Jadee- Well basically the word to me wasn’t to stop, but rather to incorporate worship. The album that was to be released, had no form of worship songs on it at all. The name of the album was “Come Out Ah Dat, Come In Ah This” and there weren’t any slow songs on it.

There were fifteen songs of ‘hard core’ Gospel Soca. So the word came to me, not to put that album out like that, but to scrap it and do another album. I had to incorporate worship because the Lord wanted me to show the young people that we always have to make a time for worship.

When that album was scraped remember the song that I did on that day called “We Hallow Your Name”? I went into the studio real quick and did that song and that was the first single for the next album which was called “Worship and War”.

If you were to check that album out, there were songs such as ‘I Exalt Thee’ which was a nice groovy gospel worship song, as well as ‘We Hallow Your Name”.  So there was the incorporation of the worship songs....but that’s a good question no one ever asked me that.

We were standing up in the crowd, and I was with Laventille Rhythm section. This dude comes up on stage. I didn’t know him because he wasn’t from the secular world, and am thinking ‘Who is this?’ and ‘He’s sounding good’. This was three months before I got saved.  I had just returned from New York where I did a show with Spragga Benz.

I was saying ‘What is he singing?’, and in the midst of it trying to figure out what he was singing I’m hearing ‘Halleluiah!’ and ‘Praise the Lord, Glory to God’ and so forth. I remember in my still drunken state, thinking for one second, (and Trinidad you have to believe this!)… I remember watching Sherwin and for one second saying to myself, ‘I wonder if I will ever do this?’ I also remembered saying to myself ‘Nah! I don’t think so he must be mad!’ and I just continued doing what I was doing.

So that was, if nothing else, one of the most impacting experiences. That’s why I know when I go to secular events or areas, I remember what transpired with me, so no one can say that one person can’t make a difference.  I could have been the only person in Marshalls concert that felt that.

Jadee- Well the first one “Worship and War” was really me being introduced to taking worship, not only the musical side of it, but the lifestyle seriously. Understanding worship is a sacrifice.

My prayer life really took a serious turn so the name of that album was Worship and War. You can’t be a worshipper if you don’t know how to war. “Alter Call” was basically the introduction of the band. The Lord gave me the name of the band, and we named the CD after it. However the vision behind Alter Call is having an opportunity to minister once we get the opportunity.

Gospelgobe- Releasing an album as an independent artist or unsigned artist, how is it?

Independently it is very difficult, it’s very costly and this is just the business side of it. A lot of people might think twice to come out with another album after their first. It’s frustrating. Let’s really talk finances.

There are different producers you can work with. It’s up to you to choose what level or standard of song you want to get. I work with the best! I work with the same producers that the best work with, so my productions are very costly. A song from different producers can be from $9000, $10000, nothing less than $6000, so you multiply that by seventeen songs.

You may have to take out loans sometimes.., then if you want to have an album launch it’s just very costly. When you put this album out, you have the chance of people not coming to support. An album launch is very important for a gospel artist because we count on people coming to support to help pay for the album. This is to help the artist recoup. So if it doesn’t go good, plain talk bad manners, you could just imagine the stress one can go through concerning the debt!

Jadee- Well am into full time ministry. Being married you have to have a wife that understands ministry. So what I did was I made my wife manager of myself and Alter Call. So whenever I have to travel, she travels with me as long as the church or promoter is able to afford it. Where ever it is in the country, she is always there with me so that helps.

However as a married man you have to separate that and make time for home. I’ll be very honest with you, I’m still learning how to balance the two, but am doing much better now. I’m now I’m a father, big shouts to Skyla and she’s five, and I have to make time for her too.

My daughter understands that if she sees me by the computer with pen and paper or with my bible, she knows daddy’s working and same thing’s with my wife. Sometimes I fly up 3 o’clock in the morning to write, it’s a process but that’s how I handle it.

Jadee- My pastors are Pastor Osbert and Rev. Angela Williams of the Woodbrook Pentecostal Assembly.

Gospelglobe- It has been said that your Pastor ‘put you to sit down’. Do you care to explain what actually happened?

There are some things you just can’t do in front of people; this is just how I chose to do it. There are some things you can’t do on stage; I needed a well long awaited break to even bring restoration to things that needed to be restored.

I told them I had many events to do in the next few months. I had Pilgrimage the next month. I went to Jamie and told him I can’t do Pilgrimage. I also went to my booking agents in Jamaica and London. The Canadian show I cancelled, and all the New York events. I went to Synergy and told them ‘I just taking a break. Break is break.’

What ever you want to call it, people have to know themselves and every man has to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. I even had an audition we were working on that seemed very promising with BET, but I told them whether BET or Laventille I just not doing it. How long? I didn’t know until I knew that things were being restored, and I can go back out there.

People said ‘I hear he backslide…’ and this and that. Guess what? I was in a backslidden state! It’s just that you didn’t know it. You were seeing me on stage and on TV, so who I fooling. I’m not going to hell looking nice and pretty and I know there are things in my life to revisit and bring restoration.

Let me even say this. Even reading the bible came almost so strange. For a very long period of time you know you watch your bible there and when you decided to read it, it’s thick with dust. That’s the kind of situation I was in.

I had to remake that covenant with the Lord. So when you didn’t see me for about six months that was the time I pulled away from ministering. That time is, still is, much needed. I got heavily back in my word, my prayer life is back up and my relationship with my family. It’s just what I needed to do. There’s no shame with me. I did what I needed to do to get back right with my God. Just keep on pressing!

Gospelglobe- What are your thoughts on the local gospel scene and the ways in which it can move forward?

Don’t say it’s because of that jump up and wave up thing because when we have the worship experience, thing bussing too. So concerning the gospel music I think we need a revival with the people and Christians just need to start to support and come out to events. Else before you know it, it wouldn’t make sense to have an event.

Quite frankly, I found that Israel and New Breed should have had at least 16000 people! I mean is Israel! I think we could do a whole lot better and show more support for the local artiste on the radio stations.

Gospelglobe- What local artiste do you look up to the most?

Gospelglobe- There are some who would listen to your music, even sing along but would not necessarily invite you into their church to sing or put you on their concert. What do you have to say about that?

People will be at different places in their Christian walk at different times. Some might not be ready to receive someone like me, and if you try to bring them, you would bring offence, and then I would be guilty of that.

Then you have the case of the young people in the church listening to the music, but the leadership don’t want to bring the artiste in. Let me tell you young people something. If your pastor said not to listen to me and you’re under that covering, listen to the man of God and band me in Jesus name!

You have to be obedient. That’s Godly council. If your council and your leadership are guiding you, they’re guiding you for a reason. It once used to get to me. I used to say ‘What kinda thing is this boy? I thought all ah we suppose to be one?!’ But then you live and you learn and you grow with Christ and it doesn’t bother me at all, I would ask them though to keep me in prayer!

Gospelglobe- The song “Imma Holla Jesus”…. (He laughs) This is a song that was way out of Jadee’s genre. Some people said this is hot ,while some asked what did Jadee try here? Out of Trinidad, out of the norm. What was the concept behind that particular track?

Gospelglobe- so it’s a local beat?

Jadee- Yeah it’s a local beat that was done by Mad Men Productions. All the hottest secular rappers were supposed to be on it and other artistes like KMC and Ziggy Rankin. No one at that point knew that I could rap. So I said to myself, ‘Son…I need to stamp the name of the Lord on this.’  The producers were like ‘Yeah but you can’t rap!’ I told them I could do something.

Secular producers don’t make joke. If your song not sounding good, they throw you out. They’re not like Gospel producers where you just talk about Bible and your thing ‘fly’. It doesn’t work like that. Secular producers are always of the opinion that Gospel music can’t stand up studio wise and flow wise. They think Gospel artistes are just crappy. They think the Reggae and R&B are crappy.

In essence if you gave me that riddim, and allowed me to sing what I wanted on it, I bet you my song was going to standout most. I thought that if I got an opportunity to be on with the other rappers, I’m not even going to be saying jah or anything like that, am going to say Jesus.

Face it how many times do you here the name Jesus on secular radio stations? Remember the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Look that man over there preaching about You Christ, but he is not one of us.’  Jesus said ‘Let him preach because he’s preaching Christ’

At the end of the day..., let me tell you something. At no time did I write that song for it to be played on 98.1. We need to understand, when I am going to write a song or attack a song, it’s different markets involved of course. It might song stupid to someone deep in theology and in the church because it wasn’t for you. I brought it down to the level of a man who barely knows anything about God.

That song hit secular realms hard. It still plays on secular stations in the States. I do interviews about it all the time. At the end of the day my concept was that in the entire darkness let me just bring some light.

Gospelglobe- New album, what’s the concept behind it?

Jadee- New album, the name of the album is “Get Back On Track”.

That’s a very long story but let me break it down to you all real quick. This is the third time you will hear me say it…, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me and told me name the album “Get Back On Track” because it is your generation’s last warning for your region as well. That is the warning of the Lord to all of us if things not right in your life, I don’t know what you doing, but you have and opportunity to put things in order and get our lives back on track.

All of the songs might not be geared towards that team and there are a couple of them. I saw a vision though and the Lord said it’s not even about my music, it’s not even if it will get air play, He just wants the album to be named that so when people hear the name it will stir something up in them.

Actually this entire album was written two years ago. The Lord told me two years ago name the album “get back on track” and I was nervous. People around me was saying don’t name the album get back on track because people would think you backslide, and back then I was like ‘I don’t want anybody thinking I  backslide’…,  so guess what happened? In my heart I wanted to change the name of the album, and I went and changed the name of the album and it crashed.

That’s when Sherwin lost the album. The hard drive fell and fifteen songs that we recorded was gone! I was angry with Sherwin because I thought ‘How you could be so irresponsible?’ Now knowing that the Lord was responsible, it’s all good.

And you know why I really wanted to change the name…, it was because I knew there were somethings in my life that wasn’t on track, so I was like ‘How you could go and name an album Get Back On Track and you have some things in your life that not on track. So I decided to change the name and the Lord crushed that and destroyed that. So now having taken the time that we spoke about, everything focused everything back in place, everything fired up, and restored. I am not only peaceful in naming the album Get Back On Track, I’m excited!

Jadee- Pressing, keep on pressing obviously taken from Philippians chapter 3. I press towards the mark you know the scripture. That song was written, out of a time (two years ago) when everybody around me was either backsliding or literally dying.

I just came out of my church at that time where my pastor had backslidden and then the church split. Then my worship leader, who was like my aunty in the faith, she went in backslidden state. Just when she was coming back into the Kingdom she was murdered.

Now all this was happening in one year, then one of my other good friends who was also a minister he backslidden, went and did his thing for a while and got in an accident. He ran into a truck, and died on the spot. So that’s why in the verse I sing “I know just the way how you feel, I keep on making mistakes I see stronger than me have failed”

I looking around and seeing people who more anointed than me dying, so I began to get concerned about myself. Unfortunately things started to happen and I found myself not only slipping but falling as well. So I started to write the song as an encouragement first to me.

‘Keep on pressing…, I’m down but not defeated… I’m blurry right now I’m not seeing to clear… but I know I’m not blind because I can see. I might limp occasionally but I’m walking to my destiny…, and even your friends who in church with you still not encouraging you because everyone on some kind of stupidness, so iron can’t sharpen iron. So it’s just keep on pressing!’

Jadee- Yeah am working with Keron Ramsey, he is the only person up to now. I really don’t go seeking out. I did songs with Positive but none of them made the album. I was supposed to do a song with Kadijah because I wanted a female voice and her tone sounded nice, but she couldn’t make it. So Kerron came through. While singing it I said Keron would you like to and he said cool and he tried it sounded good and the rest is history.

Jadee- There are seventeen tracks on the album. We have tracks that you already know, I’ve put tracks like from the past year or so that you’re familiar with so ‘Imma Holla’ is on it, ‘Not Inna Dat’, ‘We Doh Fraid’. There are twelve brand new songs and we are going to be dropping songs every month till November.