A2O – Taking You There
By: Kerry-Ann Bercher, Gleaner Online Writer
“…If it's alright with you baby come let me take you there, I will take you to the moon if you'll be happy out there.
As the sun shines your smile just takes me away,
I'll take you anywhere you wanna go, It's ok girl, you'll be sure to know, I'll take you there.”
-- The chorus of A2O's hit song ‘Take You There' (and my personal favourite :)
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Kenneth ‘JR' Lamey, Dennis ‘Wess' Rose, Rayon ‘Obie' Obie and Angele ‘Angel' Smith – these four focused, handsome and ‘musically blessed' young men are the heart-melting voices behind the now popular Reggae, R&B and Soul group A2O.
“Music is our passion,” expressed JR, a Frome Technical past student, as he told Daflex.net of the group's early days. “In the initial stages of the group, you could say we were a young Boys II Men or Backstreet Boys. I can remember us performing at Mannings High School on Valentines Day back in the day. We were on stage singing and a hol' a vibe when a student walked up and said, “Me a go pay you fi sing a song fi me girl,” and we did. After that, another student came to us with the same request. Soon almost all the school, including some teachers, were walking behind us to sing! It was crazy!”
MUSICAL INFLUENCES - Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Morgan Heritage, Beres Hammond, King David (from Bible days), Garnet Silk, Michael Bolton, Capleton, Buju Banton, Richie Spice, Warrior King, and Toots and the Maytals.
SIGNED TO – “Well, currently we are signed to the Kingston Central label, which is a Jamaican upcoming label. The label's focus now is the overseas market. We have a new single called ‘Crazy Love' which is being heavily marketed and we give thanks for that,” commented Obie. “The single is doing well in England and Japan and we're making preparations to shoot the video for it. Give thanks for the label and the work they're doing.”
RECENT PERFORMANCES –
JCDC Food Festival
Bob Marley Birthday Celebrations
Jazz and Blues
Miss Jamaica Universe Pageant
CURRENT PROJECTS – “Our main project now is our album. We have tracks so it's just to choose the ones we'd like for the album.”
MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT – “About 10 years ago,” said Angele, “…we were on stage singing Michael Jackson's ‘Speechless' and the crowd was giving us a great vibe. I went down in the crowd and was singing and ting. Making my way back on stage, is like me mek a slip…”, he chuckles, “…the crowd buss out a laugh!”
“What can be embarrassing also is when the system is bad and the microphones are low and it can make the singer feel as if he/she hasn't done their best,” added Wess.
HAPPIEST MOMENT : “Our most outstanding and happiest moment I would say was at Jazz and Blues,” stated Obie. “The crowd, the atmosphere, the vibe – just awesome!”
WRITING AND MELODIES - “A2O writes and makes all their melodies. Everything is original, not that we don't have a few covers but everything else is original. Everyone contributes to the writing and the melodies. We are all-rounders.”
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? – “Our music speaks for itself. Our sound, our look – it's different from the typical Jamaican group. The originality of A2O in terms of songs, melodies, what we sing about and lyrics makes us different. Each member is able to contribute significantly because we possess a true love for music and we put the best in what we do. We give thanks for the blessings and keep focused.”
APART FROM THE HYPE … - “There are other things in store,” said Wess. “Right now, the aim is to establish the name and set the foundation. After that, the sky is the limit.”
WISE WORDS:
- Copyright your work and register it with a collective agency.
- Make sure you research about the music industry and learn as much as you can.
- Stay focused.
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