Entertainment

Ward 21 step up thier game

By GERMAINE SMITH, Staff Reporter

THE WARD 21 dancehall group has changed its production residence and its looking to step up its game as producers this summer.

Group members told THE STAR recently that they have almost finished building a new studio, from which they will work to continue doing the thing which launched the Ward 21 name in the first place.Kunley, Rum Blood, Mean Dog and Suku shot to fame under King Jammy's imprint as producers.

They made the Badda Badda, Da Joint, Bellyas, Punanny and olume rhythms among others, but also stamped their names as performers as well, putting out an album two years ago.Things seemed to slow down for the group however, leading even some members of the public to wonder if they had split.

"Things did boil down fi a while, but it back up. Yu know inna the music business sometimes things up and another time it go down," explained lead vocalist Suku recently. Kunley, the other lead vocalist stated that people did not fully understand how they are set up.

"People don't understand that Ward 21 is not a group like a TOK or an ARP, or so. We different. Ward 21 is like a band, we have two lead vocalists and we have two secondary vocalists and a so it go.""If yu hear a song with me alone that's OK, cause a just that type of song. The way a song is, only one lead voice it need, and the rest do chorus."

Contract expired

Suku explained that the team picked up early this year, with a European tour which took them into some little known areas. Since their return they have jumped on the studio construction, recorded a few singles, and will soon officially release a rhythm titled the I-Rob.

"We a fix up we studio, which we shoulda finish by the end of May. From there so we a go operate and produce some more."The move from their Jammy's base he noted, came because their contract expired, and they did not have as much access as they initially did to the facilities.

"When we did bus we had a studio to our leisure, we coulda sit back and work and do what we felt like, but that kind of shut down now. We naa get the amount of time we used to get inna the studio, that kinda stop because time change, so we start build our own right ya now."Kunley stated that with the new studio will come a new sound, as they plan to do some exclusive rhythms for other artistes, as well as for themselves for their sophomore album to be released later this year.