Kartel inspires old-school Bingie General

Hasani Walters, Sunday Gleaner Writer

After over a decade of being absent from the music industry, Bingie General is now attempting to make a return to dancehall music.

According to Bingie, the brother of Major Mackerel, the attempt has been sparked by deejay Vybz Kartel's recent cover of his 1987 song Come Rush Me Nuh. Vybz Kartel's version of the song, he said, has brought him out of the woodwork.

Being a cover, the two versions of the song are similar in lyrical content.

In Bingie General's original song he deejays: Come rush mi nuh, touch a button nuh, yea!/Come rush mi nuh, touch a button nuh, cho!/Come rush mi nuh, touch a button nuh, yea!/Come rush mi nuh, touch a button nuh.

True mi live ova suh an yuh live out yahso/An dem ova suh a war wid out yahso/Mi haffi pass out yahso before mi reach ova suh/When mi pass out yahso yuh tun yuh mouth round deh suh/Come a hold on pon mi hand, hey bwoy jus leggo/Fling stone lick mi, think it a guh suh?/Back knife offa mi, think it a go suh?/You an yuh friend rush mi, think it a guh so?/A Come a tell mi hot word, think it a guh suh?/Think it a guh suh, think it a guh suh, think it a guh suh nuh/Think it a guh suh, think it a guh suh, think it a guh suh nuh.

New flavour

Vybz Kartel added his flavour to the song with his popular "oh" and "ahoe" interjections. In the cover he deejays: Come touch me nuh, touch a button nuh/Come touch me nuh, touch a button nuh/Come touch me nuh, touch a button nuh/Annuh weh yuh come from a weh yuh going go/Come touch me nuh, touch a button nuh/ Come touch me nuh, touch a button nuh/Come touch me nuh, touch a button nuh/Mi nuh care weh yuh come from inuh, ahoe!

Seh supmn mek u spit ketch me, oh!/Mi wet up yuh shirt like Zesti, oh!/Man haffi run like track star, oh!/Woman haffi stop look sexy, ahoe!/When yuh walk pass Gaza, oh!/Yuh see di sign mark don't test wi, oh!/Play hero, yuh play Coke Zero, oh!/Nine night with rum and Pepsi, ahoe!

The cover has been extremely popular in the dancehall, oftentimes earning forwards whenever it is played at events by disc jockeys.

Speaking to The Sunday Gleaner about how he had initially made his entrance to the music industry, Bingie General said: "I use to follow Brigadier Jerry around a whole heap. After I passed exams and get to go to Calabar, wi use to go Half-Way Tree guh hang out at Aquarius and mi start see Yellowman and then started to hang around him. Is really Brigadier mek mi know seh mi can DJ, but a Yellowman a really mi mentor."

A memory, he said, which will forever be in his mind, is when he went to a dance in St Thomas with Yellowman and he gave him the mic and said, "Mek mi hear how yuh sound." He did just that and went on to rock the crowd with some of his songs.

"Dem time deh, fi yuh a par wid Yellowman a big thing," he said.

His first two songs, Come Rush Me Nuh and Sweet Sixteen, were done in 1987 when he was given the chance by Screechy Joe to record. Among his other songs are the 1988 Hot Fi Wi, done for veteran producer Winston Riley at Techniques studio, and Stick It Up for Steely and Clevie.

Apart from being an artiste, Bingie General also boasted of the numerous albums of other artistes, for which he did production work. Among those he mentioned were albums for Yellowman, John Holt, and Singing Melody.

He is grateful that Vybz Kartel decided to cover his song.

New light

"Well, mi a tell yuh di truth, from Kartel sing ova mi song, that kinda draw mi out of the woodwork. A lot of people start link mi and waan do specials and all of that. Even the artiste dem start call mi back fi link up," said Bingie General.

He continued: "Mi appreciate weh Kartel do fi mi because him shed a new light pon mi ting an him bring mi tune to a new generation. Mi appreciate and respect him, but Bounty a mi DJ same way. Mi hope them could just iron out them differences."

When asked what he thinks of Vybz Kartel as an artiste and the current 'complexion debate' which he has started, he said: "He is entitled to do what he wants, but apart from that, is a good lyricist and him fi steer di youths dem right because him have the power. Mi deh all over the world and see seh him have the power."

It might be quite odd for the younger generation to see a man of his age doing dancehall music, but Bingie has a plan that he believes will work in getting the younger crowd to listen.

He explained that using young songwriters and young producers with 'hot' rhythms is a sure way of getting them to listen. However, if that doesn't work, he may just retire from behind the mic and put his production skills to work for those young artistes.