Some music genres are said to have negative effects on our youths of today while those credited for having positive influences are on the decrease. The story of promising young songwriter and singer Troy Porter reveals a reverse of this.
Troy describes his formative years as filled with “badness”, though he now sees himself as a positive influence to his peers, fans, the general citizenry of Linden and other communities across Guyana.
Troy recalls his lifestyle while a student of Linden’s senior school, Mackenzie High: “I was basically a disgusting and mischievous guy who always found pleasure making teachers and some of my classmates’ life uncomfortable.”
His musical icon was 50 Cents and according him, he lived a life of violence as portrayed in the music of his icon. Troy was in Form Three when he wrote his first song and as would have been expected: “My first song was about sheer violence. Well of course I loved 50 Cents and so you could not expect anything else from me but violent music.” One led to another and then several other songs that were written and sung by the aspiring artiste.
After graduating from high school, Troy moved to the capital city where he went on to join the Guyana Defence Force still following the music of 50 Cents. “In the army I continued to write all these violent music and use to be singing for my fellow batch-mates,” he recalls.
Before very long he felt the urge to take his singing and writing ability to another level. This desire led him to seek out the possibility of having his music recorded professionally. Walking aimlessly along Sheriff Street one day, he stumbled on Platinum Studio where Fojo operated from at the time. “What a great opportunity I thought it was to start living my dreams so I went in but didn’t get welcome I was expecting,” he says.
Troy never went anywhere without his self-produced demo CD and he promptly handed it to the studio manager. The response he received shook him a bit but didn’t break his spirit. “When he listened to my CD he [Fojo] told me that I had no flow and all these things. I felt kind of sad but took the criticism and moved on,” Troy said. At the time he was 18 or 19 years old.
Without a dime in his pocket, he walked all the way to Robb Street where he located the Vizion Sounds Studio, went in boldly with a lot of confidence hoping for a better response. “I waited to see the boss man who asked me what kind of music I did and I told him I did hip-hop, and he said to me that they do the more reggae, soca kinda thing.” Another failed effort.
Determined and with guidance from an aunt he contacted Kester ‘D’ at Brutal Trax, who told him: ‘You know I am a gospel man but I will put you on to the hip hop man.’ After a nail-biting wait, he was told that his music did not find favour with the ‘hip-hop man’ DJ Bevaughn. But this time, he was not sent away without a challenge. “They didn’t like what I sang. They put me on an audition and they didn’t like what I did,” he said. But it was recognized that he had some potential so Troy was given a sound track and challenged to write a song to suit it. “They told me to come off of the violence and try doing something more positive,” he recalls.
His talent shone through. Troy sat in the studio and composed a song titled “Someone Got to Pay”. The song spoke to the misdeeds of adults for which their offspring paid the penalties. That was the beginning of a promising career in the music industry. It was also a major change in his lifestyle as well. He has moved from the mentality of living a life of violence to that of one of positive vibes.
Today Troy is 24 years old and has made several strides using the stage name Genesis. He left the military and pursued a career as a computer technician, taking classes at Global Technology and attending the University of Guyana. He works out of the office of Corporate Supplies in Linden as a self-employed computer technician and a graphic designer with Blessing and Honour Productions.
All the while he has continued to produce music with positive vibes and has performed at several local and national events. He has teamed up with Mystic on stage. Troy has become a household favourite especially in Linden. His songs “I Am In Love With You” featuring Diana Chapman, and “Gone But Not Forgotten” with Malika Boyd are very popular in the mining town.
Troy’s biggest breakthrough to date occurred in April during the celebrations of the Linden Town Week when his singing found favour with the international music group SELAH Muzik Production out of Atlanta with whom he now has a recording contract. His first album, ‘Love Hate and Money’, will be released on August 5 at the L&L Social Club in Linden. (coorstab@yahoo.com)
