Weh Dem Up To? 'Mix-up' deejay Mr Chicken avoids modern dancehall

Before Sean Paul was a chart-topping regular, he was part of the Dutty Cup Crew, alongside Uncle Mucks (formerly Kid Kurup), Mossy Kid, Looga Man, Daddigon, Froggy and Chicken.

Established in 1994, it was only a matter of time before the crew would fall apart. But, it was a natural and amicable split, according to Chicken.

The 'mix-up' deejay, who now goes by Mr Chicken, said he has consistently communicated with the other crew members over the years.

"Everybody is doing their own thing, and we all still talk. There was no one having beef or anything like that," he told THE WEEKEND STAR.

He recalled that VP Records had their eye on Sean Paul back then, and everyone braced for the inevitable.

"I guess we all understood he would break away from us down the line. But we are still family," he assured.

Mr Chicken is currently the manager of the Burlington Business Complex in Half-Way Tree.

"I have a job, but I still do music. I have a studio at home, so when I feel to do my thing, I just do it and put it up on YouTube," he said.

He recently released a mixtape called Mr Chicken - From Den Till Now chronicling his musical works from Dutty Cup crew days into this year.

It wasn't until 1998 that the deejay made his mark after the first solo success, Speak Up.

"After I recorded the first song is when we put the 'Mister' on it," he said, explaining the name change.

Customary to Jamaican culture, his nickname is quite literal.

"They used to call me by my right name, Henry. But all I eat is chicken. I used to work around Renaissance, and every day we going to lunch, my friend would say, 'chicken him ah guh want'," he said.

When Sean Paul got his break in the early 2000s, the other members of the Dutty Cup Crew continued to pursue the dream, some more ardently than others.

Chicken moved on from Renaissance to work with other producers before settling in to work on his own in 2006.

During that time, he noticed a shift in the dancehall music industry, one that he couldn't keep up with.

"My style is mix-up ting, but you can't really sing mix-up song anymore. It's all party, smoke, unda girl. I don't want to be saying those things," he said.

Mr Chicken opines that the dancehall business changed with the popularity of Vybz Kartel.

"He started to say things we can't or wouldn't say. Some of us not brave enough. I will always do music, but nice songs. I can't pree this generation, so I don't stress myself on them," he said.