Sky Juice
Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
WHAT a selector is paid for losing a night's rest to play in a dance is his salary, but his getting a 'forward' is priceless.
According to several renowned selectors, getting a 'forward' is joy unspeakable, the pinnacle of rewards and the driving force behind those who are involved in the profession.
"Joy come a mi heart. Mi jus feel rich seh mi get ah forward, cause mi love the people dem. It jus mek mi feel good enuh," 26-year veteran Sky Juice, who operates Metro Media, said.
This sentiment was also shared by 14-year veteran Garfield 'Ricky Trooper' McKoy, now with his own Sound Trooper, after selecting on Kilamanjaro for some time. "Yuh see when the vibes reach you and the music lick yuh? Bwoy, mi cyaan describe the feeling. It mek yuh feel proud and glad. Sometime me cry to the joy weh me feel," said an emotional Ricky Trooper.
Nice feeling
The blazing Fire Links reiterated the point made by his colleagues: "It so nice! It jus like getting a million dollars or getting a new girl weh check fi yuh; It is a nice feeling all over," he said.
There is the misconception that being a sound system selector is an easy job, as you just put songs on a turntable. Not so, say the masters of the trade; there is an art to sound system selecting. "Yuh affi study from yuh yard, try to find out weh di people dem waan. Sometime you mek a plan and yuh affi change it depending on the vibes of the people. Yuh affi work offa vibes of the people. Yuh cyaan suit everybody, but yuh must try to please the majority," emphasised Sky Juice.
Sky Juice's point was backed up by Fire Links: "Yuh see music, yuh affi know the timing, when fi play certain tune. Yuh affi tek note ah di type of audience and dem ting deh, cause certain tune caan play fi certain audience. Yuh affi know how to adjust yourself," pointed out Links.
Ricky Trooper also said that where a selector is plying his trade is also a huge factor in what is played, as the people from rural Jamaica prefer a different type of 'juggling' than those from the urban areas.
According to Fire Links, the vocation is not a bed of roses, as there are many nights that his bed does not see him. In the same breath, it does have several benefits in comparison with a regular '9-5' job.
"It's not easy, because you lose your night's rest, but the nice part of it comes with the fame and what comes behind it. You get to meet a lot of people and you feel important because of the love you are being showed," said a reminiscing Fire Links.
Ricky Trooper agreed with Fire Links that the profession is draining physically, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. "It open a lot of door fi me. It carry mi places weh mi neva think me woulda go, it mek me meet people weh mi neva think me woulda meet and the famous feeling is a good feeling," pointed out Ricky Trooper.
It is commonplace for selectors to coin phrases to introduce particular slangs a practice that has to be mastered in order to be a good selector. In fact, these slangs usually determines how big a response a selector will get when he plays a particular tune. However, the question is, how do they come up with the slang, whether or not these 'chats' are memorised or are they said on the spur of the moment?
"Yuh work offa weh di tune a seh and it jus come natural. A no nutten weh me siddung and plan," explained Fire Links.
His view was bolstered by Ricky Trooper: "Mi nuh siddung and mek up nuh talk. It come natural, but me always listen to the song dem and when the time comes it jus flow naturally," he said.
On the other hand, the elder statesman in the business, Sky Juice, begged to differ from the opinions of the younger generation. "Me play the tune dem and listen it before me play dem a dance. Me study dem, cause memba dem seh practice become perfect, so all ah mi intro in line with the tune. A so Sky Juice work; mi deal with music professionally," stressed Sky Juice, who, over the years has been known for taking off his shirt when getting ready to 'dun di dance'.
Passing the torch
The maestros of the dancehall told The Sunday Gleaner that they would not discourage youths who aspire towards the profession. "Mi woulda encourage any youth fi get involved with the music, because mi live by it and mi nah go fight against a youth who waan come in a di business. And if him come link wid me, I will tek the time out fi teach him it too," Ricky Trooper said.
Fire Links said he would not attempt to deter any youth from joining the squad of selectors in the music business. At the same time he sounded a not of caution. "Yuh affi love it, cause it tek a lot of dedication and time, yuh affi have patience," he said.
"My advice to all young selectors is to just keep focus on the music. Yuh can't deal with it as a part-time thing, 'cause music is a very jealous thing," advised Fire Links.
