RAYVON

He is affectionately referred to as the “ambassador of hip-hop reggae”.

And with two new singles under his belt, international recording artiste Rayvon has come a long way from his very humble beginnings in Barbados when as a young child his only musical instruments were the pots and pans in the kitchen of his Eagle Hall, St Michael home.

“I used to play the drums. When I say drums, it was the pots and the pans,” he recalled.

“My father used to play a lot of music around the house and I was hitting the pots to the beat . . . so my parents decided to get me a drum set. From then my whole family was calling me ‘drummer boy’,” he told Bajan Vibes.

At the age of eight, the former student of Wesley Hall Juniors migrated to Brooklyn, New York and it was there that his musical career really took off. Rayvon, whose real name is Bruce Alexander Michael Brewster, not only learnt how to play the bass guitar and other musical instruments, he soon acquired his own turntables and started deejaying at “bashment parties” and other popular events before he got the courage to actually get in front of the microphone and sing.

“I started to practice like there was no tomorrow and I cut my first record Sweet and Pretty. It was released in England first. The song didn’t do much, but, for me, it was a big deal and that inspired me to get going,” he said.

The 50-year-old musician, who is the brains and talent behind the GTC (Get that Cheddar) Entertainment Label, recently released two new singles Trouble Again and Sugarcane.

During his extensive music career, he shared the stage with numerous icons, including The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson.

However, he is perhaps best known for his work with multi-platinum selling vocalist Shaggy. The two began collaborating on a string of tunes in the 90s, which culminated in Big Up.

“We both got our break with that record. It put us in the reggae/dancehall spotlight. I had a smooth-edged style of singing and he had that rough deejay style. The chemistry was amazing,” he said.

Rayvon was also featured on the B-side of Shaggy’s 1993 hit album Oh Carolina.

The following year his own solo career began to blossom with the release of the hip-hop reggae classic No Guns, No Murder on VP Records. The track made it big on the Billboard, ranking simultaneously on the Hot 100, Rap Singles, and R&B/ Hip-Hop charts.

In 2001, he did another collaboration with Shaggy. This time “Angel” topped Billboard’s Hot 100 and took home an American Music Award. The wildly successful tune catapulted both Shaggy and Rayvon even further into the national spotlight as they made appearances on several popular American television network shows, such as Live w/ Regis & Kelly, Saturday Night Live, Jay Leno, David Letterman and All My Children.

The song has since clocked in at 18 million views on YouTube and has been certified gold and platinum around the world.

“What I like about my career is that I was able to straddle both sides of the industry, underground and then come back and do some mainstream stuff,” he told Bajan Vibes.

“People have grown up with the classic songs I’ve done over the years. People want to hear reggae because it’s feel good music. Feel good music will never die,” he added. - Barbados Today

This time it has come in the form of a pow­er­ful woman. An­je Woodruffe has sent pop­u­lar reg­gae artist Rayvon to the top ten of the In­die charts. Born in Bar­ba­dos, the plat­inum record­ing artiste was made pop­u­lar with hits such as Bash­ment Par­ty, Big Up, Nice & Love­ly and An­gel, and has since launched his so­lo project and la­bel called Get that Ched­dar En­ter­tain­ment (GTC).

In col­lab­o­ra­tion with Game on Lock En­ter­tain­ment, the man­age­ment com­pa­ny for GTC, Rayvon launched his third so­lo al­bum en­ti­tled Rayvon, on Au­gust 27. The al­bum fea­tures long time singing part­ner Red Fox, as well as col­lab­o­ra­tions from Jah Snow­cone, Ko­bra Khan, Mr Lexx and pro­duc­er Dain­jamet­alz (al­so from T&T). The de­but song off the self ti­tled al­bum that has rapid­ly risen on the In­die Charts is Back it Up. The song is a groovy so­ca that proud­ly makes a call for girls in the Caribbean to back it up on him. The song was pro­duced by pop­u­lar mu­sic pro­duc­er from Trinidad, Carl 'Beaver' Hen­der­son.

Beaver was al­so the pro­duc­er re­spon­si­ble for cre­at­ing the hit song, The Gan­ja Farmer, sung by T&T's first recog­nised in­ter­na­tion­al­ly ac­claimed artist, Mar­lon Ash­er. The song (Back it Up), was orig­i­nal­ly record­ed in 2006, and al­though the tim­ing for re­leas­ing the track was bad that year, Woodruffe said, "I knew the song had po­ten­tial to do great things. Last year Rayvon dis­cussed start­ing his so­lo project and sug­gest­ed us­ing Back it Up as the sin­gle off the al­bum." Woodruffe didn't hes­i­tate and said "let's do it."

On Au­gust 28, the In­ter­na­tion­al As­so­ci­a­tion of In­de­pen­dent Record­ing Artists (IAIRA) an­nounced the for­mal cer­ti­fi­ca­tion of Back it Up as a top ten el­i­gi­ble In­die song. The IAIRA recog­nis­es and ho­n­ours artis­tic achieve­ment, tech­ni­cal pro­fi­cien­cy and over­all ex­cel­lence in sound record­ing.

Even from her VJ days at 98.9fm, Woodruffe has been be­hind the scenes wheel­ing, deal­ing and shout­ing the name of Trinidad and To­ba­go. Woodruffe is al­so known for her work with Mar­lon Ash­er. She and her broth­er, Geron Woodruffe, formed the com­pa­ny Woodruffe & Woodruffe and they re­main re­spon­si­ble for Mar­lon Ash­er's ca­reer.

Ac­cord­ing to Woodruffe, ru­mours that Rayvon and long­time singing col­league Shag­gy were at war for his de­ci­sion to go so­lo were un­true. "There is no break up be­tween the two. When one per­son is in the fore­ground the oth­er per­son does not get seen. Rayvon saw the op­por­tu­ni­ty to move for­ward and it is not a sep­a­ra­tion from Shag­gy. They will still do tours."

Since the launch Rayvon has been to both Is­rael and Cu­ra­cao with Shag­gy. Next week they go to Nige­ria.

De­ter­mined to see T&T on the main­stream in­ter­na­tion­al scene, Woodruffe con­tin­ues to work with high-end per­form­ers and en­ter­tain­ers with a long-term vi­sion of tru­ly ex­pand­ing and cre­at­ing aware­ness for the mu­sic in­dus­try in this coun­try.

Woodruffe con­tin­ues to func­tion as the pub­lish­ing ad­min­is­tra­tor for Rayvon, and ad­mits this is just the be­gin­ning. When asked how the col­lab­o­ra­tion came about, Woodruffe said, "I want­ed to try a crossover tune with Rayvon be­cause he has the kind of voice that can re­al­ly flow. I spoke to Beaver and asked him to send me some­thing for Rayvon to work with. Rayvon liked what he heard. He record­ed the vo­cals and the rest as they say is his­to­ry." Rayvon is be­ing nom­i­nat­ed by the Bar­ba­dos Mu­sic Awards in the En­ter­tain­er of the year cat­e­go­ry in 20111. Last year it went to Robyn 'Ri­han­na' Fen­ty. - Trinidad & Tobago Guardian

Produced by Sugar Bear, Rayvon, and Michael Prochilo, the pulsating Red Bull Riddim features 11 tracks of pure heat from dancehall legends including Elephant Man, General Degree, Tanto Metro & Devonte, and the producers themselves. The title track finds Sugar Bear (aka Mr. Stallion) delivering a deep, rapid-fire flow of seduction to newcomer Coralee, who prepares her suitor by sweetly responding “you gon’ need a Red Bull tonight.”

Rayvon, the Brooklyn-raised Barbadian singer best known for his string of successful collaborations with international pop star Shaggy (including their number one hit “Angel”), joins forces on the riddim with legendary New York-based deejay Red Fox for the scorching “Blaze Like A Fire.” “Red Bull” and “Blaze Like A Fire” are already getting bumped on radio stations up and down the east coast, so the artist / production team are preparing to close out 2018 with a full schedule of station visits and club performances.

“Big up all massive and crew. Can’t wait to bring the energy with this banging Red Bull Riddim, Gonna ‘Blaze Like A Fire.’ It’s going to be ‘Trouble Again,’ with the sweetness of a piece of ‘Sugarcane,” said GTC Entertainment boss Rayvon, adding a flurry of song references to his sentiment. He and Sugar Bear first collaborated on the 2017 single “Sugarcane,” which was also released on GTC (Get That Cheddar).

Originally from St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, Sugar Bear resides in NYC. “Nuff love and respect to everyone who has been supporting the Red Bull Riddim. Looking forward to hitting the road and introducing people to the ‘Red Bull’ song and the riddim,” offered the bear-sized deejay/producer.

On the Red Bull Riddim, the Caribbean transplants to NYC perfectly capture and blend the islands’ influence on the city soundscape.

The musical artists will begin their nine-day promotional tour in Atlanta on Dec. 5 on MAJIC 107.5 and end the tour on Dec. 15 in Boston, Ma on Jam’N 94.5. The tour will include a stop on Dec 13 in Albany, NY at the JAMZ 96.3 station. - Caribbean Life News

TWO years ago, singer Rayvon and deejay Sugar Bear teamed up for the single Sugarcane. They have again joined forces for remake of The O'Jays' 1973 original, Now That We Found Love.

Now That We Found Love (GTC Entertainment/Tuff Gong International) is officially due for release on February 15. It is produced by Michael Prochilo and Sugar Bear himself.

“Working on Now That We Found Love brought back memories of when I was a child. The various versions of the song were played constantly in my household. I remember the excitement when the Heavy D version came out,” Sugar Bear told the Jamaica Observer.

“As a lover of classic hits, it was a joy and a musical pleasure recreating this song that I grew up hearing. I hope the fans will love this version as well. It's a great remake,” said Rayvon.

Now That We Found Love was updated by Jamaican group Third World in 1978 and their version, which was released by Island Records, reached number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number ten in the UK.

A remake by Heavy D and The Boyz in 1991 reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Rayvon, best known for his collaborations with Shaggy, including the chart-topping Angel and dancehall staple Big Up. He also gained Billboard chart action in 1994 when No Guns, No Murder reached number 94 on the Hot 100 and 69 on the R&B Hip Hop songs chart.

Rayvon is from Barbados, while the St Elizabeth-born Sugar Bear (given name Geoffrey Scott) is based in New York. - JAMAICA OBSERVER

Hitmaker Rayvon, best known for his collaborations with international pop star Shaggy, like the chart-topping “Angel” and dancehall staple “Big Up,” has, once again, teamed up with Bronx-based deejay Sugar Bear to recreate “Now That We Found Love,” a song written by Philadelphia soul legends, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, and originally recorded by The O’Jays for their 1973 album Ship Ahoy. The celebrated tune has also been covered in hit versions by Martha Reeves (1976), Third World (1978), and most recently by the late Heavy D and The Boyz (1991).

“Now That We Found Love” was produced by Michael Prochilo and Sugar Bear himself. “Working on ‘Now That We Found Love’ brought back memories of when I was a child. The various versions of the song were played constantly in my household. I remember the excitement when the Heavy D version came out.” offered the plus-sized deejay.

“As a lover of classic hits, it was a joy and a musical pleasure recreating this song that I grew up hearing. I hope the fans will love this version, as well. It’s a great remake,” added Rayvon. - UNDEFINABLE VISION

It was a fair-sized crowd that came out last Tuesday at the Limelight nightclub in Half-Way-Tree for the official launch of the song Sugar Cane, a collaboration between deejay Sugar Bear and singer Rayvon.The feedback from the crowd was positive. Both artistes are encouraged by the response.

“Working with Sugar Bear a good chemistry. He's a humble artiste that made it very easy to build with. It was a natural vibe, which is the best way to create long-lasting music and energy,” Rayvon told Splash.

Sugar Bear explained how the collaboration came about and the inspiration behind the song.

“The producer envisioned that me and Rayvon would sound good together on a collaboration, so he made it happen. The song was inspired by attractive women that we see daily,” he said.

Sugar Cane was produced by Troyton Rami for Black Shadow Records. It is featured on the Happy Days Riddim.

Formerly signed to MCA Records, Rayvon was born in Barbados and raised in New York. To date he has released three studio albums. A frequent collaborator with Shaggy, his hits include No Guns, No Murder, Big Up, In the Summertime, and Angel.

The 35-year-old Sugar Bear, whose real name is Jeffrey Scott, is originally from St. Elizabeth. He presently resides in New York. Most of his recordings are produced by Black River Records.
“Sugar Bear is a hard-working and energetic person who brings forth an international sound to the table,” he described himself.

Known for songs including Roll It Up, Powers, Pretty Pretty, This is a Prayer, and Jamaica Mi Born, he shed some light on his journey as an artiste.

“My journey has been educational. I am constantly learning about the craft and about the people of the world, as my craft has brought me to different places in the world,” said Sugar Bear.

Commenting on the launch of Sugar Cane, he said: “It was filled with excitement. People showed their love and approval for the song by giving it tremendous forwards and performance anchors. Thanks to all the media personnel and the fans who were in attendance. I especially would like to also thank promoter Stampede, who made the night possible. Thanks to his hard work, everything is coming into place.” - JAMAICA OBSERVER