INTERVIEW WITH... LITTLE LENNY

You were only 16 when you recorded "Gun In A Baggy" but you recorded your first single a few months earlier, "Shining Star" featuring Professor Grizzly on the Duck riddim. How did your musical career start ?
I recorded it a year earlier. Dave Kelly and I were good friends. He was an apprentice engineer at the time. So, he had access to long periods in studio. Myself and Professor Grizzly accompanied Dave Kelly to the studios. After he finished working, it was about like 3, 4 o'clock in the morning, we were there just playing around with the riddim. Dave said 'Let me hear what you guys are'. That's how "Shining Star" was born. It wasn't exactly a Dave Kelly production, because the owners of Stereo Mix label were Errol "Curry" White and Paul "Rattus" Works but Dave Kelly was responsible for Stereo Mix label at the time.

How did you get connected with Donovan Germain ?
Dave Kelly started working with Donovan Germain for Penthouse. They were just putting up the studio and stuff, and they were cutting out, they were testing the songs, and I was like the guinea pig. Lukie D and Professor Grizzly and myself used to test the studio, test the songs. That's when I started recording "Champion Bubbler". I think he preferred my voice as a singer than deejay so I recorded "Let's Wait A while", a cover of Janet Jackson.

"Let's Wait A while" was your first song recorded for Penthouse Records ?
Yes. Then, I recorded "Champion Bubbler". Then, I recorded "Mind Yuh Dis Me", then "Fafunkie Man" then "One Love Ago" with Thriller U. I can't remember some of them, but I recorded quite a few songs for Penthouse.



Among your singles for Penthouse, which one is your favorite ?
I would say "Champion Bubbler".

You have collaborated for many producers. What is Donovan Germain's particularity to other producers ?
I'm glad I'm given that opportunity to say this because I think he's one of the best producers. He's not one of those guys that sit back and take the record and just put it out. He's actually there and it probably tell you what to change and what he would like in this song. He sits there in the studio and he listens and he tells you what it's like. He is there with his production, he's there with the engineers. He knows if it sounds wrong. He knows how to make a hit song.

Many jamaican artists have complained that they never received royalties. Are you also concerned ?
I never received royalties except from Germain. Donovan Germain is the only producer that has ever given me any royalties. He is the only man that has ever presented me with a royalty check on a statement. I've never seen royalties otherwise until now.

Tell us about "Gun In A Baggy", the biggest reggae hits of 1989.
Actually, a friend of mine came to visit me one morning while I was getting ready to go to school. He explained to me that he had been with a girl and he had caught a disease, so he was asking me for money to see the doctor. I was laughing, asking him why get himself in that situation. I told him I didn't have any money. That's when the song was born. I wrote that song in about 10 minutes. Dave Kelly talked about me to his brother Tony Kelly. Tony told me that one of his friends, Patrick Roberts was starting a label and he was looking for some artists for his label, Shocking Vibes. They called me to come and record one night at the Penthouse studio which he rented for his recordings, so I went. I saw Little Kirk, Tanto Metro, Cutty Ranks in the studio, a number of big names. I got scared and I went back downstairs because I was never a big artist at the time. Tanto Metro came and asked me to come and record. He said "come and record, let us hear what you have". "Gun In A Baggy" was born that night. The song was played at Gemini club the night and it was wheeled up 14 times. Patrick Roberts asked me to come record back the song. I came back in the evening and record it again. I got in trouble at school because of the song. So, I went back into the studio and tried to correct it and I did "Healthy Body".



You are the one who boosted Shocking Vibes with this first hit. How were your Shocking Vibes years ?
I was never one of those artists to put out a lot of songs. I admired Super Cat a lot. Super Cat never recorded a lot of songs, it was just normally two songs for the years. So, I emulated that, and started dropping the songs and like that, two songs per year. Then, I came with the song "Punnany Tegereg", that was rerecorded by a Spanish fellow, El General "Pu Tun Tun". They said that it was a Shabba Ranks song that started reggaeton, but I do believe it was my song that's got started that. It was "Punnany Tegereg", that started reggaeton. I've never recorded for anybody while I was with Shocking Vibes. I was a leader. I used to carry Bennie Man around with me. But coming up after the bad treatment and stuff like that, I just decided to just chill. So, that is how he got the spotlight after I left. I used to take him around with me, I used to give him all the exposure that I could, he needed me. He made good of it.

At that time, you toured regularly on stage.
Yes I did a lot of shows in and outside of Jamaica. I did a lot of shows, I was main act at the Reggae Sunsplash World Tour. I even did the David Letterman Show on NBC in New York with Dennis Brown, Maxi Priest and Shinehead in 1992. I've been to Europe once. I came to Holland, France, Germany. I've been to a few places in Europe. And then after a while, I found out that I was mistreated. I was never given what was mine, really. So, I just decided to back off.



You recorded in Penthouse studio and later in Shocking Vibes studio with the great riddims makers Tony Kelly and his brother Dave. Can you tell us more about them and their approach of music ?
They are two great men and they approach music as fun. They see music as fun. Tony Kelly, even Dave, just connect his drum machine to his stereo system and It would be straight beats and hit songs coming up. After, we just go to the studio, transfer to tape and just record. Those guys can just take somebody off the road and turn them into a massive superstar because they have great Writing skills. They are two good engineers, two good producers, they are great guys.

Despite your success, you were not very prolific.
All my songs were hit songs and I never wanted to waste my songs, so I never put too many songs out. I would like give some songs like one or two songs a year. Unlike now, one artist is putting out like 15, 20 songs per year, if not more. I was never like that. We used to make the most of our songs. As I said before, Supercat used to do that and it used to work well. Those songs had longevity, they worked for years. If you notice, I used to only put out an album per year because I have four albums out within that four years.



You always go on stage.
Yes, I do but only on my terms. I'm into business now, that works for me. So, if somebody calls me to perform and I feel like it, I will. I did Jazz & Blues Festival about two years ago with Richie Stephens. Everybody was excited because they haven't seen Little Lenny for a while and the show was was excellent. The comments were great, even Donovan Germain himself made a comment. You can't believe that I still have it after all these years and still sounding good.


Are you still recording dubplates ?
Yes. As earlier today, but, as I told them It has to be on my terms because what they want me to do is they would want me to come to a particular studio. I really don't do that. Because life is kind of too serious now for people to call you and you just go out. So, if somebody wants a dub or a special, you leave the money at a particular studio and I will dialogue with that engineer. He can record me, recording the dub plate to send to you. But I'm not going to just get up and go somebody's car to go record a dub plate. The whole process must be professionally done. So, I do it on my terms.


What is your opinion on the evolution of the jamaican music since the beginning of your career ?
I think it has lost substance. When you listen to music now, it's kind of light, it's not all that heavy anymore because of the instruments that they play. Then, some of these lyrics did not even fit to be recorded. Music influences the brain. Music can relax you because when I want to relax, I listen to music, it relaxes the brain. Some of this music now, it stimulates the young people to do wrong because of the messages in the songs.


Do you listen to artists from the current scene ?
Yes, Govana, Aidonia and Popcaan, they are young, but not so young. I am really scared about these songs of the young generation, I'm not understanding what they're saying. The youth needs to have leaders. When i was coming up as a young artist, I was listening to what the elders told me about my music. I was still very concerned about their opinion. Mutabaruka was one such person. I went wherever he was playing.




DISCOGRAPHY FOR PENTHOUSE RECORDS :

- Champion Bubbler (1990)
- Fafunkie Man (1989)
- Let's Wait A while (1989)
- Long For Your Love (1989 - One Love Ago riddim)
- Mind Yuh Dis Me / No Bother Trouble Me (1989 - Um Eh Eh Um riddim)
- One Love Ago feat. Thriller U (1989 - One Love Ago riddim)