Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter
The Twin of Twins perform at East Fest 2005 in Morant Bay, St. Thomas. - Nathaniel Stewart/Freelance Photographer
'Him follow fashion eeh?' immediately comes to mind when an artiste who sounds like someone who came before is heard for the first time.
There is Busy Signal who sounds like Assassin who sounds like Cham who used to sound like Bounty Killer who sounds like Shabba and many others could join the list. However, many times the 'followers' never think they sound like their predecessor and the few who acknowledge the influence are sometimes ridiculed for not being original.
Some years ago Cham was compared to Bounty Killer, but Cham says they didn't sound alike.
"Me never sound like him. A just people a link me to him because we did start link. Me a make hit tune long before me meet him in '98. Me have hit song from '95, like Gal From Yuh Born, Joyride, Keserrah Bumper Cart. So the public gets misled. In interview a Killa start say him buss me because him love talk, I was always the more laid-back one and people naw hear me a say differently, so dem think say is the truth. But me respect all a dem man deh talent and every deejay take bits and pieces and mould ourselves," he says.
Instead, Cham says his influences are mainly "those from the older school artistes, like Major Worries, Bob, Shabba, Buju, Supercat".
All inspired by someone
Now people have started sounding like Cham. "They know themselves and some a dem a artistes wha know me directly. All of us took something from someone else. Nobody nuh create a style from day one or create a style from nowhere. There is no one who was not inspired by someone else. Every artiste start out a deejay other people song before they started to sing," Cham said.
As to why most artistes refuse to give credit to others from whom they drew inspiration, Cham says "probably him think say it a go take away credibility from him. Him a do him, so that don't take away any money from my table. Me nuh make nothing trouble me. Credit naw go do nothing to me. Me nuh watch nothing in Jamaica. Me a nuh the type of person fi watch a next artiste and say 'watch when my song come, it a go mash up the place'. My own a my own, and me believe that fully".
When Assassin first emerged on the dancehall scene many saw a strong hint of Cham, but Assassin doesn't think so.
"People would make that comparison. It's inevitable that people will compare or find the need to compare you to someone. I don't know, but people like to do the comparison thing ... But people used to say me sound like this and that, but it take a little time for you to come into your own. I mean I was 17 years old, but surely dem nuh expect me fi sound the same way five years after," he said.
Assassin says he has never tried to sound like Cham. "Could never be. Dem time deh you all have some unscrupulous characters who would approach me and as much as me did only have one shoes at the time, I couldn't do nothing like that. I have to make sure that my integrity is intact at all times ... I could always identify myself and at no point in time could I ever see how people would get confused," he said.
Assassin says his influences include Professor Nuts, Stitchie, Papa San, Buju, Spragga Benz and Shabba and thinks there is nothing to be gained from deliberately trying to sound like another artiste.
"That's where the problem comes in. If yuh siddung a yuh yard and a try sound like someone else, then that's a problem. It's like a man trying to copy a product that is out there, like a man build him shoes and you go and build one like it. You just need to come and be original and be yourself. What kind of artiste would you be when you are nothing but a carbon copy?" he said.
The duo Twin of Twins has successfully mixed deejaying with comedy and voice imitation. However, according to one twin, Patrick 'Curly Loxx' Gaynor, he was inspired by others before him.
"A lot of people inspired me in terms of versatility. The different sides to what I do were inspired by Gary Saddler and Gary - I don't remember his last name right now, but during the intermission of Under Mi Nose they were imitating Manley, Seaga, Glasspole and Barry G. Then in terms of the music, there is Papa San, Stitchie, Supercat... and Bionic Steve. He did a song called Fly The Gate (and Let in the Pirate), so that's when I first realised that you could actually imitate voices in songs. As for my modern deejaying skills, that was inspired by Determine," he said.
Like other deejays, fresh faces are following in their footsteps. There is an uncanny similarity between their 1998 character on a Bounty Killer album and Leftside and Esco's 'Dr. Evil' and when some first heard I Am Dr. Evil, they thought it was the Twins.
Charcter variations
"In terms of the variations with one of the characters that we did on Evils of Your Mind with Bounty Killer in 1998, I think that Leftside and Esco's 'Dr. Evil', whether deliberate or not, sounds like that character. When they came out everyone thought it was us, so that caused a little mix up," says Patrick.
Paul 'Tu Loxx' Gaynor spoke of those who don't acknowledge the inspiration behind their work. He cited the infamous tag line "I are the one" as an example.
"When we go pon the CD and say 'I are the one' - because Killa never actually say 'I are the one' in real life - we were just overemphasising his bad grammar and Killa never vex. Instead, him go and embrace the style and in a way it is giving us props and nuff people who say them more intelligent than him a frown. But Twin of Twins nuh disappointed, 'cause a mankind that, and the man who fi give we props do that, and that's the Almighty God. So from God nuh vex, we alright," he said.
Leftside, who uses the alter-ego 'Dr. Evil' in his music says he was inspired by his father Lloyd Parkes and producers, Sly and Robbie, Steelie and Cleevie and Dave Kelly.
As for the concept behind 'Dr. Evil', Leftside says "I've been carrying a split personality from I was a child ... I got it from the (Austin Powers) movie. I never planned for it to go this far. I mean I used to run joke and imitate people from I was young, but that's it. Is one day when Pepsi from Renaissance say I must do a dub for him and Leftside was there writing and then started freestyling in the 'Dr. Evil' voice".
