Interview by : Alexandre Tonus
Pictures by : Benoit Collin
on Wednesday, April 12th 2006 - 11 320 views
The day after his Paris show alongside Lukie D., it was a radiant General Degree that we went to find at his hotel. Delighted with the welcome the French audience gave him, he gladly agreed to take stock of his career with us. A spotlight on a deejay who has managed to bring a bit of humour and fantasy into the all too often austere world of dancehall.
Reggaefrance / Hello Degree. You're considered a veteran today, since you've been singing and recording since the late 80s, early 90s. Can you tell us what you were doing before that and what pushed you towards music?
General Degree / I was a tailor at the beginning. That's how I started. I was also making music, but tailoring was my livelihood. That's how I was able to make money to go to Kingston, because I came from the countryside, from central Jamaica. I made money so I could go and record in Kingston. Tailor was my first trade.
What role did your parents and family play in your musical career?
They encouraged me. My parents were Christian, so they weren't really interested in music and all that. But when they heard my songs, they agreed. They encouraged me and they were there for me.
I read that your first song was for Mixing Lab and was called Mother rude pickney. I also heard about another song from your early days, called Circle Mandeville.
Yes, that song was a bit like a dubplate, I made it for myself. I used to “mash up” with that song. My parish was Mandeville, so when I performed that song in Mandeville, it went down a storm.
What do those two songs represent for you today?
I'd say those two songs really gave me more confidence to enter the music business. Because when I saw people's reaction to those songs, the way they received them, it encouraged me a lot. My first song, when I heard it on the radio for the first time… that's an experience I'll never forget. It's really different from now. I hear my songs on the radio, but I'm used to it. Whereas when you hear yourself on the radio for the first time, it's really great.
Were you already in contact with Danny Browne at that time?
No, that came some time later, I'd say a year or two. While I was hanging around at Mixing Lab, Danny Browne dropped by. Fatta, the engineer, played him my song and Danny Browne liked it. He then said he would record me one day. Shortly after, I got a call from him telling me he wanted me to record for him. I think that song was called You look good, on the Power Matic label. I believe it's on the first album.
And then you released Granny…
Yes. A few months after that, Granny came out. And from there, it was historic. Granny is the song that put me on the road, in Jamaica, in the Caribbean, in the United States. It was really a huge success.
I heard that it was because of Granny that the Main Street label was created…
Yes. Granny was the first song released on the Main Street label.
How did you come up with the idea of creating your own label after the Danny Browne period?
Two years after Main Street was created, Danny Browne stopped. He turned to gospel. Before that, I had made an album called “Degree” for VP Records. There was a track on it called Spark plug, it was my first production. I had produced that song for the album and from there, I realised I could do certain things by myself. When Main Street closed, I decided I would get more involved in production. The first riddim I released was the Pot cover, which did very well in Europe. Some songs on the Pot cover were mine, like Crissy D's, for example. That's when I really started producing.
You just mentioned Crissy D. I think she's someone who had an important place in your career, maybe even in your life, I don't know… Not much is known about her.
Crissy D. was just one of my very good friends. We were very close when it came to music. Wherever I went, she wanted to come with me. We were good friends. She always wanted to be by my side. I always took care of her. Every time I voiced a riddim, I tried to write a song for her, so that she could voice the riddim too.
And have you always used the name General Degree since your beginnings? Where does that name come from?
The “General” comes from another artist called General Trees. At that time he was doing well in Jamaica, in ’84-’85. And whenever I went to the dances to sing, people would say: «Here comes young General». So much so that the “General” stuck to me. Everybody called me the General. Until I needed a rank in the music, and that is how the “Degree” came about. I’d say around ’87-’88.
With Main Street you opened the door for a lot of artists, but you also created your own style, the “high pitch style”, with that deep baritone voice. Did you work on that?
No, I think it came naturally. Before I really got into music, I didn’t know whether I wanted to sing or toast. I was hesitant and did both. I sang and I toasted too. That’s how my style developed. My father sang like a baritone and I’ve always loved doing it too.
Is that why you were able to play that little game on stage last night with Lukie D., starting to sing while he was deejaying?
Yes, exactly. Because I have this baritone voice that lets me do it.
At the same time as that Main Street period, and over the first ten years of your career, you put out no fewer than four albums for VP Records. Why did you stop working with them?
No, I didn’t really stop. I just moved on to other horizons. What happened is that I gave VP a choice. I had one option left to exercise, and when I asked them whether they were ready for that option, it turned out they weren’t.
Is that why you left for Greensleeves?
Yes, that’s why I gave the next album to Greensleeves. But it was supposed to be a VP album from Degree.
You also won an award with 'Bush baby'…
It was my last album with VP. Yes, I won a reggae/soca award in Florida for that album. It really is a very good album, which brought a lot to everyone. I think it’s one of the best albums I’ve made.
Do you think it’s your best album?
Yes, in a way.
In 1999, just after leaving VP, you created Size 8…
I already had my label, Pretty boy, a nickname Dave Kelly of Madhouse had given me. The idea came when I wanted to be more creative with something unique.
Did you feel the need to be independent?
Yes, that’s true. And today I’ve got my publishing rights back, which are now in the name of Size 8 Music. So everything is fine. When I created the label, I felt free and independent, because after all those years of management and contracts, it felt good to be free.
Just before 'Bush baby' for Greensleeves, you had also released an album for Donovan Germain (Penthouse, ed.)
Yes, it’s one of my first albums, even before the Degree album.
You mean the album 'Fi real'?
Yes, that album came out in 1995 or ’96. I wasn’t signed to anyone at the time. I went to see Donovan Germain, of the Penthouse label, when I already had all the ideas for the album. So I asked him to release it. It was one of my first steps in production, in terms of selecting and sequencing the tracks.
Your latest album 'The General' is also produced by you…
Yes, I produced that album and most of the songs on it. I’m putting it out for Europe. It will be out for Summerjam, where I’ll also be on the bill. The album will be available in Europe, so it will be available in France.
You’ve worked with many producers; which one managed to capture the best of Degree?
I’d say Danny Brownie.
And the worst?
(Laughs) There isn’t a worst, actually. There’s what we call "good, better, best". I’ve even met producers who had fewer ideas than me. Being a producer isn’t just having a label, it’s also having ideas, knowing what isn’t good, correcting it…
You’ve done a lot of collaborations in Germany; it seems the German audience has a special importance for you.
Absolutely. One of my best-known songs in Europe, a few years ago, was Cartoon Caracter. In Berlin, that song was the top dancehall tune the year it came out.
I realised the audience liked me in Germany. It’s the same for France; this is my first visit to France since I broke through, so to speak. I had already come in 1990, but at that time I was an unknown. Now I realise that the sounds and the audience appreciate me here.
You came to Germany before France.
Yes, that’s true, but it took a while to get to Germany. I must have gone there for the first time in 2001. I had of course been to England before. But as far as Europe is concerned, I’m only just starting to be able to blossom here.
Do you think it’s a lack of promotion?
Yes, of course. Promotion is the key. If I had come to France two years earlier with a bit of promotion, the situation would be different today; more people would have become familiar with Degree.
I’d like to raise a point that must matter to you: lyrics. With the Mainstreet artists, you developed humorous lyrics. What do you make of today’s lyrics?
It’s true that times have changed a little. I think the public is asking for a bit more humour in the business. It’s up to the artists to do what we did at Mainstreet. All the new artists realise that hardcore artists do well, so everybody follows that trend. They think they’ll get more respect by being tough. But people also need entertainment. I consider myself an entertainer; I bring comedy into the music. A bit of hardcore, but at the same time humour, realistic or cultural lyrics. I think that’s how it should be done. I’m still going down that road, and you’ll notice I still do Trafic blocking.
But you no longer do Granny…
No, that’s true. I stopped doing Granny because that song isn’t very popular here, even though it’s one of my biggest hits. On the other hand, if I play in Trinidad or elsewhere in the Caribbean, I have to sing it.
What will you do once you’re back in Jamaica?
I’m working on a clothing line in Jamaica called Rehgeh. I’ve registered the line and it’s doing well: Bounty wears it, Beenie Man too, Elephant Man, Beres Hammond. I give some to friends who wear it. I’ll bring some samples to Germany for men and for women: the men’s line is called Rehgeh Hardwear, and the women’s is called Rehgeh Softwear. In fact, I was a tailor by trade before I got into music.
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