Hip Hop/R&B singer/song writer Conor Holder is no stranger to the stage, but is launching his mixtape tomorrow at the Five Star Ice cream Parlour in Victoria, East Coast Demerara where he lives.
The mixtape titled ‘CON?OR’ reflects Conor’s boyhood, growing up in an environment where outsiders believe the people there could never amount to anything and where everyone has a choice to make every day to be a CON OR something better.
Conor recalls that all through his school years he was teased because of his names and hated them very much. According to Conor, he was called such names as ‘Pop-corn’, ‘Corn Syrup’, ‘Around the Corner’, ‘Cup Holder’ and ‘Pencil Holder’ among many others. The teasing got to him easily and Conor wasted no time in defending himself and this eventually gained him recognition by one of the three major gangs in his neighbourhood, which he later joined. So Conor, eventually, was defined by his name the way the bullies saw it, as a con.
However, his Christian mother always held high hopes for the younger of her two children and was determined not to have her son caught up in that lifestyle. Being the wise woman she is and knowing what awaited him at the end of that road she moved him from school to school.
Over the years, Conor attended PS 233 Langston Hughes, Battalion Christian Academy, Winthrop Junior High, Greater New York Academy, Science Skills Centre and North Eastern Academy.
“She didn’t realize that whether it be private or public school, the children had the same mentality,” Conor said.
After some time, he thought to research the meaning of his name and found that it was Irish and meant ‘lover of dogs or wolves’. The American meaning, he said, was “battle hawk,” which he believes stands for “the determined.” Both meanings related to him well. Conor, in the end, thought he could either choose to let society define him or define himself for society. Today he strongly believes he is something better.
The one thing he kept with him as he stormed through the good and the bad was music. He said music had always been a part of him, having grown up in the Dunamis Seventh Day Adventist Church. “My mother and sister are really good singers. Church was my first venue for singing. What I loved about it was the message that could have been sent to the people. From singing in church I started writing poetry and eventually I realized that writing poetry is similar to writing songs and so I began writing songs,” Conor said.
“One of my inspirations is my mother. We left the country in the first place so that I could have a surgical procedure done. She is a courageous woman, as a single parent, to have raised a child like me in such an environment. Musically my mother still comes first; always encouraged me in music. She always told me not to sing through my nose but from my gut. My other inspirations are Michael Jackson, Usher, Ginuwine, Boyz 2 Men and Mary J Blige.
“All of my family is supportive of what I do but now that I’m here I’m practically on my own since most of them are away. However, I don’t feel alone; I’m a part of an upcoming organization called Hot Swag Music Group and they are like family.”
Conor added, “Hot Swag caters for singers with five years’ experience or more. We’re hoping to become international. I feel that the youths in Guyana have so much talent but they don’t have an outlet. Hot Swag is hoping to do that in a positive way. I love Guyana. I feel that the greatest people belong to Guyana.”
When Conor returned to Guyana in 2008 his first performance was during the Miss East Coast Pageant. That experience, he said, taught him a lesson. “When I performed for the first time in Guyana, I performed two songs. The first song was an original and I decided to perform it acapella,” laughed Conor. “The crowd booed my performance but when I went up a second time I performed a cover of ‘Stand by Me’ and it was widely applauded. I learnt two things that night: Guyanese like popular songs and they like a beat to it.”
His mix tape he says has been recorded in such a way to cater for his Guyanese fans. Although ‘CON?OR’ features all original songs, the beats are uptempo.
“Music to me,” Conor said, “is an expression of life. Without music I don’t know how we’d be as people because I don’t know how we’d be able to express ourselves. The life I lived has made me who I am now and has given me something to give back. Singing has given me a way to express myself. There was a time when I became very internal. I didn’t accept myself for who I was; being teased for who I was. I wanted a relationship with my father but he wasn’t very forthcoming. Poetry and music has become a way of expressing myself.”
The father of three says he wants to be a father who’s always there for his children and though he isn’t perfect he’s trying to be better.
When asked about someone he’d wish to meet or have met, without hesitation he replied, “I’d have wanted to meet Christ. I would have loved to sit with him and learn all the wise things he would have taught me; maybe he would have been a better influence on my life. But I do hope to meet him face to face someday.”
Conor considers himself to be a “very down-to-earth” person, open-minded, energetic, and passionate about his music and about youths.
Apart from singing he does construction and has a clothing business.
However, he says, having a music career in Guyana is really challenging. “The copyright [law] needs to be updated. Another challenge is to stay relevant and to be up-to-date with issues going on around us socially. I think most Guyanese are very foreign minded. They need to support their local artistes more. Production is really expensive and can be challenging… Hot Swag is currently seeking sponsors so that we can promote and expose our local artistes. We also need to start hearing more Guyanese music on the radio. We need to start living together as one people, one nation, one destiny,” Conor stressed.
The artiste, determined as he is, hopes that within a five-year period he would have released his fourth or fifth album. He hopes also to gain a larger fan base, where through his music he can become a positive role model. Someday, he added, he would like to have a forum either on television or on the radio that deals with issues the young people face and if things work in his favour he would also like to have his own clothing line which would benefit Guyana’s needy children.
In his free time Conor enjoys playing video games, watching horror movies, exercising, writing poetry, working on his music and public speaking.
To his fans he says, “Expect good music, a good performance and music you can relate to. Expect me to get better and better as I try to put Guyana on top.”
Conor has also been involved in MTB (Money to Burn) Maple 2009, two GT&T Jingle Competitions and is currently a contestant on E-Networks Spotlight Competi-tion. “Watch out!” he warns other competitors, “I’m taking home that $2.5 million.”
Mixtape CON?OR features twelve originals: “GT Party,” “Twerking It,” “Guyanese Girl,” “Heart Beat,” “All I Do,” “I’m Straight,” “Tek Ya Gyal,” “Ride or Die,” “C-Life,” “Ode to Mommy,” “Hot Swaggy Anthem” and “Metaphorically Speaking.”
All are invited this Sunday to the Five Star Ice Cream Shop in Victoria. Conor is expected to perform a few songs. There will also be giveaways to celebrate the release of the mixtape.
Conor can be contacted via Facebook or check out his music on Hot Swag’s Facebook page or SoundCloud.
