‘Dada’ speaks of his award and experience in St. Vincent

Krishna “Dada” Lawrence music producer behind the #1 hit “Famalay”

Music producer Krishna “Dada” Lawrence, has said that he was greeted with “class” and “treated  as a diplomat” when he arrived at Argyle International Airport in St. Vincent for an event with Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin and Skinny Fabulous, the artists of the song “Famalay” which he produced.

Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonzalves ( who could not attend) telephoned Lawrence and the others the day before the event with words of encouragement and congratulations over their success with Famalay. Dada, and the others behind the hit song, would be recognized by the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for their work.

Though exhausted from his hectic schedule, Dada was willing to talk with DNO and share that experience.

He described being part of the press conference shortly after arriving, in which Skinny Fabulous, being a Vincentian, was naturally the main focus but, according to Dada, everyone received equal recognition for their contribution to the song.

St. Vincent’s Minister for Tourism (Cecil Mckie) spoke of bouyon rhythm making history in Trinidad and Tobago as a major plus not just for St. Vincent and the Grenadines but also for Dominica. Dada said he was happy to take the opportunity to promote bouyon and Dominica during interviews with various media including TV stations.

The Dominican producer says he is fairly well known in St. Vincent due to his work success over the years on the island. He said the group’s reception in St. Vincent included a motorcade, with police escorts, in which they were paraded on a float all the way to Heritage Square in Kingstown. He indicated that people turned out in numbers to support the group.

The Dominican-based producer said that after a performance of the Trinidad Roach March Song the personal award was bestowed upon him which came as a surprise . He said he thought that they would have had the event and that would be the end of it.

In describing how he felt after receiving the award, Dada referenced a statement by fellow collaborator and artist, Skinny Fabulous in which, according to him, Skinny said that with all the recognition he, Skinny gets, nothing compares to what he receives at home.

“He is right, I feel. I mean, I can get recognized by Vincie now until, and none would … mean the same as when you get recognized here in Dominica – a proper recognition like that,” he pointed out.

He described the feeling as bitter sweet.

“Because at the end of the day, it is a good look for my career and it is a good boost for my career, but in terms of satisfaction…acknowledgment…for that type of work that you don’t have to do…you know what I mean,” he explained. “…It shows me that in Dominica… we don’t value the creative industries”

Citing the significant impact that Famalay had as the biggest soca song and biggest song coming out of the Caribbean this year (including Jamaica), Lawrence makes a case for greater appreciation of the creative arts in Dominica. He commended the approach in St. Vincent where he says they went “all out” in support of the song and its success and said that from his own experience, a similar sense of appreciation was seen in Trinidad and Antigua .

“I will say this, if Dominica continues to do things like that, Dominica will lose all of its best talent to the other islands and other countries in the world,” Lawrence warned.

“Appreciation is important… to show someone you appreciate them is worth more than …any amount of money,” he stated.

Ultimately, Dada said he is happy and delighted to be one of the people involved in “Famalay” and that he will try his best to remain humble and focused and try to recreate the process.

“The challenge is now to stay grounded and keep my eyes on the prize, because de music is bigger than everybody and I am just doing my little bit,” he remarked.

Krishna “Dada” Lawrence has some encouraging words of advice for those artists who are trying to develop their craft.

“I want to encourage other young developing and upcoming artists…to stay focus have that tunnel vision…for your work, keep an open mind so you can develop…according to Machel Montano, nothing is being made in a vacuum in life, so you can learn from other people and… try to do your best for your island and try to compete at the highest level,” he advised.

Copyright 2012 Dominica News Online, DURAVISION INC. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

Disclaimer: The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of DominicaNewsOnline.com and its parent company or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by DominicaNewsOnline.com. We never censor based on political or ideological points of view, but we do try to maintain a sensible balance between free speech and responsible moderating.

We will delete comments that:

  • contain any material which violates or infringes the rights of any person, are defamatory or harassing or are purely ad hominem attacks
  • a reasonable person would consider abusive or profane
  • contain material which violates or encourages others to violate any applicable law
  • promote prejudice or prejudicial hatred of any kind
  • refer to people arrested or charged with a crime as though they had been found guilty
  • contain links to "chain letters", pornographic or obscene movies or graphic images
  • are off-topic and/or excessively long

See our full comment/user policy/agreement.

7 Comments

  1. carlty
    March 18, 2019

    Congratulations again Dada. I love seeing our Dominican people progress and prosper especially on non-national stages. I yell at my computer or tv “Presenting a DOMINICAN”. And I see our Dominican artists making headway again. Yes. Pride that is. Keep up the work my dear and continue to carry our culture to the world.

  2. Dominican Bwoi
    March 17, 2019

    Why did you say “the Caribbean (including Jamaica)”, when Jamaica is in the Caribbean? Why do so many of you love to single out Jamaica all the time?

    ADMIN: Fair point – we are indeed one Caribbean.

    Jamaican music (under the reggae genre) has consistently topped the Caribbean charts and had international success. Reggae has become so synonymous with Caribbean music that ‘Famalay’ ,a Bouyon-Soca track, was classified under reggae in iTunes and on the billboard charts. This is reason is why the distinction was made.

  3. Supporting the Culture
    March 16, 2019

    Congratulations!! I truly enjoy that song each and every time it is played.

    My only comment is that the flag of Dominica should also have been represented on the award.

    Keep up the great work.

    • WeNiceMan
      March 16, 2019

      Supporting the Culture wrote:
      “My only comment is that the flag of Dominica should also have been represented on the award.”

      Ah relax! It’s about the three(3) great soca artists who did a phenomenal job recording and performing the song. And rightfully so. We Dominicans are so often too pitiful.

      Let’s just be proud that our Bouyon heavily influenced the song and that our local boy who
      produced it has bern duly recognized.

      Peace and Love.

  4. March 16, 2019

    Congratulations DAda. Job well done.

  5. Pureniceness
    March 15, 2019

    So so. Very proud… Congratulations on a job well done… never mind who doesn’t recognize you here or there…Can you hide light? You can try, but light like talent that is natural, crafted, and developed over time with patience and excellence cannot be hidden… Good for you, better for DA..bring on the hits… We have been lamenting how our bouyon not selling outside of DA…well look it, take dat and run.

  6. Sir banan
    March 15, 2019

    congrats boss, we are all caricom, blessings from the DA Uk famalay.

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

:) :-D :wink: :( 8-O :lol: :-| :cry: 8) :-? :-P :-x :?: :oops: :twisted: :mrgreen: more »

 characters available