INTERVIEW
Interview & pictures : Alexandre Tonus
on Sunday, August 01st 2004 - 10 757 views
A former member of the group LUST, Lukie D. appears today as one of the finest voices in Jamaica. His ease at singing on reggae melodies and dancehall riddims alike has definitively made him an essential artist. We could therefore not miss the chance to exchange a few words with him during our trip to the Splash; Lukie D. has unfortunately never set foot in France either...
Reggaefrance / Lukie D., thank you for agreeing to talk with us. It's a real pleasure for me. First of all, can you introduce yourself to us briefly, introduce yourself to the French public? And can you tell us when and how you got a taste for music, when you started singing?
Lukie D / First of all, for everybody, it's Lukie D. and as you know, I'm a singer… Well, I suppose you know it by now… And how did I get a taste for music? There are plenty of people who say they started music and all that, but me, I was born into music. My grandfather is a member of the Sugar Belly Band, which has been around for years, my mother sings. When I was young I had to play piano, bass, guitar, so I'm a musician as well. That's how I really started in the business, growing up in a family of musicians. That's how I started… Then came King Tubby, then Xterminator and all that… That's how it started.
And what were your influences at that time?
At that time, to be honest, and I am being honest, I used to listen to R&B, like Nat King Cole, Brook Benton. And I'm a gospel lover too, so I like some gospel singers as well. Those were the kind of artists I used to listen to. And then I have to say Stevie Wonder too. I'm always trying to add to what I already have, and the only way to add something is to listen to people who have what you don't. Because if you listen to people you consider to be doing the same thing as you, you won't learn anything. Like I said, Nat King Cole and people from that horizon, artists from across the ocean too. And then in Jamaica I used to listen to Beres Hammond; he's one of my influences too.
Before starting out as a solo singer, you were part of a group called LUST, alongside Tony Curtis, Singing Melody and Thriller U; can you tell us about that experience and tell us when and how you came together with these people?
I had my solo career before LUST, definitely. What happened is that I left Jamaica at one point to live in the United States, in Detroit, Michigan. When I started going to university, we also formed a group there, me and two other guys, who are close friends of mine too. While I was there, the group was doing well, at least on the scale of performing in the city. When I came back to Jamaica - I already knew Thriller U from my time with Tubby, and Singing Melody too - so when I came back, I thought it would be good to have a group like that in Jamaica, which is why I formed LUST. That was in 1997 or thereabouts. We did a single and everybody liked it straight away, so we said to ourselves, why not keep the group going. That's how we came together, that's how we got into that side of the business.
You were the first to leave the group; why?
Let me explain that. I found an independent label in LA called Down South Records, and at that time we had problems, we really had problems, because they wanted the group but they didn't want Bankey, who was managing the group at that time. So I decided it couldn't happen like that, because he was there when the group was being built… So I said: ‘‘Ok, you can have the whole group, but with Bankey.’‘ But they didn't want Bankey, and I thought that wasn't a good thing; that's why I had to leave. Wait… Let me explain… I'm telling you, that's why I had to leave, because they wanted me with the group, but not with Bankey. So that's how it happened.
And how are your relations with the other members of the group today?
Yeah man, they're my brothers for life, believe me! Tony Curtis, Singing Melody, Thriller U, they're my brothers for life. We still sing together, like at Eastfest, and in so many other places… We're still friends.
Your first album came out in 1996, called “Center Of Attraction”, on VP; can you talk about it? What do you take away from it today? It's a very soul, very gospel album…
It was produced by the Firehouse Crew, who are part of my family too, because there are members of Firehouse who belong to my family; so it's really my band. Well, you know who that band is, but it's the band I started with and made this album with, the first Lukie D., not the first in fact, the second, but we decided to put them together and release them like that. We wanted something different. I'm that kind of person… As you may have noticed, I don't just lend my voice to singing reggae. Different styles, that's why I decided to put that on an album, because I wanted people to hear that we can do reggae, we can do R&B, we can do everything… That's what I tried to put on the album, that's how you get this fusion of different things on this album.
And then you're one of the first singers to have had a really big hit riding a dancehall riddim; with Back up, back up on the Liquid riddim, you really showed people you had two sides.
One thing I've always noticed on dancehall riddims is that most singers do singjay on them. I wondered why they do singjay on a dancehall riddim when they can sing on it. And that's how I decided to sing on dancehall riddims, to show them you can sing on them, no matter how fast they are. You just have to feel the beat properly and lock into it, and that's how it comes… Bad riddim!
Just before, you asked us what kind of audience there is today; what do you personally prefer, dancehall or reggae?
To be honest with you, any music, dancehall, reggae, any of it. I'm comfortable singing reggae, obviously, but I can do any of them. Whatever the crowd demands, we hand out. We can give them everything.
Above all you're a singer for the girls; what inspires you? Do you have a wife or children?
Yeah, I have my girlfriend, and I've been with her since 1998 now. Back then we were something like 15 or 16, we were too young, we had no space, because we were too tight. Now, when you can take the woman out of her corner, it's good. I sing for the rude boys too, but with the girls, it gets right inside you, it's hot. You have to give it to them hard, because if you give it to them hard, you keep them warm…
You work a lot with the Germans, particularly with the Pionear label; how did that come about and what do you think of their work?
I was in Yard and they got in touch with me, I found their riddim impressive. And I'm a musician, so once I've heard something good, I don't care what it is or where it comes from, it rocks. As long as your riddim is bad and you want me to sing on it, we can come to an agreement… I had to accept. And then you have to understand that some people, I think - I say I think, it's how I feel, but still - I think some people believe that music starts in New York, in Boston, in Connecticut, in Miami and all that… Me, I know that music comes from much further than that, music comes from Germany, it comes from France, from Holland… When I hear a good riddim, I always try to make good tunes on good riddims, because you don't know who is going to listen to you.
Do you have another album in the works? For when? And what will its style be?
Yes, there's one I'm working on right now with Sting Ray… This one is going to be terrible and it will once again show my versatility. It should come out sometime in September
I heard that you recently shot a video with Vybz Kartel for the tune Every now and then, on the Celebration riddim; can you give us details about that experience and your opinion of youngsters like Kartel and hardcore DJs like Elephant Man and all that?
All the DJs are my friends. Everybody. Vybz Kartel, bad! On that song, he told me he had a little something he wanted me to sing, because it wasn't my lyrics. He just gave me the melody and I came to sing it…
Why? Is it a big deal here? Then I have to sing it…
When will you come to France? Do you plan to pay us a visit one day?
Listen, when they're ready for me, I'll be ready. When they say they want some Lukie, I'll be ready. But I haven't heard anything yet… I recorded something for a label over there, for a guy called Pierre, I've forgotten the name of the label… (editor's note: it is actually Special Delivery Music) It'll work out; as soon as they're ready, I will be.
To finish, do you have a message or a big up to send, a project to announce to the people of France, who are real fans?
Well, I'd like to say that I must first thank God himself, who alone made this possible. I'd like to thank all the media people, in Germany, in France, everywhere in Europe where reggae is supported. Because if they didn't support it, it would stay in Yard and couldn't evolve. I big up everybody, the public, the magazines, the radio stations, the papers, everywhere reggae is supported and Lukie D is supported. We just sing our songs and put them out; it's all these people who make them what they are. All those people who love reggae and want to make it; they learn to play an instrument, they learn to sing in tune. Don't sing off key and cut out the violent tunes. Sing something people can learn from, because when we sing violent songs, it only brings violence everywhere.
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