Just over a year ago, Cleon Cadogan was propelled into the national limelight when he captured first place in the GT&T Jingle and Song Competition. His jingle “Stay Connected” and more so his song “Destiny Speak” were definite crowd pleasers and few of the people who were present at the finals of last year’s competition could dispute that he was the deserving winner of the crown.
Now about 14 months later, Cleon Cadogan has launched his first album titled: ‘Destiny Speak’.
Apart from the title song, the album features nine other singles, all of which were written by the talented young man. He describes this collection of songs as being “one with a difference” and says he has used some of his difficult personal experiences to write these songs. Consequently, he feels that many people who hear his music will be able to empathise with the subject matter and will be encouraged. He says that one of the main aims of this album is to “encourage those people who are experiencing severe challenges in their lives”. And although, this release has been classified as a gospel album, Cleon makes it clear that his music is not only geared towards a Christian audience.
This CD is a special project promoted by GT&T. According to him, after winning last year’s competition, he was contracted by that company to produce one song per month. The telephone company subsequently urged him to compile these songs and produce an album. Under his contract, he still has three more songs to produce. Recently, he has also produced one video for the song “Destiny Speak”. This, he says, has been aired regularly on NCN Channel 11 since its release.
Cleon was full of praise for GT&T, saying that organisation presented him with the opportunity that he had always dreamed off. He was also grateful that the company never forced him to pursue any particular avenue of music. He also feels that the GT&T Jingle and Song Competition gives many young people an opportunity for success. He is also very happy that the company has allowed him to be himself. He explained that the company had not dictated what he should sing about neither what genre of music he should sing.
Apart from GT&T, Cleon is also grateful for the support he has received from his parents, grandmother, friends, and church family.
So what more can we expect from Cleon? “Quite a lot actually,” he says. According to him, plans are on stream to produce another album called ‘Worship From the Heart’ and he is currently writing songs for this production. He “believes that he has been given the talent by God to write and compose his own music and will put it to good use.” As such, he always aims to be original in his music. That is why he intends to produce another album, which consists of revised hymns.
Preparations are also being made to present a musical tribute to Guyana, in which the nation’s natural beauty is celebrated. Guyana has many beautiful sites that need to be highlighted, he says.
The young man also told The Scene that the response to his CD has been very good so far. He says that his music will soon be heard on the airwaves of several countries. These include Anguilla, Trinidad and Tobago as well as the USA.
Persons desirous of acquiring Cleon’s CD can contact him on telephone number 651-1255. The album costs $1,000.
