Kesi Asher, Staff Reporter
Left: R&B singer Rihanna has collaborated with Elephant Man on 'Pon De Replay'. - CONTRIBUTED Right: Mr. Vegas has done a song, 'Dance With You' with soca artiste Machel Montano. - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
AS CARIBBEAN music takes its place in the United States and the rest of the world, Caribbean artistes continue to work together to make the music stronger.
Following the saying, "Unity is Strength," entertainers combine their efforts for the betterment of the region. Some of the artistes who have made music together include Kevin Lyttle, Spragga Benz, Macka Diamond, Mr. Vegas, Machell Montano, Denise Belfon, Shaggy, Rihanna, Elephant Man and Sean Paul.
Mr. Vegas has done a song, Dance With You, with soca artiste Machel Montana from Trinidad. He will also be doing work on a video for the song, soon to be released. "There is a strong possibility that we will be touring together as his album is expected to drop around the same time as mine," said Vegas. Mr. Vegas will be doing some shows Trinidad with Machel this carnival season.
"Is about time Caribbean artistes collaborate because is one music. Is Caribbean music I call it from day one. The song weh me and Machell do, it ago reach to a wider audience. It ago reach his soca audience and my hardcore audience," said Mr. Vegas.
The soca and dancehall collaboration also extends to Machelle Montana and Shaggy who did a song, Toro, together in 1998.
BIG HIT
Elephant Man and Rihanna, who hails from Barbados, did a remix of Rihanna's Pon Di Replay in 2005. The song was a big hit on the international market in that year.
"It's a joy, yuh done know yuh caan lef out di Caribbean. Mi glad fi know seh wi ah keep di ting inna one unity, ah stay focussed an do di ting. We ah represent Jamaica and a show the love even with the next artistes from di Caribbean," said Elephant Man.
Rihanna also has two songs with Sean Paul, Twice My Age and Break it Off, not yet released. The two Caribbean artistes have made their mark on the American market and Rihanna is happy to see that the music is accepted in that market.
"It is such a honour to see people internationally accept Caribbean music and to love it so much. There is no better feeling," Rihanna said in an interview with The Gleaner recently.
Macka Diamond, who collaborated with Denise Belfon from Trinidad in What Girl Like, thinks the dancehall and soca mix produces a good sound.
"The song was okay, it brings across the dancehall into a different type of music. We blend it up and the blending sound really good. The mixture is a good thing," said Macka Diamond.
Other Caribbean artistes who have done songs together are Kevin Lyttle and Spragga Benz in Turn Me On, the remix, Last Drop, and I Got It. The song I Got It was featured in After The Sunset, a 2004 movie starring Woody Harrelson, Salma Hayek and Pierce Brosnan as a retired jewel thief.
"Integration, yeah, mi like dah move deh, di whole ting. The whola we come from di same place, the same African heritage, the same music. Is just that sometime the language have different interpretation but the whola we ah one," said Spragga Benz.
