Corie Sheppard Podcast
The Corie Sheppard Podcast
A trusted space for honest, Caribbean-rooted conversations that connect generations, challenge norms, and celebrate culture through real stories and perspectives.
Hosted by Corie Sheppard-Babb, the podcast explores the lives, journeys, and ideas of the Caribbean’s most compelling voices—artists, entrepreneurs, cultural leaders, changemakers, and everyday people with powerful stories. Each episode goes beyond headlines and hype to uncover the values, history, humour, struggle, and brilliance that shape who we are.
Whether it’s music, business, creativity, identity, advocacy, or community, this podcast holds space for the kind of dialogue that inspires reflection, empowers expression, and preserves our legacy. It’s culture in conversation—unfiltered, intergenerational, and deeply Caribbean.
Listen, subscribe, and be part of the stories that move the region forward.
Corie Sheppard Podcast
Building as a Young Artiste: Performance, Discipline, and Finding Your Voice
In this episode of The Corie Sheppard Podcast, we sit down with Sackie, a young artiste and performer whose journey reflects the reality, resilience, and creativity of a new generation of Caribbean artists.
Sackie opens up about finding his voice through performance, growing up between church, football, and music, and navigating grief, discipline, and self-belief at a young age. We talk about authenticity, creative risk, testing music through social media, and what it really takes to build momentum without industry shortcuts.
This is a conversation about growth, identity, and trusting the long game — especially when the odds aren’t stacked in your favour.
🎧 Episode drops Monday
👉🏽 Click the link in our bio for the full episode
#coriesheppardpodcast #Sackie #YoungArtiste #CaribbeanCreatives #NewVoices
Hey, welcome to the Court Shopper Podcast. Welcome back to everybody who's been listening. Welcome to all the new listeners. I'd see if I could remember to do this, right? Because I didn't do this in a long time. But before we start and I introduce the guests, I'd tell all you that David is a man to time. I am not, right? So David usually here long before me. And I will go through my guest list for the whole year. And you'll see a few artists and people that I come here and meet, right? I come here and meet Dominic Khalipasad, right, David? I come and meet Beverly Ramsey Moore. I come and I meet Lou Lyons. I come and I meet Kenny Phillips. Most times I go reach before the guests, right? Even if just in time. So when people talking about youth and youth and youth and what youth does do, and I want them to know that there's nobody who has ever come here earlier than Saki Wap, brother. It's the earliest guest we ever had any history. So they're not talking about youth and what youth is doing. Saki wake up in early for you. Come to set me up for you. Come to catch me and prepare? No, I just wanted to make sure I prepared actually. Well now you put me under pressure to match this level of separation. Yeah, yeah. I tell you before we start that many, many months ago when we came, I had my Von here. Yeah. Right? Explicit my Von. Yeah. And before he leaves, he make sure to say, boy, you had a guest sake. Yeah. I said, boy, sake, done on the list. So I say, anytime you're ready to get sakgy, just let me know. So it's a pleasure to have you here, bro. My blessings.
SPEAKER_02:So what things going? How everything going with you? Everything good. Um kind of sorting out life. Sorting out how to do things, kind of shaping the song of who it is.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_02:You know, so and they know who it is, they know. You know, you don't know how you can say who it is, what I expect, you know? Yeah. So just about Belini Brown and shaping me, you know?
Corie:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me start with your voice now, Saki. Because I think in all the years I listened to music coming out of this country, every genre of music, you have one of the most unique voices. So when you say who it is, there are no doubt about who it is, right?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
Corie:Hold where when you find that voice, boy, when is it you start realizing that you want to do music? Um, 2016.
SPEAKER_02:Well, way before that was in the church choir. Singing, singing. Yeah, start off in the church choir at about 1011. Serious? Yeah, but I was really a footballer, so I just go down. They just kill time on a weekend. And I end up in the choir where they say, You want to join the choir? I say, you know, and I always see people doing sand for Sunday in primary school. I say, why not? Right. You know, and it's become the lead singer of the choir. We can't just probably the bravest who wanted to take lead, you know, and from the um So what primary school is this?
Corie:I went to Secret Heart Boys. Secret House? Yeah. See, yeah, and he grow up, they go, right? Is it always they go, yeah, they go Matson. So it's choir, quiet, blessed assurance, and amazing grace on them going to you.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yes, he walks. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Yeah, so that was that, but that was in church only. So nobody knew I used to do that unless you're coming to church. Right. You know, and then when I went to Degromatan Central Um, I started, I guess, you know, the drumming thing, you know, in school normal thing. And then I started recording myself in form two with our four, with our blue, them time and blue pumping and then Bluetooth speaker. And I make it like mixtapes long time. That time was mixed up. So you recording three beats. You singing different songs and you compile it. So about seven minutes is the audio. Right. And you just rapping now. So I used to rap. And then I used to come back in class and play it for the classmates thing. It's like general bad boy. You know, they chill it up with it. It's garbage, right? But it was good enough for them. Yeah, it was good enough for them. And you know, from ever since then, I always keep funny music. So I was never too serious on like deep, like J. Cole type songs and things. I was just like just having fun with it, you know. Um, I come to mind rhymy, rhymey things, whatever rhyming with wherever, you know. That people just bop in there, yeah. That is that is how I really do my thing. And from there now, from tree doing the same thing. Then you go like math week. Mat week is where you like you sing a song about mat. Yeah. And then What's this organized thing in the school, though? In the school, yeah, math week. So you come up on stage and you sing a math song on a beat. You know, and then I sing a little one plus one is two thing thing thing, and then you get them a freestyle about sake, sake, and the girls that are sat away from their hand. And I say, sake, the sack.
SPEAKER_00:And I walk off the stage with the girl on the screen, man, mate.
SPEAKER_02:I say, yeah, Icy man.
Corie:From today, Icy man. Seriously, doing this. So you never had no problem with the nerves, like people say going up on stage or being frontline in the choir.
SPEAKER_02:From young, I do acting as well, too. And I just feel like probably all my father used to carry me around older people from small. Like I was lying by the band thing down the road. Right. Always been around people, you know. He had a coaching school as well. So I always would have been, yeah, leading around, or you know, a people's person. So it was never like you know. I didn't even think about, like when I performing, I didn't even think about hey, I wonder for new versus. It's just like no, the crowds get real bigger. It can be bigger or smaller. It just come like I just come to have our time and all. I come to have our time with me.
Corie:You know? It's something that I hear a lot when I ask around about Saki, particularly people in the industry. When you say boy sake is funny. He's just he's just vibes and he's fun. Yeah, I'd see you performing in um, I want to say is Fitz Street had some. If it's not Fitz Street, a slam had the thing on on the avenue with a block off the road. Yeah, and I think I'd see you go up and perform there. Way I described this almost exactly what I see with you every time. It's like it's like you and them, that connection to the audience.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, they they they love it.
Corie:They love it.
SPEAKER_02:Come to feel it to you. Yeah, I don't even think as I tell you, I don't even think about it. I just come on and I just have our time. And while I have another time, I realize, wait, them having our time too. You know, people might watch it like now with a core code responding, but I feel like it's just our energy. They feel my energy, a good energy, and them feel good about it too, you know? That good energy, that good energy definitely come true. So Matt Week, you're going on stage, you mash it up. I was like, but probably about 14, 15 at the time. And then from there now, phone four, phone five started a rap more. I say, you know what? Let me try Ahsoka way. So me and my partner come out to Ahsoka. We had a laptop and them Samsung Mike. Right. So we recorded in class and thing. I said, boy, well, if you come by me and we make by me a studio and thing, and we can record any room and make a quiet and thing, boy. Right, right. Because too much noise in the class. Yeah. So we tell him, man, on the quiet dog now. And we recorded them, man. Just around you know, vibe and yeah, what we say now. And balling after, oh yeah, boy. All that's in the recording. Yeah, boy. That one bad. Pull back that. All so all that you ain't in the background while we recorded us, we can take that again. Yeah. So we said, boy, we said to do two man, we go pay it out on SoundCloud and thing. So we sharing up the links, and the girls we seen, we gain them, we number thing, and from the dawah side of the bill. We we'll for we'll support us now. You know, and from there now we drop the the soccer, and the soccer did really good in the school arena. You know, for who knows. Right. You know, it was name move. So like move, move, move, move, clear the way for socky the number one, the dark people of the mouse and parties, and all the ladies just uh sorry, but you're just getting half high and thing, and that can even sell 90 jerseys as youth, man. We make about 6,000. That was a big deal, you know. School days, 6,000. So we sell better. We drop out and try to do this music thing both time, bro. Like something we were in sexy, so you're almost done anyways. Yeah, you go through that. Yeah. So after that, I went to church camp and I gave my life to God. Where did church camp was? Quite um in Southway. Uh-huh. Don't south by somewhere deep south. Yeah, yeah. I'm an image. I just came down and stuff for artists, a gospel artist. And I tell me by so car is the devil thing, boy. I said, you know, it's true. I say, from today I can answer the same gospel. Yeah. And chopper gospel, boy. I say, who support me? Supporting me when supporting me. I singing this. And then I say, boy, that's not really me, boy. You know? Is that me or not? That's not really me. And I said, but just stick to you, boy. Do what you really like to do. Because one thing that you're fake and for the people and them, and then there's an next thing if you're really authentic to yourself. You know, you feel much better now. You know? So I just rather keep painting the picture of myself than portraying image now.
Corie:But that's important, especially you find like I said, I find out just before we started sacking 24. Somewhere I had 26 in my mind. Yeah. I know if my matter. No, it's in 24, too. October, yeah. October. But I was reading a book the other day, and they were talking about that same thing, like finding purpose in life, right? And one of the things they were saying, which so it stood out to me was if you're fake it to make it, yeah, pray to not make it. Because they say one of the things that has caused people to be on the brink and thing and support is when you're you're not yourself and you acquire fame and wealth with that fake thing. Yes. And now you feel like you can't be yourself no more. So if you discover that at 24, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and then from there now we went to form six in St. Antony's.
Corie:So how you're doing um in in secondary school, you started in where? For one to five years in St. Anthony's, too? You know, in the Go Martin Central. They go Martin Central, and then you went to Form 6. So to me, you do good in your in your C. Yeah, I get two ones, two twos and two trees. Yeah, it takes me two times to get them grades you talk.
SPEAKER_02:I had IT and all them things. Uh serious. Yeah, so then St. Antony's and do form six. Right. And do sociology and management business and thing. So I realized that anything I do in, I'd make myself a business. Me as the brand itself now. You know, um, personality, whatever it may be, marketing yourself and stuff. And then I did SATs, but while I was doing Form 6, I participated in the junior so coming up for the first time. Right, right. Right. And I came to it. And I was like, but if this is the first time I do this, I come to the I think the price was like 10,000. Right. 10,000 for third, buddy. If I take this serious, I might make millions of stuff. Yeah, yeah. So I said, I'll go on back the next year. I come second. I say if I just keep on doing this, you can do it. It's within your reach. Yeah, it's a wrong, it's a wrong, it's a drive day. It's right there because I'm not coming with no dancers. Everybody has coming with dancers, costumes, backup singers. I come by myself, right? Like that you are. I come by myself, I jump up and wave, and I place. Yeah, and you collect. So I say, boy. Most of the 10 is yours. Yeah, I'm sorry. The tennis, the 10 is mine. Nobody else can't get out of the 10. Yeah, I want to write a book. So I say, you know, um, yeah, probably first time taken serious. So after that was COVID, you know, and then I came and got COVID. And my mom got COVID and she passed.
Corie:Yeah, I remember you talking about that. Uh, before you even get to that, right? I want to ask you in from five and thinking playing football for the school.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. For St. Anthony's too. You went up to play? Yeah, but that one that went up in St. Antonies. The coach bring more for to sell. What's coaching St.
Corie:Anthony's sometime? Oslo. Groovy, no.
SPEAKER_02:Groovy would have gone up. Yeah, you already went. All right, yeah. So it was Oslo, and then fellas and I was doing the thing. And then, yeah.
Corie:And so your SATs at the time was that was before COVID and all that? Nah, I did SATs 2021. Okay, so in the midst of COVID. Yeah. So when you would you would have gotten COVID, I guess the house will get, and mommy would have passed away, except my sympathy is a rough. When I first heard this story, I said, Well, you're at 20, how old is then? At that time, I was about 19, 2020.
SPEAKER_02:How you processing and dealing with that, boy? Um, at first you don't feel guilty. Guilty? Yeah, I feel like it's your fault. What do you mean? Because you feel like if you give everybody it now, when really and should you go when it's just hajo, is wifi in the air. Yeah, it's annoying. You can't control that now. It's not like you do it for spite or of course. You're doing it physically now. You know, and it takes like about six months to really feel like yo, this is not really your fault.
Corie:You know, this is something I've never thought about, you know. Because in them early days of COVID, where you're saying it's real, like they had this thing with who bring it home. You remember them times? Yeah. You might remember it better than anybody else. But who went out and who said?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, who went out online and thing and stuff. And at that time he was performing on live and just doing he started doing the works, you know. And you know, yeah, after that, and you see that kind of outcome, you feel bad. Right. Not knowing it didn't necessarily have to come for me because you're going out there as well, you know. You never know now. And blaming yourself and value night. Yeah, so it just was a lot of character development for me, you know, to know uh well the boy you can be a big man now, you have no choice. I was going and apply for UE.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_02:So I said, by the way, my SCTs. At the time I was working at ICO as well. I take a year off after school, I applied for the military and I went and work at ICO to kill sometime. And I said, boy, I'm gonna do my cities, and I go fly out. At the same time, after my mom now, we came and find out my dad diagnosed cotton sonner. So I was like, boy, I gotta make this happen now, boy. I didn't even want to wait no four years to do no degree to see what can happen after that. I need it now.
Corie:And I think you're seeing evidence of success.
SPEAKER_02:Like, definitely, definitely, definitely. You know, so it's like when you see that happen now, it's like what next way starts in here. Well, it's like they go to school. Because she just came back from medicine. She did medicine in Jamaica. She now come back that year. So she's like, boy, well, you know, thing now yeah, either you go to school or you work. It's just you and your sister, yeah, but yeah, only us, yeah. And I was like, boy, I go and sing full time by January. She was like, oh you go just sing full. Explain that to somebody who now does a medical degree by the way. Oh, you go sing full time by January. Right now we in November, yeah. You walk in, I call you about 1500 and a fortnight. What you talking about? Yeah, so we really saying about about January. Right, of course. As I nobody trust me, I have a plan in mind. You know, and boy, I always say creating opportunity is what has make you a winner, you know. Um so I'd always go live talking to people and stuff, and then it had this one instance with second star, JW, Mikhail Tesha, Chris Kennedy, Junior Lee. All of you as I live. And well, you can switch out, you're switching out, and people coming up and talking and gaining two cents on thing. And I take it in JW and men talking about, you know, they like you gain real gems and things, not jumping real gems on thing on the live. And I like, you know, like I want to be like these fellas, you know, but we don't have the money to put on soaker music like that now. So I came up and I gave my two cents. I said, boy, the reason why we as men from the ghetto does do music, dance music, is because it's cheaper than soccer music to do. And I was like, boy, think you can't really think about it like that. You still had a creative opportunity. Remember, you can only talk from an angle, what you know. It's the experience. You know what I'm saying? If the issues not fitting you, you really know not. You can only think and gamma and advice. You understand? So, what would have happened is that um Tisha would have jump up and say, boy, you are something anyway. I feel like you could, you remind me of Iva, boy. At this point, you never met Tisha personally, you just know him on the life? Yeah, just know him from yeah, on the ground and share any music and thing. Right? It's like, boy, you are something you are. So I messaging Tisha for months, boy. Yo, bro, don't forget. He said we're gonna do something now. Oh, he's not. Yeah. Right, yeah. So I holding him to that. Oh, bro. Don't forget, man. You're gonna be a little busy right now, but don't forget, man. Yeah. I looking out for you, right? Yeah, yeah. Months passing, months passing. No, I don't have no song, eh? But writing, I writing. It so happened, watch all the energy align. December about 3rd, 2021. I home and I freestyling. And I jumping up. But that time I was real skinny, right? I stand up on size like I was like, one size weight. I probably need to lose weight, lose weight, lose weight, lose weight, lose weight, lose weight. I like this mic up, my cup, my cup, look at my cheer, my check, my chair. My cheer, lose weight. If you want to lose weight, go through my phone. I'm ball out women. Oh yeah, yeah. I had made. I had me. And I just repeating that alone, right? If you want to lose weight, go through my phone. If you want to I say nearby, how nobody never sing about that boy? And that at that point is when I find in my my formula of finding topics that people never sing about, like you talk about it. I suppose. They never. Yeah, you live it too. You live it, you go through it, but nobody never say yeah. If you want to do this, yeah, we'll do that. And then I just had a build on that now, and it's happening that same week. Then fellow message and say, Yo, bro, we ready for shit. And he has something. I say, ooh, well, it's a good thing. So I'll go in his studio now. I sing on, I sing one song for him, I slower one, and I then I sing that. He said, Yeah, we're gonna build on that. Is he producer or Tesho? Oh, seriously. I got it, got it. So them building here now. And I just singing, if you want to lose weight, she acts in who is Marlene, I don't know, Carlin. And I said, Boy, we need a part for here, boy. I say, but like, you know, I try and remember the wood now. I was like, boy, when people yeah, um, like you're with your cousin or something, wait, let's call it boy, um, grapevine or something. Let's call it that again. And it's like pumpkin vine, deep in the pumpkin vine, I go in. I say, yeah, that is it. And that was the hook they boy bridge. And from the yeah, that was that was the shree. You can tell his sister now full time. And so after when I finished judging out, I said, see, I was working two jobs at a time. I said I work five islands on one a weekend. Yeah, can I take up two work? I'm looking for Christmas coming. Right. I have a music video to do thing. And after all of that, I still only had a thousand dollars in my combo. I don't know how, boy. Still broken to the film. So I say, by Sissy, then my 2500, I'll give you back. Nice. I have a song here, I sure go with. All I do is go in tongue and get a pumpkin. I know I know pumpkin was so expensive, I think. I say you're blowing out my budget.$80, you're wicked out. Yeah, big chunk going. By time I buy a wig, I buy suit thing. And then I the vision that I want to be like a German Shakter thing, you know, another thing. And look like if I walking out ladies, you know? And it was so funny that when I drop it, I dropped the picture alone, I didn't even pay the song or anything. Right. And by like 30 minutes, the kind of response I think people went on YouTube, find the video, record the video, and then tagging me back on Instagram.
Corie:So there's a picture with the song playing back.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah. With the I pictured me pulling the phone in the suit with girls around me stretching. And I just saw the same post of suit. No facial expression. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know? And I was like, Link in Bio. Yeah. And that mash up the internet. You know what I'm saying? And from that point I realized that, yo, my marketing is actually really impeccable. Like I actually good at this now. You know, and then promoters of the acts. Don't forget the suit. Yeah, the comedy. Don't forget the comedy. But you bring any suit, right? Don't forget the suit. Yeah, you want to something. Yeah, boy. So the same day I dropped any song, it so happened that I so fed up a working. I just leave the job. When the song drops? Yeah, as the song drops, like after 13 minutes, a man called me and asked me if I have my permit. I say, my permit, my driver's permit. Nobody would permit to go in New York. I said, ah, it's so quick it doesn't happen. I said, let me look to lead this walk and pack up with this ship on this. Let me look at this thing here and function my scene one time. Right, right. So I call, I say, I done from today thing. So you just quit. Yeah, I fell up, I fell up, I fell up. I I want to do this thing, yeah. I make out my doing this. You know, and uh the next day I man tell me you have a you have a budget, but a small budget for you, boy. I know if you want to do the gig boy, you just ding dong blacks on yourself. And by never performing none of these people before. Blacks ding dong. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Them done season, them all the only about 1500, but I said, boy, I used to get out of fortnight, but you bring that for me now, by you matt. Let me look to go by. You're crazy, let me go. We're going to do this thing now. I'm telling us one song and one song, you know. Let me wrong. You interview me one location and time yet. You sticking. Yeah, so it's yes. We go on down Saturday, but I was so excited, boy. Going down Saturday, I say, boy, fee, I get a gig for Saturday, you know, thing. And then from there now, I do lyrical happy place and thing, and everybody said a welcome man thing. And I know it was a real good energy, and I say, Yeah, boy, I'll probably make any right step here. That's for you. And in that shot now, I'm coming up to man say, boy, I gig fee in Guiana, boy. Watching a gig in Ghana. Yeah, but they have a small budget. I said, What's so? He said, boy, only 1500 you ask. Only 1500 US, five minutes. Why don't we go?
Corie:You know, collect fifteen hundred.
SPEAKER_02:I used to get fifteen hundred a fortnight, walking like a dog. Again, let's say you know in one shop in the US. Oh god, this is American dream.
Corie:So wait, you never went through that thing where because I remember the lose weight, as like I tell David, I say I used to play that song soft home, you know. Just uh I can't play it hard, but I play it soft so she go get a message just in case. You know, I mean small but through my phone, you can be in problems. But you never went through that thing where the song was bigger than you where people know the song, but it don't be that of course.
SPEAKER_02:That year, that whole year was there. Really, really, you know. Um, it takes a while for people to start putting a face to music. And I probably a lot of soak artists down for, you know. Um it's still a lot of music video. Right, yeah, I guess. So not like they don't know the music video, just they didn't know the artists. Right, yeah. See the artists in front of your face, seeing the artist enough, you know. So I started going out more. So people could start to see who's this guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I started put these songs to the face. So now in your streamer now, it's like your heel me like who it is. But now you know the simmer enough times now. You know, but that at that time the song was bigger than the artists.
Corie:Yeah, something I used to think it's my age, you know, because sometimes me and going out. Yeah, them songs I will find well them on the internet. So what's happening is like years after when you know Saki, when I go back in it now, I say, Oh shit, this was you know what I mean? So it's getting better still. Yeah, you start to realize all these songs coming through the ears. Wait, no, all them things was he?
SPEAKER_02:I didn't know that was he.
Corie:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So when back to them school days now, you went and do the SETs, you eventually.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I did the SETs and I got an arm offer to Washington. The same type of arm lose weight. Right. Right? Oh, so now you had to choose. So before I dropped lose weight is when I got the offer. And I had to pay like 8,000 a year. Right? It was like a partial football school. And I was like, boy, dad, well, you can send 8,000 years every year for four years, so I still had to live, still had to eat, drink, thing. I just wanna go there. I don't know there and suffer. You know, I say better, I treat life like four years. Give me this four years, yeah, and let me see if I go make it like a degree. That's why I watch it. Four years, the same four years time, give me that four years time, I go only be 24. And if I don't make it, then well, I do the degree and then the four years is now. The four years is no graduation right now.
Corie:Yeah, I know. I graduated. And you said that he went along with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course.
SPEAKER_02:You know, so it was the support of the household. And once they had the support of the household, you know, you feel like if you make a mistake, they they could assist you, or they they might be able to, you know, caress you a bit and support you, you know. So that was the most important thing for me, support at home, you know.
Corie:Of course, the important thing for everybody, you know what I mean? Because when you have that backing, or let me say the reverse. Sometimes you say you want to do this, you want to do that, and the wrong person tells you the wrong thing. Yeah, change your part, you know, you need to change your direction. But I'd ask you about the football, it was good. I guess scholarship and thing, maybe it touches also if your first touches that mess and you decide you go sing. How good it was?
SPEAKER_02:I think I was getting injured too much. Serious, at that sense. I play left back professionally. Yeah, but I used to play midfield too. Uh-huh. But I play left back.
Corie:So scholarship was to go to the DCM. Yeah, left back, yeah. Uh but to get a scholarship then is a hard choice to make. To or to refuse. Even though they say it's 8,000 hard to find every every four years. Imagine now, right, where US is a problem. Yeah. You know how hard that would have been to find the 8,000.
SPEAKER_02:Definitely. Um the next thing too is like you can miss home, man. Like, if you do a lot of support out there, again, we were just talking about you're feeling empty, you know. Yeah, yeah. And we do, you always want to feel good.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Once you're feeling good, they'll do good. Of course. And the place cool in them. You don't care because you're feeling bad because your family has a fork out of 64,000 years every year. You want to come home, you know? Yeah, but yeah, but sick out because you're seeing the sacrifice and pain in. So you feeling bad. Them feeling good about you out there. Yeah, boy, you out there, you do anything, boy. You well enjoying yourself, you send me pictures, but you always sad in the school and I think, but you're feeling lonely, you know. So it's like, I just feel like as I really and truly, is it that I want to do a degree, or is it that I was gonna do this because I wanted to please my parents, you know?
Corie:I'm about to go into that now, I'm gonna put anything out there, but his son, yeah, same thing, football scholarship, the boy good. And I think maybe two and a half years in, yeah, he ended up breaking down. Tell the parents he don't want to do it, he come back here because it's not easy. You know what I mean? And the truth is, I find that nothing easy. Yeah, so we're doing now hard. Yeah, it is. But when he had a passion, yeah, but you could they could go hungry to do it. Okay, so even with that uh find out he had a scholarship that was he happy at that point, cancer diagnosis done come already. You came out diagnosed, yeah. And how was he doing at the time?
SPEAKER_02:He was good, he was exercising, he was actually playing football still and whatever. Uh he was old, he was an old guy, you know. But he was still active and stuff. But he didn't want to do no treatment. So, because of my mom now passing, my sister convincing that uh give me a little more years do the treatment. And we at least try to see, you know? Yeah, so that was seeing the deterioration over the years. That's what was the painful part. Because at that point you can't walk again, you cry and you do, oh God, all the help, no, uh, it's like we're watching you, and it's like, you can't really do nothing really and truly. You know, if you want to really slow down, it's like a tablet for like 60,000 or some kind of matter thing like that. And it's still not sure, you know. Yeah, of course. That's the thing of them things. So it's like it's so, you know. So that was the honor. So that was really tough watching you from 100%, and then you just deteriorate. And that would have made me watch life differently as well. Because I used to always think that, yo, you're young, you have time now. When I see how fragile life is from my mom passing from COVID instantly, 2021. And then my dad with cancer here, it's like so.
Corie:If she were the pass in 2021, that deterioration you're watching as what, the next year? Or is it the same time when it's it was like two weeks?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and you end up in the um, you know, you said carrier in the hospital. Boom shot, you end up in ICU. It's like, what do you mean you end up in ICU? I was now sending a phone card for you yesterday. Yeah, yeah. I thought you said you was good. And then it's like the person can't breathe. But it's looking too good right now. They say she had 24 hours. What? 24 hours? I thought you are now doing good. And that's the confusing part for families now. I know that has got through plenty of people who experience hospital already. You know, you're that yeah that particularly in COVID, they're coming on, they're looking good. And then boom, now boy, 24. So anytime I log in out of of of um my um work for five o'clock, we get a call. Again, my sister crying. I know login out. She's gone. I say, wow. That's how life does pass, boy. You know good all the time you think you quick, so and I just say, boy, let me just enjoy life a little more, boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, especially seeing friends as well dying too, you know. So gun violence or whatever, it may be, you know, and saying, boy, yeah. Accidents and thing, you know.
Corie:Of course. Well, you're talking about experiences that many people don't go through till in the 50s, 60s. So what's like have after having dealt with that, you're now faced with this situation with your father, how would change you from dealing with mom to going through what you're seeing with daddy editing?
SPEAKER_02:Um, well, what would happen is I'd have been able to accept it throughout the period of time, saying, well, yeah, eventually it's going to come a time where, you know. So it was a it was a bit more comfortable because you kept prep and say, well, yeah, people say come, you're calling friends, and you come and talk to him thing, come and say, he looking like he going down, you know. So that was a little more thing, but it was still a challenge because that was like my best friend. Anything I do in anywhere I is, calp so tent thing, anyway I ED. Football, you grew me up playing football today as my coach. So, you know, it was like more than a father figure. It was like everything to me now. You know, so that would have just shaped me into a kind of basically a force to become a big man then. You know, and watch life in a mature way and become mature then, you know, and realize that certain priorities, you had to kind of get shit else and go out or die and go work out, you know. So that that I would I really deal with that.
Corie:Yeah, I appreciate you talking about time because it must make you see time differently. Yes, yes. Especially when you're young. Well, let me talk about myself in my 20s. It's just feel your whole time in the world. It's feel like even if your dreams, your goals, yeah. So this I do it now. I want to do this since I was a teenager. Yeah. But that's it, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Excellent time, yeah.
Corie:But I go do that probably next year.
SPEAKER_02:Of course. So what is next year?
Corie:Yeah, daddy thing now. So daddy eventually passed away. Yeah, he passed away last year, me. Last year, me. Yeah, so it's in the space of three years, really. Yeah, losing both periods, yeah. Yeah, again, something that most people do expect.
SPEAKER_02:Traveling while you're toast till your thing, and you're going out and you're going to say, that thing. You know?
Corie:You get to see somebody success. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course.
SPEAKER_02:And that would have made them feel good too. Of course. You know, you'd have been able to say proud. And that we really want, huh? You want your parents to say, well, I'll be proud of you, but at least see the success, a pinch of it before they go.
Corie:Well, I can tell you, as a parent, you just want to know. I tell my son all the time, I say, brother, me and go be here. He's only to team, maybe I shouldn't burden him like that. But yeah, I try to tell him this is the thing fast.
SPEAKER_02:This is why this thing's happening fast.
Corie:Yeah, so I will get yourself in a gear because if if I was to go now.
SPEAKER_02:I suppose you just had to say it as a parent. And they record how you just say it now. You yeah, your parents say it. So you just say it now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can't try it. You can't parents say that. So now you get you're telling the chair not. I'll give something cry for you. You had a given trauma.
Corie:Yeah, but the nice thing about and I heard you talk about that in an interview talking about um that four-year thing. I find it's such a wonderful way to look at life or a genie. Because he was able to see you go from year one to year two, even in your career. Yeah, yeah. So it's a blessing still, you know. I mean, he didn't even promise that. Yeah, definitely. So going back to when your uh things had to take off for you with lose weight at that point, how you you see any money through bookings, really? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Right? Yeah, yeah.
Corie:And you went on to do so from the because you it's uh that's another thing people tell me about you. The C Boy Saki Nano genre, right now. They say Saki's a man, whatever if in front of him he can destroy it. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02:So after that, you try with the soccer, and I record about ten songs as a boy. I get them one last year. Right. I mash them up with about ten. I invest about I invest back all the money I make from losing it. Right. I'll do about five music videos. I do about two songs, I write the rest thing. So you know I don't spend about 200,000. By the time I look, you know, you next year come in about it, right? All the money done, right? Okay, back to the thousand again. Back to your thousand again, right? But in the public eye, you the man disaster. You know the world. You are what give me something now? How you living so and you watching them like dog. You know, I end up bad investing. I bad invest. I invest in my career, but it just never worked out or you always expect it to work out. It's reality, but any investment is at risk, you know. And it's happened that yeah, I did um Calypso for the first time. And I went in the Young Kings Calypso competition. And I came six. And that year, is the Calypso tend to really give me money. What year is this now? 2023. 2023. So where's the Calypso?
Corie:After um after um lose weight. Gotcha, gotcha. So you're right.
SPEAKER_02:So I went to Krean Ashe. She assisted me and getting the writer and the producer, and she carried me down south and stuff. And you know, she worked with me, and she was like, boy, I like your vibes and things. I go work with your artists. And yeah, and we made it happen. It was that song about Will Smith and the slap. Right. Yeah. I was watching the Oscars just the other night. Yeah, so like Dana. Going on that. Because yeah, like Chris Chris Rock in this corner, that one in that corner, saying this, that. So you know it was our whole thing. You know, I'm an international topic. And uh from there. But what makes you want to do Calypso in the first place? How you come up with that idea? I say, boy, I just gonna try everything to be honest. I never do that before, and I always see people doing that. So I was.
Corie:So you just full no calypso competition or something.
SPEAKER_02:No, that was that an example. Right. I get forced into ex tempo by mistake. And uh, we needed one more person for the competition. Anybody you want to join? Saki. I say, Yeah, I'm gonna go now. Boom shot and up in the finals. So trouble I see now, eh? Jessu walk with a five thousand. What I doing the wrong thing. When I reach home, I buy I buy I went to buy iPhone 7. One time I give a mother a thousand. I said, I mean, you see no she was going on here ready. I say done seen what happened here.
Corie:So you marching down the road. You know? So what's the experience like going through the tent and all that? Because most people who sing a calypso are not gaining a tent. How many gaining tent? Korean two? Um just went and trialed.
SPEAKER_02:Audition here. It had one on the avenue at the time, doing a concent. All right. Yeah, on the avenue for that yeah, and I went on audition there and I auditioned tongue as well. And I get you with that one.
Corie:You had to be the youth in the tent at that time. Yeah, as the youngest. Yeah. As the youngest. And the they receiving it well when you went to performance. But this time you accustomed to stage.
SPEAKER_02:The stage is nice, yeah. So the action and all the theatrics and things they like in it. Right. You know, um, explain. I was you had to sing your song, and you had to sing her back in the day, Calypso. So I ended up singing Lauren to Cry I leave it, right? And it so happened that his wife was there. I see. And she was like, You is that star. Don't doubt yourself, you just doubt yourself. And at that point, I was real doubting myself. I don't know how she knew, but she like she was just knew now. You know, you are only taking long enough to say you can see a star, but you know, the doubting, and at that point, I was kind of confused on if I doing everything they're telling me to do. And I it's still not working out, then why you know how it ends up this. And it takes me after the caniva season, take me about three months to really figure out what angle I'm gonna really come from next year. Going forward. Like how I gonna make money? Is it that I gonna go back and work? Yeah, this is it, this is it. You don't make a jump already? I like 30,000 left. By the time thing I see about upgrade our phone, I'll just start to do some content better and thing and this and that. I buy an ex song for the next year, 10,000 again. So God but down by down to 10, but I hope and file giggle. So by all them giggle are telling down for small money, I should have said yes. Because now you're doing taking 1500 again. Yeah, but the price born up now. You toy, you can't take nothing.
Corie:I'm taking 1500 US, you can't take 1500 TT.
SPEAKER_02:So boy, I mean you just keep going down by. And I say, dog, I I watch myself out there and laugh at myself and say, dog, see me to tell me you do all that traveling and you never have a car, by you. How you end up doing that by you? Like we was thinking, and it just you're so obsessed with investing back in your career, you know, because that way you know, you know. So after that, I dall money management properly and when to do something and when not to do it, if it could work, how to market without spending the money. And that will TikTok come about. You know, you can test his stuff on TikTok and see what working and what not working, you know, and from there is when I was home a day and I was watching some artists singing, and while he was singing, he didn't sing for long. You're just like making him some little bars, and he just said wheel. And when he said wheel, you clip on the viol. I say, mmm. I said 90 formula. Get them a short and sweet. And as I go into the climax, pull up. I say, I'll get them. I should probably pin some slangs together on beats and pay to you. I done broken already, you are gonna lose. I done I tried a single thing already, but it didn't working out, so better just get them wherever. Yeah, to you. I said, but I'll get them a clean though. That's the only difference. I'll get them a clean and them in a fun way, you know. And from there I dropped my skrippy. When I dropped my skippy now, my full soldering. And call them a dog, you know, you know, crash your career, right? Mm-hmm. What do you mean? I said, What do you mean I'm gonna crash my career, boy? Boy you must be more talent, you more talented than that, boy. You're not supposed to be doing them thing and them first thing, dog, and that below you why you higher than that. So is this men in soaker? Yeah, you know, and you higher than that, by brother, boy. Just mad and you're talented. Take a thing seriously. That TikTok thing not making sense, and I don't have no money in it. Now them mentors they call it me and ask me, why you don't use TikTok, boy? Yeah. Why don't you use that thing? Like, well, you don't just go up on that and just take video and it goes viral. Like, why you just want that? Can't eat to know now. Or who to pay to do a video and it goes viral or whatever. I said, but you just had to figure it out on your own, boy. It's trial and error. So I say that to say that not because people think you're cashier means that you're actually cashier, you know. What I was doing is basically creating a new me and a new energy and bringing a fresh breath to the industry and they didn't really realize as yet.
Corie:You know? Sometimes it's name for them to realize, you know, sake. Think about it like this, right? At this stage in your life, even from just talking to you here, you don't do gospel, soccer, calypso, rap, rap, well, yeah, forget rap. So what it's a strange thought, especially with Miss Grippy, because that that that's it. Oh, I will talk about that a little bit. Because one of the things that happened recently was I don't know, of all the people we ever booked, your date feels like the longest. I feel like we booked to talk to you very long ago. But so you had put out something, um, Lava had you no horn. Yeah, and I see you on Instagram put something to a message, and I said, Dread, because the flow in the song so bad. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's me begging for you to put it out still, but the flow in the song is so unique, Dread. And I remember you saying your fine soul. I was like, What do you mean you're fine, so the song the kind of fine so in that? And you say, Well, you're waiting to see the response. So talk about that a little bit. TikTok and the the socials just give you an opportunity to test out. Listen, I went to school for six years to do marketing to learn what you're talking about, right? Because you see product testing on them things before you launch a product. Yeah, nestling them don't put out no baby formula, just so you know, they've spent it for a while. So when they put out a product, they know it's gonna work. Right. So I was impressed when you say, even though I find the song bad, it's like I waited. Yeah, yeah, in testing mode. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? So talk about that a little bit in terms of your process.
SPEAKER_02:Um, so at the time of Miss Grippy and them thing, I'd have been putting out when I probably miss grippy about Pink Panther the next day, but Grippy was doing really good. So they come out yeah, back to back. It so happened, so when Grippy was on 100,000 views, Pink Panther's only on 8,000 views. Right? And then Pink Panther today now on 5.5 million and Grippy on like 2.0 million. You know, so you had never known how something could swing now, by you. You know, but at the time when I uh that was that's me testing, that's me testing out. I'm not sure if it goes, but let me see Shanayadok and I read about Shanaya Yadok. And then I started see people doing it. So it's like, oh, so it's action things I probably need to start doing. You know, I need to start dressing up and doing things. So I say, well, you know, I'll get them a Michael Jackson and wear a jacket like Michael, sing, dance up, and probably they might do it too. And so said, so done now.
Corie:And it costs any less than the 35,000 cost to pay 10,000 to write or a producer.
SPEAKER_02:I write it myself. I go by my boy my phone, he handles it, I pay it out to test it out and see. Can't I show you dress up, you 30 seconds, it goes. If it ain't go, it ain't go, and you go on to the next. Like a lot of artists hold on to song for three, four months, pushing this one song. By now, it must get you, must get. So you're building out yourself and it and you're becoming less motivated because less creative. Yeah, you're feeling like probably the people knowing me, but it's not I know. It just didn't bring the right song at the right time, however. It's just our timing and see timing, timing real important. And that was kill them at time, timing. You had to be on timing, you had to be on point. When people watching TV, I studying, where's the next train here now? Where's the next scene? There's like a there's like a degree for me. You know, there's like my project, there's like my class project. All the fellas all the coming. We had this project dealer today. Every day, I look and fight. Every day. So I recorded it. Yeah, my one tell me so too. I went by my one for about to finish it. Big man thing. When we finish here, right? It's a look in no call, man. Yeah. But I will go by my one today. Tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, listen back all five song.
unknown:No.
SPEAKER_02:My one your time tomorrow. I must catch it in that month. It is a degree. So it's an output. Now my output will be so much now. So you really take you know my song by Tanka Lanka, I miss your P Shanaya Doc, Louis Wheat, Terrence, The Lulu, Bukdora, the Explorer. Um if you study in me. Most of them over millions of years ago. You know, so it's like it's just when you really count up, it's like about 10, 11 songs. Within two, two years' time, you know, nobody I kindly think I'll put out like five songs a year and and connecting like that. You know, so die with about now, like the Jamie, all the Jamaicans do it. Yeah, you know, they're like I'll put plenty now.
Corie:So I say well, you see, he's talking about it with Mevon, right? I heard Cartel Sean Storm when they had Dagaz Empire at the time, yeah, talking about that. Yeah, Cartel going in the studio morning, yeah, stay whole day. Because I don't think I ever see any artists put out uh the way he was putting out. It was ridiculous. Every week, yeah, I mean every week you hear a tune or two from cartel. And I talk about in the club.
SPEAKER_02:They go in to time sometime eating in two songs on one of them. Yeah. So that's why I started doing now too. If I catch a vibe on the same with a magine, I give them a tonny next to the magine. You know, so that's what it's all about for me, you know, creating and and just having fun at it too.
Corie:Yeah, well, that's a no. That's a no coming through, Miss. So, Miss Grippy, let me ask you about that. That's the the slang was going around with Miss Grippy before. Yeah. And it's like Kevin was the first question, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah. So you're like Miss Grippy, thing or like, you know, Miss Grippy with the good grip. Oh god, it's getting hot in here. Nelly. So take off all their clothes. So bang shot bows, banging her. So you know, it's just to get them in shock and them was feeling that way. Yeah, well, clearly. No. I was like, yeah, well, I ain't going nowhere. Yeah, well, I ain't going nowhere. Is what it is about. Giving them this energy. Right. And then brands started to come. So when I was looking, the reason I went to soaker is because I was looking for corporate energy. I was like, you know, let me do my thing. And I then you say it to me and be fine, yeah.
Corie:If they like you, they will reach out. That's simple as it is. Yeah. And if they don't like it, don't matter.
SPEAKER_02:The way you sing. The way you sing and gospel.
Corie:They don't care. Yeah, they're not adjusting. No, I also you're talking in an interview about that difference in expense with when you had to make that investment in Zez versus when you had to make that investment in soccer. So, like, for instance, you say a writer might be a 10 grand, a producer will be an excellent money, the video is a certain thing. Why does this make Zeus so much cheaper for you as a product to go out and try that versus versus soccer?
SPEAKER_02:So, but Zest's um well now I have a partner who does make beats. I see like a gas, I can just call him and tell him how why he ain't in my head, and then he will play to life. But most of the times what we do is reuse beats from before dance or beats or whatever it may be, and just sing back on it. Remember, you don't have to really sell that. You can deal with it after. If it blew up, you can reach out to the producer now and say, Yo, bro, uh XYZ amounts thing, or you want to split the masters or whatever and work it out then.
Corie:Yeah, Caesar's artist too. Just do it on a different rhythm.
SPEAKER_02:Just up on the beat and thing, and you go and you pay 200, 300, whatever is the studio fee. Yeah, they go. Compared to so now, you might post out and say a beat pumping. You drop on that, the men take down your song in a day one time. You know, like your boy now. So it's like it's like it's like it have no, it have two more rules in soaker. You know, it does that freedom. You can't even sing about what you want to sing about in so it's if you sing about any and anything, they might play it. And I hope book your music come now and them singing about where for them wanting it working for them now. Just like how we sing in just on it working for me, you know. So, like if the free top a little bit, like ghetto, you'd sing on the thing, they go play more in the ghetto. And the ghetto go start to endorse the artists on them, and so be cool again, you know. Right. You know, it would be cool for the youths. That's what I should see.
Corie:You know, it'll be cool for the youths. Yeah, you know, so but you see that as stifling creativity because it's clear that you could do any genre, right? Whether it is writing or like I always people have this thing about writing, right? Yeah, and I have a theory about that. Well, if I pen the lyrics, they will call that writing. But nobody cares say something the way Saki just say it. Yeah, or the way Sparrow would say it. So so that is a writing too. Yeah. If you ask me, right? Because you had a you had to embody that.
SPEAKER_02:It's how you say it.
Corie:It's how you say it, and especially in the in Zesp in particular. Most genres of music, how you say it matters a lot. Yes, of course.
SPEAKER_02:So I can give you the song to sing, but is it? Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't bother to test that. Tell them Ben. Yeah. And they will bend like can you command them? Yeah, no, I could depend on you to do that. You know, uh Sparrow, it's a good thing you bring up Sparrow. Sparrow Shadow sing poverty's hell. Shadow. Shadow. You know, I watch Shadow a lot. You know, and I watch our shadow Benny Woods music. You want to do it by dead music? You know, so it's like, oh, you could I just say terrific. How do that work? Stick in the head. So it's like, I watch them follow as and say, yeah, I would do I don't have a song old school, by just embodying what them man used to do in your own way. In my own way now, but you know, and die with all about. You know, it's how you say it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Corie:It's a huge is how you say it. And you have the you have the gift to do both. You could you could receive a song, make it into a hit, or you could write a song, which means and you do many genres before. So you could do so if you want to.
SPEAKER_02:But again, you you find it restrictive in terms of the. Like you have to kind of be borderline basically in soccer music. Right. Even when it comes to your image or how you behave and stuff, what they expect from you. They do alignment too much. What do you mean? They will get washed up. What do you mean? They'll be too accessible.
Corie:Oh, I see, I see, I see. You had to be a star, a long time star you to be behind closed doors.
SPEAKER_02:Still many a place on No Moffit Street. Thing you rock back, but a man you can't be out the linemen all them time, you ain't gonna get booking up. A long time, bro. When you come out there and you hear these stories of these people and they get to uh in parties and limes that you want to keep you writing every time. You know what ideas are your line? That a man drunk can say something. I so drunk I could do this. I so think I can you just change up them lyrics on ah catch a day, boy. Thing I see a man whining and I gotta say, yeah, boy, that you that bumper will be in trouble. Tanka Lanka. More millions of people. Come on, mean. You can't deliver that thousand dollar thing. No, we can't deal with that again. Never. You never, you never go back there. Amen.
Corie:No way. But this year, jump in his soccer again. You and college boy just again. You know, it's what's funny you say shadow, right? Because if I had to compare two artists in terms of stage performance, I might I might not find somebody more opposite to you than Shadow. It's so funny you bring up that because Shadow used to act like the crowd is the enemy in a way. You ever watch him perform? He's watching them so he watching them.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, sometimes you're not moving, he not jumping up.
Corie:Yeah, but in a similar way, too, they have a way of connecting. Yeah. Shadow other things he used to do when um Kiske the Caravan days, right, David? He used to go on the stage. Uh and maybe him and Super Blue is the two people that see do it. Uh we can't match it. Well, they just go on the stage and wait very long to say anything. Yeah, and he called it and the crowd in that frenzy, and you make them wait and wait and wait. Like he had a true um pack, pack, pack, pack. And so long ago in Tobago. So he used to let it the riff play. Yeah. And before he said long ago in Tobago, he just let them go. Minutes a no. Yeah. And he's just comfortable and he watched them long ago. And but by telling you started singing on the city. Well, I mean, destruction by that time, by that time, it's some. But I see you, I see you. So that that comparison is uh is uh a total opposite, yeah, yeah. For sure. Opposite and similar in in two different ways. But see you with college boys just this year, and it's you being yourself so much in his song, like they say Ben no and creamy like I tell David I say, make sure one cream and all you're gonna make sake, say Melbourne. Last episode Melbourne, white kind of way, yeah. But they come with the that Ben style and them kind of thing. You say it was written by um Black Adan. Black Adan. Yes, yeah. How did the idea come about?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, the idea, but you're just hearing sake at the top. And I will want, you know, you always want people to think that I can hear sake on this. That's the most important part, you know. You always want to be a part. But by the time I hear Jesse part, that's the only part I heard first. Right. When the yellow mind, we've been behind. I said, this give me an old school vibe. This might be perfect for me to really blend new school, old school. A kind of old school vibe just in it. You know, and I was like, yeah, let me do it. Who builded it? Come out.
Corie:What's come out? Did you come out?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, did you come out actually?
Corie:You know, it's funny you say old school and new school because again, the vibe of it. Yeah, real nineties so kind of groove. But the beat, right? Yeah. Have a eh, eh, make it just like how Zen have a kind of it's just bad. So and so uh black and then write both parts, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you are you also right the only thing you didn't write was my verse in the middle. Yeah, he write basically the also. So when you hear it's uh he sunny reports. Yeah, I was like sure, yeah. I was like, yeah, for sure. Yeah, seriously. Yeah, one time off the bat. Let you do this. I was like, I'm gonna sleep on it, but then I played back, and I was like, yeah, let me do it one time. My voice set on because see your thing. But how I want your bend, bend like I forget to cream your leg is what stood out to me the most. In your in the in the I sit down. I could see kids Ben and Ben and Don't and I don't want to cream the leg, you know. And once I can envision something, it has it has happened. I can see it. Like from the tanker and the Shanack, wherever it may be that whatever acting out there. They did say so. I I could see it.
Corie:How people are receiving it so far?
SPEAKER_02:Um, so far it's when we performing it, they they love it. The ladies love it. And once the ladies love it, it's the most important part. You know, so they're doing good so far. Okay, not bad at all, actually. So more so coming in 2026? Yeah. I dropping one more from Black Adam right again. And um a little more slower. By the time this episode maybe come out, it might be out already, so they'll be seeing it. A groove? Uh yeah, groovy vibe. Um really drop no groovy for this season. I'm more drop road bouncer.
Corie:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Because they went missing in the in the in the carnival. So I try and more community spaces were needed. You know, when you come in the space that it needed, they really had to do much. If you don't know what I'm saying, because in the space, you know, so it's like you do the degree, no?
Corie:You know what was a school I went to to see. Some of the things you're talking about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I went and studied for the four years. For sure, you're doing. You're doing it, you're doing it, you're doing it. Because you said it before, you say even in writing, you're you're looking for little ways that nobody talking much. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So AI is one of them that comes to mind. Yes, AI. I'm going back old school again, right? They had an artist named Zandoli who every time I hear your music. So AI and go through my phone in particular. Yeah. Zanduli had a writing, one of the greatest writers, Kalypso ever had. But he had a writing style where he used to just the same thing you said. You had to see what Zandoli said. Yeah. You know? So he had shown like it was a tune he talked about where he tried to make an invention. So he buy up a set of iron on them kind of thing. And he's he didn't know it was illegal to do scrap iron. So you say when the police come and they carry him to court, he said when he gone and called all the iron exposed. So you know that kind of.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, that was bad with the right. Wow.
Corie:But he used to paint a story, paint a story, verse to verse, right? Yeah, yeah. And every song you have named Man Family. So you have a wife named Millicent, right? So the song is on Millicent. Like you take me for Mickey Mouse, the way you bring in man in my house, right? And he goes on and he writes, and she always bringing on man, but the man is her family. I will send it to you so you could listen to it. But writing down to the last about how you're cooking for this man, you're excited every time, every time you think. So when I hear AI and it's all about your cousin, or not AI, yeah. Lose weight. Lose weight. And the pumpkin vine. You will see the parallel between the two. Yeah, yeah. It's similar. It's similar because you say all your everybody you bring on is your family. Right. So the the hook any the or the punch any thing is a way to write all your family name on piece of paper. You see, you say write them down now. These could come, but you can't have no more family after you write them. Listen, so the connection and the AI thing, how the AI idea come about now?
SPEAKER_02:Uh well, see that AI, you see, but you see that video ain't sure if it really if it's AI. You see people, you see babies running up, man and thing and running and balling. Hey, I'm outside. You know, people jump, but you jumping on the quad business. I want to jump. I watching this morning, I want to jump on a man back on the the chair break. I said, Okay, you know how I can tie this back into soak. So I can make this a soccer sound. I said, no, that is not me. It wasn't me. That is not me. This is a restaurant concept. I say, I go down to something. So I could work on that. You know, and from there I just started billet now. So it was a bill in a story, dynamic. She telling my daughter's AI. She showing me a picture at me on half boat ride. You start, I tell you, she started initially in front of them, she doesn't realize. You know, them does lie, you taking on them yet? You know, so that was the whole idea of that now. Yeah, and no fellas would like to use that too.
Corie:I mean, I use a playing that soft phone by me too. I playing soft, I just learned it's soaking. You know what I mean? It's like soaking the system, you know, David. They know what they're listening to. Like a radio station, yeah, yeah. No, it's any background. And it's any background. You know when you started believing that. I said, Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wasn't there, I was recording it. Saki, yeah. Same time I was in the studio. Yeah, but people receive it. There's one that you use the the social media to test, or you know where that one's.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, social media, definitely. You want to see how they would react, and the reaction was really good. Right. You know, um, yeah.
Corie:People follow it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Corie:So now you went from 1500 for one song. Now you're in catalogue mode. Yeah, yeah. New song coming out, song with College Boy. Just see, I wondering how you decide now with catalogue concern. Because you go in a fet now, right? Yeah. People go expect to hear certain things. They go, they go, you're a new soaker, of course. You soaker with college boy. Yeah. But it has certain things get to be signature with sake, you know. Oh, you're balancing now when you do events away.
SPEAKER_02:So it determined how long the promoter might want the performance for. Right. So it's a jam pack session. The college boy, sake, been over a bit so sassy. Oh, you could bounce and other things on it. Singing all these songs. Ride. Damn it, right there, and people just say like again and punch and line hook and chorus, and I'm just singing out and on to the next. Who can call us on to the next bamboa? One, two, tie up your shoe, three. You know? It's got you. So it's right there now. So it's working now already?
Corie:It's working, yeah. And it's banned. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You're comfortable. You're comfortable, DJ ban anything else. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love ban actually. I love I rather perform with ban over DJ. Really? Yeah, yeah. I love ban. I love to perform and just I love to perform itself. You know, that really my thing. Right. If I could perform every day, I rather do that. You know? So I really rather ban over DJ.
Corie:When you experience start performing with bands, it's just when we were 2022. With lose it. Oh, serious? Uh performing for carnival. So you're on out with who you're on out with? Oh, your team. Yeah, eight teams. Yeah. Yeah. I know how much people your age would have said they prefer bands, you know. That's a common thing, yeah. Just for the flexibility, oh.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you feel like you could control the code more. No man. This side. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. So it's like that. Like, yeah, the horns, the thing, this, that, you know. Yeah. So that's what it was all about for me, you know, the theatrics we are in it. Yeah, well, yeah, yeah.
Corie:We know we'll get our new mouth, right? Uh just before I go forward, so I want to talk about the competitions and you do juniors so come on. I kind of know ultimate soak up champion on the list. But you you said that the name Saki, that was your father originally. Yeah. So you just carry it forward and make it your name. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:People started coming Young Saki, Young Saki, Young Saki.
Corie:Till or I guess people sort of sake, you know. And it was, yeah, nobody really unique names is not something anybody would have hear anywhere, anywhere before. So them early days of junior soccer monarchs. See success, you start to see it. Competitions are something you like, you like internal.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I love competition.
Corie:So ultimate soccer champion. That's your era soccer monarch, I suppose we were talking about before. Yeah. Something you say you're going back in. Yeah. Yeah? Yeah, yeah, definitely. But it all may have a choice now as to whether to go in the under 25 or the big boys.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, we do the same thing this year as well.
Corie:You know, so or you had the option. Yeah. There was only option. Ah. So the age is not a so to say over 25 is not a thing. It's just if you're under 25, you could come here. Yeah, but anybody could go soon.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, if you're 20, I know they could go any the adult or whatever you want to do. It's just up to you. So, how are you gonna make that determination now? How you're making that choice? Well, by January, I'll go tell you. How the song performing? Based on how it performs and how the crowd responds, then I go know, well, right. We have a better option already.
Corie:Yeah, I was asking you as we was talking about the money part, right? And I was asking you, well, why you don't go in boats and you're selling well, that's two different sets of money to put out. I think it's something that fans like myself don't pay a lot of attention to.
SPEAKER_02:I just want a real good show and main study and how you're just happy that I guess it's from the CO2s springing up to the little fireworks thing when it comes out right here, anyway. No more fireworks. That's$3,000 package, you know. Oh, what is the package? It's package, you feel that look CO2 and fireworks, boy, the press. No. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you pay for that, you have nothing to get. So by the time you pay for your whole production thing, you're on your suit and dancers, your production, if you want to bring one weather on the stage, you want to go zombies, all that you paying for. And you ain't sure to. So you think it costs you 40, 50,000. And you even sure you might even get half of that.
Corie:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why I hear you say I always want the inspiration. I went spending a CO2 package. You're running all by yourself, jump and wave with a bottle of water and make it happen. Yeah, but imagine he's saying what and here you with him by the big blue waters, you know, he's buying.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, you're taking it for four, you know. Let's take a wet in front there. Down create the whole vibe that everybody went to.
Corie:Yeah, everybody went to everybody. Uh huh. So, other than I, who was some of them early influences for you in music? I don't know, I was a judge. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I remember hearing you talk about voice being one of the people who um the reason being is because voice won when he was young. In competition, so I'd always watch that as a be like voice when it comes to competition, right? I don't win out them thing when I young and thing understand that, you know. So that's why I watch it now. So that's why I watch voice like yeah. He's the youth. He comes from so I come from the go, get to get to thing. You know? We're good youths. Right. We have good background, see me, you know. But we understand it now. You know, so that's why voice is an inspiration as well.
Corie:Yeah, I got it. And we as you say good youth is probably or should probably ask. That's one of the reasons the theme in your music have a certain direction.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It don't feel violent or it don't feel off. Yeah, it's not you. Yeah, it don't feel off or anything like that.
Corie:Now, before you go, I'd ask you about this app, right? Because before we start the recording, tell me you're gonna make some different investments. You're gonna make some different investments and some apps and things. Where's the app? Where's the plan? So you can talk about it now.
SPEAKER_02:I'm gonna just tell them the name of the app.
Corie:Yeah, we're gonna do is call it back till you release it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I can tell them exactly next year, man. I'll go. So the name of the app is Saki. Right. Yeah? So they can look out for it probably by January latest. Yeah, by next month, January.
SPEAKER_00:Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02:Because don't develop ideas just for me to just launch it properly and things. I will soft launch it in January, and from the rule out.
Corie:Now, the interesting thing about that, right, is I keep going back to you. You know, you and Daddy make the agreement that we go, we could do this degree a different way, we will get it. And when you're talking about them kind of thing, now you're talking master's level because you conscious at your age and stage in a career about multiple income streams, different investments. That's something you focused on now.
SPEAKER_02:I sell shades as well, too. Sell shades? Yeah, so your shades you come. Yeah, or even now finding all this we should have somebody's. No, like I sell shades, not like sucky shades, but like I sell shoes, I bring in shades and sell shades as well. So I do that as sell yeah, as cars, house, anything. Yeah, basically. You're making it happen.
Corie:Yeah, yeah, that's something yeah, yeah, something yeah, you had to respect it. So you're not just dependent on the music for what's something you're gonna advise younger people coming in to do because the same way you watching voice, right? Like I I I could go back to the sparrows and thing of this Google, but I wonder if you appreciate now that the success you get over the last let me just call it four years, right? To be to be modest. Is that people who coming up now watching what you do and seeing, all right, this man do it young? I might be able to do that. He he yeah, you had his parents' dream, you some good thing. You play football, you have scholarship, but you choose a different route and you're making it work. How would you advise youths coming up who looking at you now?
SPEAKER_02:What I'll say is that a lot of youths when I talk to them is that plenty of men don't want to work while like making a dream work. They just think that the dream will work now. But I want to tell the youths that it's okay to work. Work, save your money, go and work wherever, wherever you gotta get the dollar, make your money, save your money, and just invest in a dream until the dream works. You know, like plenty. Why don't we have a working thing by you but a couple of men in the studio? Wow, come on, Ariel Balas and Ariel song and think. It don't work so. Go and work, get a job, save your money. It's cool to work. Don't feel it's not cool to work, you know, it's cool to work. Work, save your money, and and invest it in a career. And when a career take up properly, yeah.
Corie:If they don't follow you immediately as your career, take off you can call and find you. Your leader job is a risk, you know.
SPEAKER_02:So work. That's my advice to the youths. Work and and when when you're doing the music as well, be yourself. Even if you're a rapper, right? But you like what you've seen afrobeat as the trend. Rap on the Afrobeat. Like all of them. Let's find a way how to morph it into your own style, but on the Afrobeat. E keeping you in there, but on another beat. And once you can find that style, be you, be yourself, be unique. You know? Be you mean be unique now. I with you.
Corie:I with you. You can't copy that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean I asked about advice for youth, but that's advice for anybody, really. Because yeah, that's the truth.
SPEAKER_02:There's nobody can copy once you be in yourself. Like, but me being mean always like so easy, I didn't even realize. Like, because like in your mind, right? You see your mind could damage you, you could destroy your own self, you know? Like, you sort of feel like probably I do this, like at that point, I sort of say, by I do this over and over. Why are you winning so much? Probably I should pull back, boy. You know, like in your minor, you sort of feel guilty when you're enjoying yourself and things like you know, so it's like to find the balance or just find a way not to feel bad because you're working hard enough. You're working hard, so you need I need to find the way to enjoy, you know, and not feel bad. Yeah, you know, so there's plenty things about plenty. People had to learn too. You comfortable with that?
Corie:But enjoying yourself, enjoying the spoiler labor and them kind of thing.
SPEAKER_02:Right now, I adapting. Yeah, to be honest, I adapting. It takes a long while to really adapt. Um, at that point, I started feeling bad for flying and enjoying myself while everybody else is home. And you know, like I can't take everybody with me, you know.
Corie:Of course, yeah, it's the oldest 24-year-old I've ever talked to in my life, you know. My life circumstances too, but books written about there's two things you're talking about there, right? And I don't want to simplify it for people in psychology or make it simplistic. But a couple of things. One is the idea of imposter syndrome. Yeah, you know, you're you're making it, you're doing the signs of wonder now because it's the same way, you know, you're looking up to people, you're seeing them doing well, and all of a sudden there's your peers. Yeah, like that they're alive, you're talking about now. You're with everybody and no obsession telling you this good, and memory telling you this good, you sort of doubt yourself as to whether you should be. Yeah, and then they're looking for the challenge. Of course. So if it feels easy, and it may it might feel easy sometimes because you just get through. Yeah, because luck is a big part of success. Of course, but sometimes because of some of the things you're saying, you're just being yourself, you're following your passion. It will feel easy, even though it's hard like hell.
SPEAKER_02:It is very hard, but it's just they cling on to your energy. Of course. You doing you, yeah. You can find your rightful audience. You wake up, you think, hey, go in the studio, Corey Shepard, only mic, girl, number like a bike, uh, like a cryptonite. I think I'll leave a flight like that. Yeah, it's recording. And like I stand up, you know, every photos gonna stand up. And you was just being yourself. You was just being yourself. Yeah, so the imposter syndrome must come. You know, so it's like I want to travel, but is it that I want to travel? Well, you want to really rock back. What do you mean? You know, so tidy heights in it. Of course, and it's something you had to come to things with yourself. Tidy heights in it that that's yo, this is your life, and and you need to enjoy your life.
Corie:You have to, you have to because you tell me about time in the beginning, you know. This second thing in psychology this talk about is survivors removed.
SPEAKER_02:Like when I go to a restaurant and thing, I feeling bad. You would, you would, you would, you would, you would. And it's something you had to work on it, bro. Like this, I'm living like this. Yeah, not to put it all over. This was your dream. You wanted everything. Yeah, you wanted this.
Corie:It's like now it's like yeah, you're enjoying it, but you ensured the guilt, yeah, guilty. It's something you had to pay attention to because the second thing I was telling you about is survivors remorse. Yeah, it's a very real thing, right? And a lot of us who grow up in the areas, you grow up and have it because you see other men who was with you drop out or and drop out of life completely, God rest their soul, or not make it. Yeah, and you went through something where again most people, you had lost both parents, yeah. So the survivor's remorse comes from you get what makes you special, what makes you why you should enjoy these things.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, of course. But you know it was gonna be you, of course. You're done plan, you're not gonna be working for it, but now it's like all shocks that come. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Is it that it was to come so fast, boy? Like, come on, you just gotta be grateful.
Corie:And then sometimes you're living through this thing with come, and you're now you're afraid for it to go. You know what I mean? But you tell me, you tell me before we start, uh you know put people out a bit. Told me that when you had met Adana here on a recent episode, and I was telling about him talking to you and things like therapy coming up and stuff. And yeah, that's something you must always have in your mind. Yeah, because where we would went through, brother, is not no right here to that is hard for people who live their whole life.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, people be big man and cry every day still for their parents. Like watching you talk about this. Yeah, I getting more emotional than you here, you know what it is.
Corie:It's something other other dealers as well. Yeah, well, brother, the day take a real long to come back. Glad it's coming out. I appreciate it coming through. And let me tell my one thanks one time because I say my one say whatever you do. Make sure. Yeah, make sure, make sure something comes true. So I appreciate it, brother.
SPEAKER_02:Love alone, yeah.