Kernal
Roberts does not make music. He makes hits. He is responsible
for writing and composing Bonnie
and Clyde, Fly
and Max
It Up for soca diva Destra Garcia. As the
Musical Director for Machel Montano HD, Roberts now writes
exclusively for Machel Montano and Patrice Roberts.
“Any
song that come outta my camp is gonna be a hit song and
Machel, everyone, Patrice, we all dedicated to that rule
right now,” said Roberts. “I’m not spreading
myself out anymore. Those days are done.” According
to Roberts, not even family can break his focus. His sister,
who serves in the army, is a vocalist who sings with Glenn
Washington. Kernal says he will not be writing songs for
his sibling unless she is able to commit wholeheartedly
to taking his creations to the top of the charts.
“I
is like one of them horses and dem. Eye patch on de left
and on de right. I can only see straight,” said
Roberts of his passion to succeed.
“The creativity part of it is always up, to start.
With me, 100%, 24/7 music always play in my head like
a radio,” said Roberts. “I’ll be composing
silently sometimes, driving, and be humming to myself
and I know the finished product just by listening to my
brain. I go into deep meditation. I look for the theme,
the concept, then you look for beautiful lyrics to embrace
all of this.”
After 'Band
of D Year' secured a roadmarch title for
Patrice Roberts and Machel Montano in 2006, song-writer
Kernal Roberts made plans to do it again.
In 2007, all eyes turned to the Machel Montano HD camp
with the release of a down-tempo groovy song written by
Machel Montano himself.
“It’s like every car you pass you hear [One
More Time], every radio station, every corner,
every bar, every club. It just took over the whole of
Trinidad and Tobago,” said Roberts in praise of
his close friend and colleague.
After the pace had been set, Roberts fueled his band with
instant favourites like Higher
Than High, Light
It Up, and Down
D Road. His method proved to be the right
formula for carnival madness when the spirit of Jumbie
possessed an entire nation.
“It’s carnival week and we’re on our
way to winning our second roadmarch and it’s like
there’s nobody behind us. Like we running by ourselves
in de race,” said Roberts. Little did he know Jumbie
would become the unofficial soundtrack to Carnival Tuesday,
leaving all competition in the dust with 388 plays. Kernal’s
second roadmarch victory in as many years was ushered
in by an historically unparalleled margin. Shurwayne Winchester’s
Open the Gate simple could not keep pace by comparison.
The official first-runner up was heard a measly 34 times
on the road. For the son of a ten-time roadmarch legend,
making history was never an option.
“I knew I wasn’t going to pop down my life
or turn to drugs or go on the streets to be misguided
by friends or led astray and go to no pipe dreams,”
said Roberts. “I didn’t put my head up in
the clouds, hoping and praying to write a hit song or
to join somebody band. I went on a straight, focused path,
knowing that I had a legacy to upkeep for my father, and
a legacy of my own to build.”
Source:
2006
International Soca Award Winner ~ 'Favorite Soca Info
Website'
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