Dancehall singer/songwriter Clayton ‘Maad Raas’ Smyrna is celebrating his 43rd birthday today, by dropping his newest single, “Dem Boys”, which speaks of his personal experiences in the local music industry.
“Dem Boys” reveals the lack of enthusiasm Clayton experienced within the music industry towards his music and sends a message that despite certain people’s unwillingness to support him, he will continue to rise and pursue his greatest passion.
If there is anything this singer knows of, it is perseverance. Born and raised in South Amelia’s Ward, Linden, Clayton is the eldest of four children. As far back as he could he remember, he was raised in a single parent home, whether he lived with his mother or his father. As a boy, the singer shared, he went some days without meals while his mother whom he lived with the most struggled to provide for their family.
He never got the opportunity to attend secondary school as during the time he was supposed to sit Common Entrance at the Mackenzie Primary School which he attended, he was sent to live with his grandmother in Suriname; he lived there for four years. Later, when he returned, he could no longer bear to see his mother struggle so hard to make ends meet and though still a teenager yet reach working age, he began working to assist his mother. At the time, his mother worked at Guymine. His life was one no boy should ever experience. Music and dancing, he said, were his saviour and his escape from his harsh reality.
By the time he was 18, he was meeting with friends and singing covers of various Dancehall songs. Realizing his talent for music, they pushed him to pursue this, but life soon caught up with him. Clayton shared that he had to prioritize what was most important then, and that was taking care of his own family. Then, six years ago, when life became less demanding, Clayton returned to music.
Up until then, the singer sang covers of other songs. He is a fisherman by profession, but when he is not at sea, he spends his time working on his music. For the last six years he has been working on producing his own music and has since recorded 12 songs, seven of which have been released, including today’s “Dem Boys”. Among the seven songs released are “Love to Burn My Weed”, “Wine Baby”, “Don’t Violate”, and “Badness”. Many of his songs became popular in the mining town after been played by the local DJs there. The songs have been recorded and produced through Frass Lane Records.
He recalled that it was flag-raising ceremonies in Linden that first exposed him to live music done by local artistes. When he first started out singing covers back in his teenage years, Clayton said, he listened to Mr Vegas, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Shabba Ranks, Movado and Vybz Kartel. He said he was most influenced by Kartel and would love the opportunity to share the stage with his icon.
He spent many years dancing and was considered the ‘Passa Passa King’ in his hometown. His talent for dancing came from his father who is also a skilled dancer. Back in the day, the two of them would often compete. His father, he said, was always proud of him, adding that when his songs were released and played on one of the music sets in Linden, his father would boast that the singer is his son. In fact, it was his dance skills that led to his stage name.
At first, he was referred to as ‘Mad Sick’ but he was never fond of the name. Later when he was set to perform at a stage show, he was asked what name they should introduce him as and did not want to use ‘Mad Sick’. As a Rastafarian, he decided that ‘Ras’ should be used along with the ‘Mad’ and so he came up with ‘Maad Raas’.
Clayton shared that whenever he visited Georgetown, he would meet with popular promoters and ask that they play his songs, but they never did. According to the singer, he even took his songs to DJ Akelo and Gully Ras and asked that they give them some air play, but the songs never made it to the radio. It was hurtful, he said, to know that people who had the chance to give him a push in life turned him down. It is this sort of negativity that propelled him into recording “Dem Boys” and another song he is currently working on called “Don’t Do It”. The latter does not yet have a release date.
However, he has those who are supportive of his work. Among them is the Frass Friday team and Selector Winston. Selector Winston, also of Linden, has shown incredible support for the artiste. Some years ago, when Winston celebrated his birthday by having Jamaican artiste Jah Vinci headline the event, he asked Clayton to open the show. It was a privilege, Clayton said, before adding that the Jamaican artiste praised his talent after the event. He was overwhelmed, he added, to know that another artiste who was so much more recognized than him commended his work. That was the first time he performed one of his original songs live. He later did several other events hosted at the National Park. The largest concert was two years ago when he opened for Jamaican Dancehall/Reggae singer, Christopher Martin.
The best part of performing onstage, he said, is when the audience is in sync with his music and start to sing along and cheer him on. Nothing beats that, he added.
Clayton moved to Georgetown seven years ago and when he returned to Linden on a visit last year, his longtime friends were happy to see him and shared how proud they are of his music. “Man, I feel like Vybz Kartel, I can’t lie,” he enthused. Several of them have also joined the music industry.
Since he began writing his own music, Clayton has written more than 40 songs, most of which are still to be recorded. Many of the songs, he shared, are based on his personal experiences. It takes him an average of five days to write a song but when his emotions get the best of him, the singer said, he can write a song in half the time.
The Dancehall artiste shared that prior to recording his songs he had participated in the GT&T Jingle Competition twice, and once managed to get to the third round, which was a learning experience for him.
The singer hopes he can make it big soon to help other aspiring artistes. “I want to someday build my own studio and offer free recording for aspiring artistes and then when we sell their music, that’s how we will make money. I’m happy if I can start doing this from tomorrow,” Clayton said. He also hopes he can be a mentor to young artistes and could someday tour Europe. Currently, he is a member of the Frass Friday Squad. Together he and several of the other artistes of the squad are looking to have a music tour of Jamaica following the pandemic.
Today being a day to be thankful for having completed another year of his life, Clayton said, he wishes he could have a party but as he is unable to because of the lockdown, he will be having a quiet day with several friends enjoying a nice meal.
Speaking of food, the singer loves eating fried fish and cook-up. He said, “this is one rastaman that eats fish”, while laughing and adding that Banga Mary is the sweetest fish and he would know being a fisherman. He also enjoys eating dhal and rice with eddo leaf callaloo, okra and shine rice.
His music can be found on GT Riddims and he is on Facebook as Maad Raas.
