KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – HE blew everyone away with his electrifying performance at the 2008 St. Vincent Soca Monarch competition with ‘Head Bad’, and this year Skinny Fabulous says it’s all about responsible recklessness as he hopes to maintain his Soca Monarch title at this year’s carnival.
Skinny Fabulous, whose real name is Gamal Doyles, is an energetic booming baritone, songwriter and recording artiste whose sound is unique and performance is powerful.
Doyles spoke exclusively with SKNVibes Pep and said that he has been performing professionally for the past eight years.
He made his mark when he introduced ‘Nobody Bad Like We’ in 2002 and ‘Bad man’ in 2003, delivering compelling lyrics and danceable tracks with a style that represents true Caribbean music.
Doyles has come a long way and said that in the past he would go on stage only giving 60 percent of himself.
“It’s more of a freer Skinny Fabulous, not the Skinny Fabulous that’s skeptical and gives 60 percent when he gets onstage because he’s not sure,” he said. “It’s a more confident Skinny Fabulous; liberal and responsible reckless Skinny Fabulous. I’m grown after doing so much travelling and seeing different stuff, and analysing people and their behaviour.”
It will definitely be a blazing performance from the artiste this year as he prepares to defend his crown with either ‘Beast Let Go’ or ‘Misbehaving’.
“I’ll be pushing two songs and I like the idea of giving the public two songs, and then having the privilege to choose which one to perform for the soca monarch,” he said.
“They both go down the same road. It’s just responsible recklessness, that’s what it’s going to be about this year. It’s basically losing yourself in the music, forgetting about stress at work, at home, free yourself, but in a responsible way, not in any illegal way.”
With other soca artistes gunning for his crown, including the recent winner of the New Song competition 2009, Gareth ‘Icon’ John, Doyles said that he welcomes the competition.
“I acknowledge the competition, and as weird as it sounds I encourage the competition,” he said. “What we did last year…we raised the bar in terms of what takes places on the night of soca monarch, and with the apparent competition this year, it could only help.”
Doyles said that he wants to see the standard of vincy music high.
“At the end of the day I’m not trying to be too selfish with title winnings, I’m trying to be the person who was a part of the development of vincy music, and if it is that the competition becomes very hard, then the end result is a much higher standard. To come and beat me this year, you have to come good,” he said.
Doyles is presently having a blast for carnival and will be headlining tomorrow for an event called “Soca Swing” and he will also be participating in the Wet Fete next Saturday, June, 6.
Doyles has collaborated with a number of top acts in the Soca genre including Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons, Fireman Hooper, Kimberly Inniss and Peter Ram.
He is presently an on-air personality with St. Vincent’s National Broadcasting Company and has a diploma in media and communication for radio at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Jamaica. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in multi-media.
St. Vincent News