“Me dream last night that I’m gonna get some money today/So me a watch me phone when it a ring/Me naw answer no poor call cause mi landlord just raise me rent/
Me dream last night say I’m gonna get some money today/So mi buy mi Cash Pot and Lotto/ I’m a true bredren right now mi wish Red Stripe woulda call me …”
Those lyrics from entertainer Charly Black’s latest release Money Dreama tell his real-life story as he strives for major success in the local entertainment industry. “The thing dem mi sing ’bout is mi personal experience. We no sing no fake story,” he tells THE STAR.
“Mi landlord really raise mi rent and the other day the Lotto a 40 million and me no win. So me and me bredren dem siddung and drink we Red Stripe and me send een mi bottle cap dem and hope sey dem call me,” he added, in reference to the recently concluded Red Stripe Bredren Competition.
His is also a story of perseverance and determination. Black has been involved in music ever since he was a small child growing up with his Aunt Gloria in an impoverished community he calls Israel, in Rio Bueno in St Ann.
“We no have no cable,” he said. “Tell Flow fi come link we up.”
Hang out
He reveals that when he was about five or six years old, his aunt would send him to fetch water. After leaving the house he would hide the container and visit a local strip club and hang out around a sound system called Love Vibration.
Over the next two decades he would develop relationships with many sound systems in Trelawny, St Ann and St James. PG Movement in Duncans, Trelawny; Supreme Force in Discovery Bay, St Ann; Lone Star in Charlton, Alexandria; Fire Vibes in Maldon, St James, Warlord in Salt Spring, Montego Bay, and finally Bass Odyssey in Alexandria, are all sound systems that Charly Black worked on, growing his reputation as an entertainer.
Released his first song
It was while he was with Bass Odyssey that he released his first song, Woman It’s You back in 2004. The song was not a hit, because it never got much promotion, he said.
Since then, he has released several other songs, including Going to the Party,Back Shot Time, Bubble Time, Girl I Love You and the recently released Rich This Year. Still, the major success he seeks remains elusive, in large part because of his location. “It harder fi bus’ a country,” he said, even while resisting the idea of relocating to Kingston, the hub of the island’s entertainment industry. “Mi naw go sleep pan no man couch or under him cellar,” he reasons.
Undaunted, he plans to release his first album on his own label, Charly Black Music, on his 29th birthday on April 6. The album party, he said, is to be held at Club Planet in Rio Bueno.
High hopes
Money Dreama is a collaboration with his good friend Lazeem, who has a studio in Negril and who created the rhythm for the song. He has high hopes for the song, which he says speaks to the reality of many Jamaicans who are having experiences similar to his own. He just paid off his fridge, he said, and while awaiting stardom, will continue enjoying his Red Stripe with his true ‘bredrens’ in Duncans, Trelawny and Alexandria, St. Ann.
Based on the vibe being created by Money Dreama, those dreams of his could soon become reality.
Source: JamaicaStar
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