Lights on Tili Bop

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

It has never been easy for Jamaican performers based abroad to make the breakthrough back home, though the emergence of the Internet has made it easier for these diaspora artistes.

One of those acts is singer Tili Bop who is trying to make a mark in Jamaica from his home in Brooklyn, New York. His latest release is Lights Out, a dance song produced by Ainsworth 'AC' Clarke.

Released in the summer, Tili Bop says Lights Out has got steady airplay on ethnic radio throughout New York City, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Boston.

"It's been a case of so far, so good. It's not a song wey yuh bruk out an wine but yuh can hold a meds to it," he said.

Like most reggae acts who live in the United States, Tili Bop is eager to gain some mileage in Jamaica and hopes Lights Out will do the trick.

Already, it has earned him appearances at shows in New York City's Caribbean-strong boroughs, such as the 5 Alarm Blaze event at Webster Hall, Manhattan in September.

Born Marvin Amos in Guys Hill, St Mary, Tili Bop says he was raised in August Town, the St Andrew community which he says shaped his life. It also inspired him to write his first song, Ghetto Sound.

The song was never formally released but Tili Bop remembers doing his own marketing by shopping its rough cut in August Town.

"Anybody I saw I would give them a copy an' jus' tell them to pass it on," he recalled.

After graduating from the University of the West Indies with a degree in computer technology, Tili Bop moved to the US. The first song he did there was Hands Up, but like Ghetto Sound it was not officially distributed.

"When I listened to it, my technique was not down, my timing was off. I knew I had to practice till I got it right," he said.

Tili Bop believes his technique had improved considerably by the time he recorded This Is Love, his first official release, which was distributed by VIP Records. That improvement, he adds, is evident on Lights Out which he hopes to promote in Jamaica before year end.