“I
was blessed with a strong, supportive team behind me throughout
the year. It was actually them. They were like, “yo
Dawg E., you need to go on the main stage. I think that’s
what would be able to put you over to the next level,”
said the first time finalist. He says his hit song was inspired
by the tragic loss of many friends and acquaintances over
the years.
“It used to always have me so sad that I decided to
write a song about it, and that’s why I wrote Spread
the Love.” That song is actually bigger than it seems,
because it’s not just about spreading the love in
terms of different countries. It’s spreading the love
for home, because what starts home ends abroad.”
Slaughter says he thoroughly enjoyed performing to a packed
house at Hasley Crawford Stadium in February. “I must
say it was a very good experience. I was even telling a
friend of mine, if I knew it was going to be like that,
I would have done it a minute ago.”
For Mr. Slaughter, gaining broad acceptance as a performer
in Trinidad has been anything but easy. “The biggest
challenge is not having a band, and not having a superior
network in terms of publicists and ray ray, rah rah,”
said Slaughter listing soca artists and their respective
bands and entertainment companies. “Out of all the
years, I believe this year, I finally started to make and
impression as an artist. Because what used to happen is,
I would do things I thought they wanted from me. An elder
in the business (Chris “Tambu” Herbert) told
me that you have to be happy with yourself first and then
they gonna accept you for who you are and that’s what
I started to do, more than ever.”
And Mr. Slaughter is many things; father, artiste, co-producer,
writer and dj. Behind the scenes, he wrote A Cry for Peace
for two-time Calypso Monarch, Singing Sandra. As a radio
personality at 96.1, he popularized his dj crew, X-caliber
Disco nationally and internationally. He would eventually
take both his sound system and his listeners with him to
the newer Red 96.7 FM. The move meant hard times getting
airplay on his old station. Never-the-less, his music still
made it to the ears of his fans.
“What was really amazing to me was all the songs that
I made last year that they did not play were all of the
songs that I used to intro this year. Like when I sang Up
in Dat, oh my goodness! It was stupid!” said Mr. Slaughter.
With three albums under his belt, no one can deny that Mr.
Slaughter means business. He etches songs into the collective
consciousness with his rich bassy voice. Songs like Carnival
(I Love You), from the debut album “Bound to Represent”
and Trample and Done the Party from his sophomore offering
“Living Legend” capture the ceaseless energy
of carnival and pride of the Trinbagonian people. Mr. Slaughter’s
third album “Port of Spain” was launched on
Tuesday, March 7 at the Woodford Café in Trinidad.
Challenges at home have never prevented Mr. Slaughter from
taking his show on the road. He tours the UK, Canada and
the US annually. In 2006, he toured Japan twice visiting
five cities performing as both an artiste and a dj.
“X-caliber plays a paramount role in my life, because
it was like the stepping stage for me. That was the stepping
stage for me to come out and do my thing, so I can never
be ungrateful to it,” said Mr. Slaughter. Going forward,
Mr. Slaughter is hesitant to say what comes next. None-the-less,
he is confident that his patience will continue to pay off.
“Me, I fill the gap of, at some point in time you’re
gonna have an itch. When you get that itch, I’m a
be right there to scratch it. That’s the difference
with me, I will wait. I’m gonna wait for that magical
moment and just say ‘RAH!’ (growling)”
.
Mr Slaughter performing at his album launch inside Woodford
Cafe (Tuesday March 6th)
For more information on Mr. Slaughter and his upcoming tour
dates visit www.MrSlaughter.com |
