INTERVIEW WITH... GENERAL DEGREE

You gained international recognition in the early 90s thanks to your collaboration with Danny Browne's Main Street label but you had previously recorded for several labels. Tell us about the start of your musical career.
I started my musical career at Mixing Lab Studio. I started voicing there about 1989. I was often at the studio and many producers, like Danny Browne, Steely & Clevie and Piper, came to record there. The owner of the studio, Roy Francis, was the one who gave me the opportunity to be listened to by these producers for whom I recorded. Piper was my first manager. My first recording at Mixing Lab was a song called "Dry Weather House", but my first release was "Mother Rule Pickney".

What were your main musical influences ?
Before I even started recording, my influences were Papa San, Lieutenant Stitchie, Super Cat and Professor Nuts.

Can you explain the choice of your artist name ?
I was living in Kingston before I started music seriously. There was a tenement yard next door and when I went there, people used to call me General because of General Trees. They called me the young General Trees. So "General" was always there and then I added "Degree" because I said I wanted the degree out of the business.

Like many Jamaican artists, you write different styles of lyrics : entertainment, reality, cultcha ... Is this a personal choice or a producer choice ?
It was just my choice. I didn't want to sing about the same topic every time because I'm able to sing about everything. I think I was good at that so that's why I was always doing reality songs, rude boys or girls songs.

You recorded your first songs for Penthouse Records in 1992. How did you get connected with Donovan Germain ?
Well, everything was slowly under rise when I was at Mixing Lab and started to meet different producers. Notably Dave Kelly and Tony Kelly, who I started recording with before Penthouse. So I was visiting Penthouse studio, where Dave Kelly and Tony Kelly used to be the engineers, and I think that's where everything started from. Maybe Germain heard me, I can't remember exactly. But things started happening and I started to be on different riddims of Penthouse.



Do you remember the fist tune you recorded for Penthouse ?
I'm trying to remember if it's "Give Thanks & Praises", "Pee Pee Cluck Cluck" or "Brinks" on the Nanny Goat riddim. So it could be one of those songs.

One of your biggest hits for Penthouse is "Pee Pee Cluck Cluck" on the Tempo riddim. What is the meaning of "Pee Pee Cluck Cluck" ?
Pee Pee Cluck Cluck is a slang we use as a Jamaican slang. We get there and we just do our thing. It's a sign of a Jamaican runtime phrase, a Jamaican dialect, not just for music, it's in our culture.

On your Penthouse Flashback Series volume released in 2013, we discovered a previously unreleased song "Nice Girl" recorded in 1994 on the Loving Was A Crime riddim. Are there other previously unreleased songs recorded for Penthouse ?
Honestly I didn't remember that song. There are many songs that you record one day and then come out for some reason. I think that "Nice Girl" was one of those songs.



You stayed about 10 years without recording for Penthouse, between "Sweet Cologne" released in 1998 and "Jah Will Provide" recorded in 2009. Why this break in your collaboration ?
In everything you grow in a sense of focusing on yourself more. I started to be a producer too and it got very distracting. I'm more focused on my label Size 8 Productions. So it's just natural for you to go and start to do things on your own. And then you know, you're going to get caught up with yourself, your music and your label.

Among all your singles for Penthouse, which ones are your favorites ?
"Give Thanks & Praises" is a nice and well-recorded song. "Brings" is definitely the most popular because it came out at the same time when I had the hit song "Granny". So they came out almost at the same time, I think "Brings" came out before "Granny". Those are the two songs that were released when I got a big break.

Penthouse Records ruled the dancehall during the 90s thanks to a recognizable sophisticated sound. Can you describe this sophisticated sound ?
I think the sound of Penthouse was very outstanding. The label was very big, popular among people. I was looking forward to what was next on Penthouse label. The production was very good and the quality music was always high standard.



Can you tell us a word about Rookie, one of the Penthouse engineers, for whom you recorded your hit "Bodyguard" for his own label in 1994 ?
Rookie was cool. He was a very laid back person, he didn't talk much. He was a young engineer at Penthouse and the rookie for Dave Kelly. He was a good engineer. I also recorded a combination with Twiggi for him. Rookie’s work was a key role in my early years.

You were a Main Street artist during the 90s. Danny Browne played some riddims for Penthouse during the 90s. What were the main differences between these labels ?
Not much difference, but I think Penthouse was always doing reggae, more reggae beats, live riddims. Danny Browne was more like the synthetic, drum machine type of beats but I'm not saying that Danny Browne wouldn't have those types of beats. It's two different producers, two different types of music. So, Main Street would be on the dancehall side, Penthouse on the reggae side.

You recorded for all the top producers. What is Donovan Germain's singularity compared to other producers ?
I think he knew what he was doing and he was both at a time and point because his work shows that he had done some very solid music earlier. His label was very known for that. So I think that Germain was very focused on what he was doing and he knew what was long lasting, because most of his music is still the roots of a lot of the 90s music from reggae and dancehall. He was very good at what he was doing as a producer.



You are an international artist. Your talent allowed you to make shows all over the world. What did these journeys bring you ?
To play all over the world was a joy. It's something for me to smile about when I see or hear one of my songs that is very popular here in this country. It does make you feel good to know that your work was well appreciated outside of Jamaica. Today, the same thing is still going on, people still are showing appreciation of what General Degree has done from the 90s to now.

You have been in the reggae industry for a long time. What is your opinion about the new reggae music and the evolution of Jamaican music over all these years?
I think there is tradition and there is growth and time changes. When you look back on it, all sorts of music is the same. The same thing that was there 20, 30 years ago is not the same today. I think music is one of those things. So it can be for the better, I'm not going to say it's for the worse. There is no comparison. I wouldn't try to compare the music now saying that it's not as good as before because I can't explain the beginning of dancehall. Everybody was in a mindset to help make that music so great today. We can't re-live. We enjoy it when we hear it but we cannot do it again. You can't re-drive and do the exact thing again. I like some of the beats that are doing now, not every one of them.

You've been recording for over 30 years. How do you renew yourself artistically and find inspiration for your lyrics ?
I find inspiration for my music just while staying connected. Nature plays a very important role in music, it inspires you in a lot of ways. As an artist, you're just gonna be inspired and you're going to feel a vibe to just come up with an idea because you're at your favorite fishing ground doing something or you're walking through the hills. It's just how it works for me. I don't know about other people, I don't feel other people's energy too. I just stick to nature, it's worth it for me. I'm always actively recording. I have a couple of new stuff coming out now. It's just me being me all over the years.



DISCOGRAPHY FOR PENTHOUSE RECORDS :

- Blood Sucker (2013 - Poco Man Jam riddim)
- Brinks (1992 - Nanny Goat riddim)
- Give Thanks & Praises (1993 - Freedom Blues / MPLA riddim)
- Handfull / You Must Be Thankful (1996 - Heathen riddim)
- Jah Will Provide (2009 - Feel Good riddim)
- Latoya (1997 - Love Dem Bad riddim)
- Money A Run (1992 - Dickie riddim)
- Nah Stop Pray (1996 - Who is like selassie riddim)
- Nah Stop Pray remix (1996 - Kette Drum Remix riddim)
- Nice Girl (1994, released in 2013 - Loving Was A Crime riddim)
- Peaw Peaw (1995 - Swing Easy riddim)
- Pee Pee Cluck Cluck (1994 - Tempo riddim)
- People (1992 - Operation Ardent riddim)
- Sweet Cologne (1998 - Up Close & Personal riddim)
- Time Hard (1993 - Heavy Like Lead riddim)
- Wantie Wantie / Needie Needie (1993 - Heavy Rock riddim)