Richie Stephens - From Resorts to Richie

The early to mid ’90s was a special time for Jamaican music. While the ‘80s saw the rise of dancehall music, its production and subsequent proliferation of homemade studios across the island; the ‘90s era saw Jamaican music using the new avenues, now available, to showcase the songs, the locations and the characters that made up the industry at that time. The rise of music themed cable stations – such as BET, MTV and VH1, largely from North America – looking to the Caribbean basin for content, had many Jamaicans glued to their television sets waiting and hoping to catch a glimpse of their local superstars. Artistes, the likes of Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks, Patra, Capelton, Bounty Killa and Beenie Man became mainstays in the public consciousness during these times, opening the doors for many to follow. One such to follow the wave, was Richard Stephenson popularly known as Richie Stephens. Richie, who started his career as a singer for hire on the hotel circuit along the Negril coast, has become quite the force on the Jamaican music scene as a producer and label owner. However, for him, it will always come back to his first love, singing. Backayard is about to review what could be one of the most influential presences in entertainment for the last 20 something years, so sit back, relax and learn about the enigma that is Richie Stephens.

How did you get into the Jamaican music industry?

Well as most Jamaican artistes, I started as the community entertainer. Some started in the church, but I started in the community itself where my little friends used to love to hear me sing.

Which community was that?

It is a place called Hudson Street in Westmoreland, popularly known as Russia. That was what they called the place, not too far from Little London. While growing up my friends used to encourage me to sing for them and I used to love to sing for them, and people in general. Well, yuh nuh, yuh start moving up the ranks and people start to ask you to sing outside of the community now and I notice I was getting the same response from people.

The same love, the same reaction?

The same reaction, yes. So I began feeling more confident like, “Hey, rahtid! It look like there are some real skills here.” When I reach about 10 or 11, I decided that this is what I really wanted to do, so I really start to concentrate seriously on music. In Sav (Savanna-la-Mar) there was a band called Jah Children band that used to rehearse every evening. I would leave school, go home, eat some dinner and then go round there and listen to them play. Until one day, I get a sing off a di mic, yuh know dem way deh [Laughs] and everyone was so blown away and impressed by it. Before I left the rehearsal to go back home, my mother met me at the gate and almost a hundred people already inform her that she had a superstar in the making. So it was a really really good feeling for me as a youngster; again boost my confidence. At about age 14, I started to do little gigs here and there on the music scene, which was known as the musical universe, which is Negril, because of course, you know Sav is only 18 miles from Negril, very close. It used to be the show capital of the world. We used to have 7 nights a week, live shows. That was my first training ground, real training to get to sing and perform for people at an early age. By the time I reach 16, I decided that, hey, I needed more so I came to Spanish Town to live with my father. While living with him, I started rehearsing with a band called Stars Incorporated. Did that for a few years, then journeyed to Ocho Rios where I started singing with Karl Young, who is deceased, but was the owner of Irie FM. I was there when Irie FM was just a concept. I did that for a couple of years from there then couple of hotels: Jamaica Jamaica at the time, which is now Breezes; then to Montego Bay, Sandals resort, with a band called Elements; and then back to Kingston. How I got to Kingston was, I recorded a song for a producer called Top Ranking, his name was E. J Robinson and I recorded my first hit, “Buff Baff.” [Singing] “You betta get out of town before I string up my sound.” That was a monster hit for me and that song actually allowed me to leave the hotel circuit as a singer and come to Kingston as a recording artist.

But that means while you were on the hotel circuit you were recording songs…

Yes, yes.

But “Buff Baff” was the first one that people really liked?

Yeah! I recorded a song that to be honest with you, led to “Buff Baff.” A song called “So Amazing,” Luther Vandross’ song. I did it for a producer called Byron Murray. That was my first song that came out and got some play on the air, and people seh, “Hold on, yuh have a singer name Richie Stephens, he is in Montego Bay, let us check him out.” So that is how I hook up with Top Ranking and did “Buff Baff,” which really opened up doors for me and allowed me to quit my job and come to Kingston…

…And do a lot of dubs, because that sounds like the perfect dub tune.

Yes man!! I was the champion of dubplate dem time deh, yuh understand. When I came to Kingston that was when I hooked up with Donovan Germain and Dennis Star and start recording now, lots of big songs yuh nuh. [Sings] “Oh the shape I’m in/Would you believe I lost the race again”

When I was going to school in the 90s, I remember going to Penthouse with a group of friends to watch them record. You were one of the main people there at time.

Yeah, by that time I was doing a lot of work for Donovan Germain. I had several hits with him, yuh nuh. [Sings] “I got a weakness for sweetness and everyone knows”. ‘I see forever in your eyes”; hol’ heap a song.

Yup, plus when you go to sessions those songs have to be played. Was there anything special about working with Donovan Germain, as opposed to working with other producers?

Donovan Germain, to be honest with you, is a producer who is very well known for quality music. Not only that, but he had a camp of some of the biggest artistes in Jamaica at the time: Beres Hammond, Tony Rebel; then after that Buju Banton, Wayne Wonder, Cutty Ranks, just to name a few, and you want to bring your A-game. Because not only you are going there to record, but yuh seeing all these artistes in front your very eyes. So you have to make sure that when you sing something it sound good and everybody agree. Because the problem is, if you come into the studio as an artiste, no matter who you are, and you start sing a song and it don’t sound good, you see di studio tek time get empty. [Everybody Laughs] So yuh get a signal seh, “listen, dah song deh nuh right.” But when yuh sing a song and people start cheering and seh, “Yes yute deal wid it.” You know you have a good song so that was what I loved wid Penthouse during dem times deh. The environment of Penthouse was surrounded by lots of big artiste, so you never have a choice [but] to come wid a good song.

So did you write all your songs while at Penthouse?

Some, I mean I wrote some of the songs and some of the songs were covers. Back in the early 90s a lot of covers were going on. The top ten songs like “Sorry is all that you can say” (“Baby Can I Hold You?” – Tracy Chapman) that was a big song that came out and then a bag a artistes cover it. It was like that. That was di style dem time deh.

When did you start to tour outside of Jamaica?

Well luckily for me, I started going out from an early age. From ‘87, ’88, ’89, I started really travelling to Japan, England and to all the places reggae was hot. Luckily for me I started wid several hit songs; yah, big songs that would establish me all over the world and people would know about Richie Stephens. So that was lucky for me, I wasn’t one of dem who came about and was about for years before you start find two likkle song, yuh understand mi. So I was blessed wid that. I used to travel all over and then I used to be managed by the same managers that manage Shabba Ranks. So me, Shabba Ranks, Patra, Cobra and Bounty Killa was under di management of Specialist (Clifton Dillon) so we used to travel as a package and we guh all over the world. Perform with many, many major major artistes in different markets; that was a very good thing. But then now I hooked up with an international group called ‘Soul 2 Soul’ and did a song called “Joy” which was a massive song all over the world. Top 5, at least, in almost every European country. I performed on the Arsenio Hall show, which was the Jimmy Kimmel big late night show, at the time, over 40 million people watching live at any one time. So that was a major thing for me and because of that performance, I got signed to Motown as the first Jamaican artiste to be signed to that legendary record label. So I have done a lot of things during my time.

When did you start to produce for other acts?

After the whole Motown stint, I decided to start my own label and that is how Pot of Gold came about. The album I did for Motown was entitled “Pot of Gold.”

“Pot of Gold’ is a special song, to me, that I dedicated to my mother. So the name Pot of Gold stuck with me because it meant so much. So we did the song “Pot of Gold” then we star the label Pot of Gold and start producing a lot of artists. People might know a lot of songs with me and Bounty Killa from that label. [Sings] “She’s a maniac, maniac on the floor, owww!” That was how “She’s A Maniac” was born, because now I got the musical freedom to do what I want, so I now started to do what I want. As a dancehall man with great love for dancehall, even though I was rated for lover’s rock, but dancehall was a big part of me too. So I start doing [Sings] “I know seh yuh cute in yuh name brand suit/ Wop Dem Gyal/Wop Dem.” All dem songs deh. [Sings] “I was born as a winner wicked and wild.”

One of my first impressions of how far our music has gone was when you could turn on BET and see you with Cobra on the beach singing “Legacy.”

That was a big thing. That song went No. 1 in many countries: Trinidad, Bermuda, just to name a few. [Sings] “I will die for you/Don’t care what they do/Over yuh legacy gyal mi nuh stop cry.” Dem time Machel Montano a likkle bwoy and dah tune was him favourite song, him and Bunji Garlin; dem yute deh.

I would say that tune got a lot of rotation on cable stations like BET and that for us seeing fellow Jamaicans on that level was very important.

Me and Patra and Shabba and Cobra dem used to rule it.

How was that process for you being a producer and a singer?

By then I got a lot of experience. I had been around music long enough to understand how to produce a song. The things to do, which musicians to pick for whatever style of song, and so. I have been in it for a couple of years, so it wasn’t that difficult. And I have produced a couple of hits to my credit yuh nuh. That is the underlying reason if you did well, yuh understand. If you have been producing for a couple of years and you can’t show nuh hit for it, then I guess you were not doing well. Not only did I create for myself but I create hit for other people. I have songs with Beres, George Nooks, Elephant Man and di Scare Dem Crew. When Killa came wid dem on the road first. The first producer to sit down wid dem and teach dem how this ting guh, in terms of sing on key, in timing and all these tings was Richard Stephenson, which is me. Killa call mi up and seh, “Yo, Richie,” dem time deh ‘Maniac’ did a tear down di place wid me and him, “mi have some yute from Seaview and jah know star dem bad, but dem need some teaching, mi a guh send dem come.” So mi seh alright send dem come, when mi look mi see Elephant dem come look wild like… [Everybody Laughs]…yeah man, some wild looking yute, but tru wi a ghetto yute we self and wi understand di style, yuh nuh. We sit een wid dem and show dem wah we coulda show dem at the time and after a while, they really turn out to be really nice group that was mashing up di whole place until everybody branch off and so.

When would you say was the heights of your label?

Well, I started my own label and then after in about 1999, I opened my own studio, Pot of Gold recording studio. Really settled down and create some really nice work and a couple of albums and all these tings. So is just from one place to another it is just the growth.

To this date what was the hardest thing for you in the music industry?

To get people to understand Richie Stephens is just a vocalist that is limitless. People often times want to put you in a box and want you to do that and I am not that type of person that you will get to do what you want to do. I have a free spirit, I have a big, big appreciation for the music so I do different styles, different genres. Sometimes some people have a problem with that, because dem feel like, “Who, you is a reggae man,” so you fi just sing reggae music. Yes, I am a reggae artiste, but I like to do ska too and I do a likkle gospel album. Musical freedom is very important to me.

When I saw you earlier this year, you were preparing to go to Japan and you were the main act and you were going with a ska band. How long have you been bringing ska back to your sound?

Well I am a lover of ska for many many years. Dating way back from my father, who was a dancer of ska music from when he was a boy and collect him likkle money fi guh a school. So I grew up come hear that and I listen to di music and love di music. But when I started my career, ska was really no more. It had died at the time, so hence I was a reggae artist, but I always wanted to reach back and dabble into ska. So about 15 years ago, I did an album wid a couple ska music on it and so. But unfortunately, Jamaica don’t really celebrate that genre anymore. So I kinda put it aside, but every time I travel and see how people appreciate ska music, this music that I love so much. I said to myself one day I am really going to go hard and nuh business wid nobody. And it was last year I was on tour, because remember I have this song “Everybody Dance,” which is a ska song that did very well for me, especially abroad; and last year I was on tour in Italy and met a group there. I performed on stage, mashup di place wid some ska music, they performed and mash up di place and after that we started talking about working together. Out of that reasoning, one year later we are a band – Richie Stephens and the Ska Nation band – with an album to our credit and now touring the world. Started in Japan, then spent two months in Italy, so it’s really going well. Now we are also nominated for a prestigious award in Hollywood, it is called the ‘Hollywood Media & Music’ award, we going up there the 17^th of November and we are really looking forward to it.

Recently Rihanna used one of your tunes and used the backend of that and created a hit song “Work”. What was the original song?

Alright, that whole production was from 1998. The riddim is called ‘Sail Away’ and usually we make a riddim and put a host of artistes on it, create a juggling. Sean Paul was on it, Mr. Vegas, Frisco Kid, Beenie Man and myself.

Was this on your label Pot of Gold?

Yeah, Pot of Gold. It was a good riddim; gwaan good fi we, especially overseas. So, since year I got a call from some people that seh, “Hey we are looking for Richie Stephens.” I said, “what for?” They then said, “We are representing Rihanna and we wanted to say congrats because Rihanna just sampled your riddim and created a new song called “Work” and it will be her first single.” I said are you kidding or yuh serious. [Laughs] So they said no, they were serious. So I said ok and put them over to my people to sort out di business part and everything worked out beautifully. What was great also was that Rihanna herself said it, that her new single was created from a riddim that was produced by Jamaican singer and producer Richie Stephens. So she is very grateful and I give thanks for that. It is wonderful to know that after 18 years somebody can pick up something that you do and use it. Someone as BIG as Rihanna.

We are actually doing a story on differences between sampling and an artiste feature on a track. Based on your experience as a producer what is the difference to you?

Ok, we use dem words deh very loosely. Let me put it in perspective, even my song wasn’t ‘sampled’. What they did was to take elements from my song and played it over in Rihanna’s song. But sampling is truly when you take a song that has been already been recorded and put elements of it in a new song. Physically, jus tek that song and cut out a piece and put it in, that is sampling. So I think we jus seh ‘sample’ because it is just a catchy phrase, but my song, for arguments sake, was not sampled, it was played over. Melodies from my riddim into Rihanna’s riddim. A feature, is when you go on a song, yourself, to do it new like if Richie Stephens was invited to go and sing on Rihanna’s song, then I would be a featured act. So features, sampling and play over is three different tings.

Which one would you see the better rewards from?

That, again, is not a general thing to say which one is more beneficial. Listen this now, a man can tek one second of your song and sample it and that determine the value. A man can tek yuh full song and put it inna dem riddim and that is a bigger value or if you go and perform in the song and they provide the lyrics is less than if you came up with your own lyrics. So you see how different it is? It depends on what you do and contribute, [that] will determine how well off you will be in the end.

What is it that you want to let the fans know about your future plans?

Well what I am doing right now, is defending the root of the music. So my ska project is going well, because you know ska is our first international music and I am very proud to be someone who is defending the genre with my Italian ska band and we are all over the world. Ska band is everywhere in the world except Jamaica. I am also doing a project with Clevie, who was part of the duo Steely & Clevie, but Steely has passed away couple years now, Rest In Peace, but Clevie is alive and well and still great, so we doing a project called ‘Love A Dub Style.’ I am very very proud of that project because we have some outstanding songs, so get ready. People get ready for that project, solid solid.