a great
great show. Thanks
very much king. Special
thenks to Spragga, Mercinaries Crew, Slacky J (sorry to make your night more hectic than
it already was), Montana, and all who made this interview possible. Large
up all the performers-Mercinaries- Sample and Demon, Bunny Jackson, Assassin, Spragga, soundmen-Matrix and Shockwave, and promoters who
made this show such a smashing success. |
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