Leftside - File

Craig 'Leftside' Parkes shows his versatility this summer as an entrepreneur, producer, singer and deejay on his upcoming debut album 'Split Personality'.

With the belief that everything happens in time, Leftside says his time has come, as he juggles a number of hot projects at the moment.

Since his split from musical partner Esco in 2007 after more than nine years of working together, Leftsidehas been showcasing his many sides as a solo entertainer. Since the advent of his Keep Left Records in 2007, Leftside has briefly been on the scene with songs like Whine Me Gal,featuring Sean Paul, and rhythms like the eccentric 'Benny Hill'. Leftside now plans to ignite the summer.

Overdue album

He told THE STAR: "I've finally finished my long-overdue album Split Personality which shows a lot of maturity, a lot of new stuff. The Broadcasting Commission kinda help out with that, helping me to produce lyrics that are more pleasing to the ear. So it's an album that everyone can listen to. You have a lot of club songs, money songs, girls songs, love songs; it showcases both sides of Leftside."

In Leftside's case, the album showcases his multiple personalities, including his deejaying persona 'Dr Evil', his producing skills as Craig Parkes, and his yet-to-be-seen powerful singing voice as Leftside. He explained:

"The fans will love to hear my singing. The girls will love it and I target the girls but it's sometimes hard to grasp, so I try to incorporate the two - Leftside sings and Dr Evil deejays. One of the songs on the album, My Love Is There For the Taking, is not a normal song. It shows how far I take my music and I'm planning a big budget video for that."

A video is also in the works for his collaboration with international act Kardinal Offishal for the track Fresh To Death. Outside of his own career, Leftside is busy developing his label Keep Left Records and works alongside Ultra Records out of New York.

Professional label

"I'm developing my record label which I want to start signing artistes for. I want it to be a real professional label. So far, I've been working with Syon, a new artiste who has a single coming out called Mad At Yuh Boyfriend. I've also been working with artistes outside of my label, such as the first lady of DASECA, Raine Seville, with a song called Slippery When Wet. And there's another female artiste, Tosh, but she's at school right now, so when she's done I'm looking to put her out there," he said.

With all this on his hands, for Leftside, producing is still his first love and he plans to showcase his skills this summer with two new rhythms entitled 'Exhale' and the yet to be completed 'Exclusive.' As for for his choice to go solo, Leftside says there are no regrets.

"At the end of the day, it was a choice to go solo. I choose to keep on doing my thing and I use it to make me stronger. It's more work load but I'm working with it."