In dancehall reggae music, the riddim is the thing and a winning riddim track can spawn maybe a dozen hits, and hundreds of wanna be hits. Well now the "Heights A Vibes" reggae collective hopes it can ride the "Poor and Famous Riddim" to popular success. The 'Poor and Famous' compilation CD featuring 17 tracks hit the streets this afternoon. It is produced by "Young C" and it follows the tradition of dancehall riddims where you might not know the name but the song has a sense of instant familiarity. We got a first listen this morning.
Keith SwiftReporting,
'Heights A Vibe' founder Fada Lee says that the "Poor and Famous" compilation contains 17 songs with collaboration from about a dozen Belizean artists. He calls it the best of the best.
Fawda Lee, Heights A Vibe's Boss
"It is a compilation of artists on the 'Poor and Famous' riddim produced by Young C, one of Heights A Vibes very upcoming producer right now who is hitting the top. So that CD is comprised of about seventeen artists, Belizean artists so it is the best of the best. You have Jah Voice, you have Bobo, you also have Easy Glenn, and you have Hooligan - it is a whole heap of artists."
One of those artists is Adele Ramos. You might know Adele the poet and Adele the journalist but meet Adele the singer. She wrote and recorded "Shattered Hearts" in just two hours.
Adele Ramos, "Shattered Hearts"
"I found out that the CD was being produced yesterday and I asked Fada Lee if I could do something on the CD and he said sure. So I went to the studio, I listened to the track, and then I began composing the lyrics. The name of my song is called 'Shattered Hearts' and it is a song really about the impact of violence in Belize."
Along with the release of the "Poor and Famous" compilation - heights a vibe is also releasing a video and CD from 20 year old Jariff Valentine. He prefers you call him "Positive Vibes." His CD is two years of work and the title track is "living a the devil out yah."
Positive Vibes,
"'Living A The Devil Out Yah' means that man just the kill man for nothing. Man just the fight, war for nothing. All of that is just living in the devil out yah so that is why I named the song 'Living A The Devil Out Yah and that is also the name of the CD. For all the adults, kids, Grandma, and Grandpa get your copy because there is no bad word or nothing. The whole family can listen to this and really relate to this."
Fawda Lee,
"It is something to have in your household if you have young youths coming up, especially from the south side because the CD is portraying a sense of righteousness and most of the songs talk about putting down the gun and stop dealing with the violence. So it is something that you should have if you have especially young boys."
Positive Vibes,
"You should pick this up because it is a conscious message I am sending and I believe that the people really need to hear the message which is on this disc."
The "Living A The Devil Out Yah" video was directed by Dennis Peyrefitte and will air on Channel 7 regularly. Both the DVD and CDs are in stores or available from Heights of Vibes members.
