BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CONSIDERED one of the best rappers and song writers out of Sandy Point, Gustav Smith, known in the entertainment industry as SMI, is preparing to make his second appearance at the St. Kitts Music Festival.
In an exclusive interview with Smith, the 28-year-old explained to SKNVibes Entertainment that he started writing and composing Rap lyrics at the age eight and was motivated by late rappers ‘Tupac’ and ‘Notorious BIG’.
Smith, who hails from Bourkes Project in Sandy Point, said he considers himself a “rising superstar”, adding that since his Rap career began he has had the opportunity to perform in a number of countries including Anguilla in 2005 and Canada in 2009.
“The experience in Canada was shocking!” he exclaimed. “Everywhere I went to perform people embraced my music and that is an experience I will take with me forever.”
He added that another unforgettable moment in his career was in 2010 when he was selected as one the local acts to perform at that year’s Music Festival, where he had gotten the opportunity to meet one of his Rap idols, Fabulous out of the USA.
“I was excited to meet Fabulous because I am his biggest fan. He signed all of the albums I had for him and he thanked me for being supportive of his music.”
Being the Rap sensation of the Federation, SMI has released a new album called ‘Forever King’, which is packed with 22 self-written songs. “I wanted to compose an album to give back something to my fans for always supporting and working with me,” he said.
The local rapper stated that he had recorded three albums and one mix tape.
Explaining what his stage name means, Smith said S.M.I is the first three letters of his surname which he took and created the acronym – “St. Kitts Most Incredible”.
SMI told SKNVibes Entertainment that his ultimate goal is to be launched as an international super star. “St. Kitts has a lot of amazingly talented people and we all as artiste want to be internationally recognised. When I make it to the international scene I will showcase what St. Kitts can do as a whole.”
Smith will be dishing out some of the songs from his new album as well as hits such as ‘Only God can judge Me’, ‘I stay Fresh’ and ‘Victory’ during his 25-minute performance.
He will be joining Grammy Award winners Tyrese Gibson and Kelly Rowland, The Voice winner Jamaican Tessane Chin, The Paul Peress Project out of the USA, Bill Chaplin, Freddie McGregor, Bobby Kimbal and Deniece Williams on Saturday night for this year’s Music Festival.
