Harry Toddler

A LIFE-SIZE poster of Harry Toddler dominates the lobby of Downsound Records' St Andrew office. The deejay, his bulky frame clad in denim pants and form-fitting T-shirt, settles on a sofa beside the studio where his latest songs are being edited.

The bass line to one of those songs, Pray Fi Dem, fills the room. Toddler, his hair in gold plaits, gives an approving nod.

Pray Fi Dem is a departure from the party numbers he has done as a solo act and as a member of the Scare Dem Crew; it represents a new direction for the colourful toaster.

"Mi a deal wid some upliftment music right ya now, cause mi waan connect wid some different people," he said. "Wi mek dancehall song easy, but mi waan mek some song wey di prime minister can listen an' hold a vibes, or some elder can listen an' sey, 'Yes, da tune ya soun' good'."

Back home

Toddler (real name Patrick Jackson) calls for peace on Pray Fi Dem, which is already getting some action on local radio. Another single, Safe Travel, hears him tackling the disturbing number of road fatalities in Jamaica.

Both songs were done for Downsound, the company that helped break the Scare Dem Crew over 10 years ago. After a split, Toddler has found his way back home, eager for his career to enter a new phase.

"We're working on his first album. When it's finished, the whole world is gonna know who Harry Toddler is," said Josef Bogdanovich, the American head of Downsound.

Hardcore dancehall fans know of Toddler's work with Scare Dem and have bopped to his solo hits, which include Run In and Dance The Angel. But his star has not shone as brightly as Elephant Man's, another Scare Dem alumni who has earned a Grammy nomination and worked with big-name pop stars like Wyclef, Rihanna and P Diddy.

Pioneer claim

Toddler says not attaining fame overseas has never bothered him.

"Me's a pioneer yuh nuh, mi brether. Mi help set the foundation fi the whole a dem youth out dey now," he said. "The thing is, mi neva get the chance fi my work manifest itself."

Although he is just 35 years old, Harry Toddler's pioneer claim can be justified. He started out as a 'bottle police' at dances in the Waltham Park area of St Andrew and cut his first record, Gal Yuh a Lead, for super producer Lloyd 'King Jammys' James as a 15-year-old in 1990.

He hit paydirt with Scare Dem, a good-time unit which also included Boom Dandymite, Nitty Kutchie and Determine. They had a purple patch with hit songs like Many, Many, Bare Gal and Got It Like Dat, before controversially dissolving five years ago.

Downsound, which has produced hits by Fantan Mojah and DYCR, is excited about its Toddler project. Bogdanovich hopes to drop his album by the summer and is already planning dates for South America and Europe.

Toddler is also pumped-up. "A long time a Harry Toddler album fi come out, yuh nuh. The world need it," he said.