Assassin. - ContributedA YOUNG man who leaves fifth form with six CXC subjects and goes on to do GCE 'A' level studies has options open to him. It's at this stage the decision is usually made whether to be a lawyer, doctor, engineer or some other professional to please mom and dad.
But Jeffrey Campbell's immediate plans do not account for the tightrope of those professions. He has become a DJ, calls himself Assassin a name he got from winning numerous DJ clashes in high school and he is excelling at the craft. In fact, his educational background is working wonders for him.
"I have an edge. I have a firm command of the English language and my horizon is wide. I am big on general knowledge so in the composition of my songs I have a lot more topics to draw on and I make better use of rhetoric. I think I have a bright future in this business," he said.
Assassin has an uncanny vocal similarity to Baby Cham, but his musical inspiration comes from Bounty Killer, Buju Banton, Luciano and Spragga Benz. In fact, while he was still a student at Camperdown he wrote the hit song Big Up The Shotta, for Spragga Benz, who is also a former Camperdowner.
He has been to a member of the Penthouse camp which honed Buju Banton and Wayne Wonder since he has been in high school. He is now firmly entrenched in that outfit with Donovan Germaine as his manager and he's looking for big things.
"I really want to make a meaningful contribution to music and eventually help my family of four brothers and five sisters. That is why I strive so hard to do well. I want to move up the social ladder and take my family with me," said the Papine resident.
Assassin sees music as that stepping stone and while he knows he can make a decent living quickly from music, his ambitions will not allow him to stop there. Eventually he plans to pursue a degree in business management and play an administrative role in the entertainment business.
As an alternate career, he's looking at journalism.
"I hope to make enough money after five years in this side of the industry to be able to start a business. Music is my vehicle. I want to set an example for other young people who aspire to be artistes that their lives should not be empty. People should not just see artistes as guys with a lot of money living the high life. There should be some balance and I encourage every young artiste to pay attention to education at this time. It's the best thing to fall back on in life," said the performer.
"The thing is to always try and find some kind of motivation and believe in yourself and your talent. There will always be elements that will challenge that, but as long as you know you are doing the right thing, you'll make it. We have the experiences of others before us to draw on and as long as we don't get lost in the hype, we'll be alright," he said confidently.
Assassin has a number of popular tunes on radio and in dancehalls currently. Among them To Make Money, Pan The Ends, Hyping Up and How We Roll.
Andrew Clunis
