Clayton Lynch (left), Jerome 'Sage' Butler and Duane 'X' Tucker make up the poetry group, LSX. - Contributed

Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

The title of poetry trio LSX's debut audio collection, Words a Tro, is not the entire line in the poem from which it is taken. It actually is "words a tro like rock" words from Clayton Lynch, Jerome 'Sage' Butler and Duane 'X' Tucker tend not to harm.

The line refers to negative words from others ("mimic a mek like mock", it continues), and goes on to say "a who naa get pay fi play", this relating directly to payola.

"We wanted to show that whether or not LSX was getting airplay, what we had was worthy of airplay," Sage said.

What they now have is seven tracks, Missing You Girl and Spanish Town among the poems that they have performed for sometime, being set to music by Flow Factory and put out on their own Tree of Life imprint.

Lynch and Sage said they had been quizzed about putting out material "as long as we have been around".

They have been around as a unit since November 2004 Sage pointed out that "we are coming out of Jah Children" - that unit of poetry performers coming together five years ago.

Still, Sage said "The three of us used to perform together before the name."

Recording the message

And the poems had been around before the recording process began over a year ago, with the album complete in April this year.

"We wanted it to be a complete representation in an introductory sense to the world of what this energy is all about," Sage commented.

So far, that energy has led them to the studio, rather than the press.

"The spiritual channel keep us more to performance and recording than the message going out in a book, but we have that in the future and very close," Lynch said.

He stated that "we worked extensively on the literature."

They have taken a realistic approach to their craft, as Sage declared, "Poetry is not a million-dollar industry in Jamaica. Not even a $100,000 industry."

However, he said "The international market doesn't share Jamaica's opinion," and pointed out tha in Jamaica poetry is not popular "LSX is popular. And because LSX is popular, we are starting to popularise it to the 'hot' class."

"People say 'poetry?', like poetry is boring. Me want to perform a poem for you and, at the same time, mek you know it is not boring, because I am not boring," Lynch said.

And, as part of that thrust to change the perception of poetry, there is still an intention to get Missing You out on a popular rhythm.