Reggae artist Gadi King is set to release his new single “I’ll Be Working” come next week and working on his music is what he has been doing for quite some time.
Born Trevis Carter, Gadi King grew up at Centre Dam, Goed Intent, West Bank Demerara. As a boy, he recalled, he used to gather in the street with friends and watch his uncle playing songs on his jukebox. He also played with a group of friends who called themselves ‘The Tinning Cup Band’. They played Oldies, Reggae, and old time Dancehall music. He and his brother used to spend a great deal of time beating on tin cans and later when he began attending Wales Community High School, he beat on the desks there.
Gadi King had thoughts of becoming a pilot but teachers who picked up on his talent for singing always invited him to perform at school concerts. As the years wore on, his passion for music grew and he realized music was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. “… Music just catch me just so and pull me in,” he said.
The singer was first recognized on Eon Johnson’s Talent Exclusive Show back in 2004. The following year he
recorded his first song “True Warrior”, a duet with Benji Diamond. For years, the two worked together musically but four years ago, Gadi King decided it was time he went solo. Since then, he has released other songs with the last two last year being “Give Thanks For Life” and “Thank You Jah Jah”. He has an album out called ‘Black Wata’.
“Every song I put out there is always positive,” he said. “I love putting out good music because I know that I reach people with my music. The fans love everything that I put out. I always get the support from them. They always giving me the courage to keep on going. A lot them would tell me that I inspire them. I inspire a lot of artistes also.”
Gadi King listened to lots of singers growing up. Among them were: Buju Banton, Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, First Born, Ras McBean, and Mighty Rebel. “Mighty Rebel was from my village. When I started in the music business, he became a good friend,” he said.
Gadi King has performed around Guyana including at Bartica, Linden, Berbice, Georgetown, Lethem, and on the West Bank Demerara. He shared that Lethem was the best experience for him more so because the culture there was different from anything that he was familiar with. “Lethem is so beautiful man. I went to Lethem by bus, so I was able to see everything along the trail. The people are beautiful. The mountains there are beautiful. The place is chilly and silent. I love it,” he shared.
Gadi King has shared the stage with some of the big names like Gregory Isaacs, Sizzla Kalonji, Everton Blender, Etana, First Born, and Natural Black, among others.
“My first big stage I performed on was in 2005 at the National Park; Natural Black also performed at that concert. The show was put on by Vision Sounds. Gregory Isaacs was also there. I remember being a bit nervous when I first got on stage but once the crowd started singing along, my nervousness went,” he reminisced.
While he has been afforded many
incredible experiences in Guyana, the singer said he cannot say the same for the music industry explaining that Guyanese artistes are not promoted on air by selectors and DJs as they should. He believes local songs should be promoted more than international songs. “I want to see the local songs playing 90%/95% of the airing time on the radio. I want to see the copyright law enforced. If this can happen, I’m sure local artistes like myself will have more support from the Guyanese people,” said the singer.
Since copyright law is not enforced here, Gadi King has all his songs released by his management Shabda Paytriad Sound on online platforms like iTunes and Spotify.
The pandemic has affected him tremendously, preventing concerts and gigs that help to sustain him. However, it has not all been negative.
“The pandemic gave me more time to think and put together better songs. I did a lot of writing since the pandemic began, like about 17 songs. Sometimes I write it down, the lyrics but other times, I come up with it in my head and it remains stuck there,” he said. He added that to come up with lyrics in his head and not jot them down, is a skill that comes from practicing over the years.
Gadi King has his own recording studio at Centre Dam called Jah Warriors. He spoke of wanting to release songs that become internationally recognized and touring other countries.
Since going solo he has been working assiduously towards making a name for himself and spends some of his time recording for other up and coming artistes.
“Give Thanks For Life” is currently being played on HJTV, 94. 1 FM, 97.5 FM, 98.1 FM, and 96.1 FM.
Persons looking to record at the Jah Warriors’ studio can contact Gadi King at 669-4258.
