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Bobby Crystal & Junior Cat inna Interview

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Now it's time for Bobby Cristal, who has been silent all the way till now, sipping on some coffee, to introduce himself...

Bobby Crystal: Yeh, I'm Bobby Crystal, started as Sugar Bobby. Born in St.Catherine, living in Spanish Town. My carreer started out when I used to sing in school. I used to attend church, sing in the choir, attend school concerts, bbq's, fetes, whatever.. In 1984, I performed on the stage of Tasty (?) Talent Contest and I became 3rd. But the people who were in charge were like ?Yo, you deserve more than 3rd.? To me, it was good... Living in Spanish Town, I used to be among deejays like Papa San, Dirtsman, Lecturer, Anthony Redroze and a couple of other young artists. There was a record shop in Spanish Town, and every day we used to go up there and deejay and sing. It would be Hammermouth, Ricky Trooper, then he was known as Trooper (because he used to be in a marching band), he would be there every day playing records, I would be singing, Anthony Redroze too... I was like the youngest one. Then it was like, on one particular day, you got this soundman from Ochos, I forgot his name, he was looking for deejays and singers to perform at a clash in Ochos. I went there, performed, and they loved me. I was known as Sugar Bobby then. From then I used to sing on Creation Sound with Papa San. One night I was performing, and there was this guy named Barler (?) from the sound called Cosmic Force, Cocoa Tea was the singer for that soundsystem... So Barler came and seh ?This young chap sound good. I mek a dance this weekend, pass thru!?. I went to the dance, and after that they offered me to be the singer for the sound. Cocoa Tea was touring back then like crazy, so they needed a singer. So I started working on the soundsystem for a while, along with Bunny General, and it was good, but there were a couple of clashes, and on this particular night, we were playing with this system called Stereo One, with Lieutenant Stitchie, Jonathan Bultman (?), Ricky Sterro (?), Captain Barkey, whole heap a artists... We didn't win the clash, because Stereo One was the sound that really did it that time, but when the owners of Stereo One was listening the cassetes, they heard me on it, and they wanted to get to know me. That did happen, and i was engaged as a replacement singer for Stereo One. They had some tours in 1987, and I went with them to the US and stayed there for a while. In 1991 I returned to Jamaica, going from studio to studio, then I got to Black Scorpio, met up with Winston Powell from Stone Love, and did my first song, which was "Can We Talk" and a couple of other tunes. After that I changed the name from "Sugar Bobby" to "Bobby Crystal".

Cla.at: Why?
Bobby Crystal: Don't laugh ! I just don't like the idea of men calling me "Sugar". But that's the name, people went on calling me "Sugar". So I said "Guess what, let's change it". So it was, at one dance, some girl came up to me and said "Yo, your voice, crystal clear, man!". So it's Bobby Crystal from then. After that I did another couple of songs, another couple of shows in the States, been to Japan, Kanada...

Cla.at: You are for the first time in Europe now?
Bobby Crystal: Yeah, first time in Europe.

Cla.at: And how you like it?
Bobby Crystal: Definetely - I love it !...

Cla.at: Especially the gals we assume (with a smile..)?
Bobby Crystal: (Smiling back) No... No, the people in general, they appreciate reggae music, that's a joy, man ! I'm just here to do my best. I will come with my album, next year April, entitled "Crystal", partly produced by Stone Love.

Cla.at: Do you think the European market is different?
Bobby Crystal: Yes, slightly. Jamaica is the groundation, you understan', so, no, the people over here juss start really getting it and appreciate it and react to it like this, I mean, so you won't tell the difference !

Cla.at: As an artist who did start quite a long time ago, what do you think about recent dancehall artists?
Bobby Crystal: As time goes by, things change, you know. More technology, you can't expect people to deejay like back in the seventies. You have to improvise and things.

Cla.at: So you like the whole developement from the 80s to the 90s?
Bobby Crystal: Oh yeah, defenitely yes.
(Someone in the room: And the quality?)
Bobby Crystal: Well listen. Back then it was live riddims, then computers, but now people are crying again for live riddims.

Cla.at: Which artists do you rate most?
Bobby Crystal: Let me tell you, I respect all artists. But especially "my" artists are Beres Hammond, Luciano, Tenor Saw. Respect foundation yute like Junior Cat. But then you have some yute like Killer, dem wicked too. Some different style, y'understand. So respect all yute dealing with reggae music, especially those who are dealing with positivity, straight positive things.

Cla.at: So you're more ont he cultural side, you don't sing slackness.
Bobby Crystal: You can't do things that get people say "It's slack". It's the way you present it. You dont have to come out like "Rah!"...

Time passed by, and after a short photosession, the crew was ready to leave. Steve, the German repsresntative of Youth Promotion, told us, that big things are planned. In the tradition of Chaka Demus & Pliers or Tanto Metro & Devonte, Junior Cat & Bobby Crystal are going to be the next big deejay/singer duo. Stage shows, singles and an album are planned for 2003. We are looking forward to it !

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Attached Images

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