BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ‘NEVER LIKE THAT’ is the new music video that local gospel artiste Pepper Ranks will be releasing on Wednesday, May 5 on Pep TV.
The 31-year-old artiste, who has been interested in music since the age of 9, said that the song and video showcase his life and what he was like before giving his heart to Christ.
“That song speaks of my past life before becoming a Christian,” he said. “The first verse speaks of stuff I did in the past. I wasn’t the type of man to like a lot of women, but because of one female who I was faithful to had done me wrong, I decided I should have five girlfriends so that if they do me wrong I would have others.
“It also speaks of my music career when I won clashes of me taking away my best friend’s girlfriend and about me being in the ghetto and being a bad man around guns. And it even spoke about me doing shows and travelling with big name artistes,” he said,
Pepper Ranks, whose real name is Jervin Rouse, said that various scenes in the video depict times in his life and also highlight 2000 as the year when he gave his heart to God.
“A verse in the song says, ‘97, I remember my best friend when I took away his girlfriend, 98 when I start penetrate, 41, 51, 100 girls on mate, 99 when I grab my Tec-9 and if a boy diss me I will kill him same time. But 2000 Christian, remember when Jesus became my friend, after that…’ and the punch line is ‘Pepper was never like that.’ So it’s like an oxymoron, it is stuff that happen but for people to laugh at. The video is very interesting.
“The video shows my life from the past to the present, and just like my life was transformed so can the life of anyone else,” he said. Pepper Ranks said that he has been at a low recently since he has been dealing with a family crisis, but that his supporters could expect more from him this year.
He already has plans of releasing his fourth gospel album - ‘Never Like That’ - in August and is excited about his second performance on the esteemed St. Kitts Music Festival slated for June.
Following the release of his new album, he plans to do a number of regional tours, performing in Antigua, Bahamas, Trinidad and St. Lucia and will also release more music videos.
“It’s not much of a comeback but a continuation of what I do,” he said. The artiste, who has over 20 years experience in the music industry, said his favorite artistes that he grew up on are Bob Marley, Lucky Dube and Shabba Ranks.
He said that he also admires Kevin Donovan, a.k.a. Masud Sadiki, and recalls seeing him perform at a show before similar opportunity came his way.
“I remember telling a guy that I could be just like this guy or even greater, and the guy laughed at me so hard. But I knew what I felt in me, and I felt I had a message in me; the only way to get it out and make a positive impact is through music. Because I look at when Mausd perform and the big crowd and the impact he had on the people, and I thought that’s it, that’s what I want to be doing,” he said.
Pepper Ranks was fortunate to be signed to several labels in Jamaica, where he got a firsthand glimpse of what the industry is like and what artistes experience.
“I went to Jamaica and was signed to different labels. I did several sound clashes and performances there and had to fake being Jamaican. Because Jamaicans didn’t want someone especially someone from a small island doing what they do better than them or they wouldn’t promote you. And that experience opened a lot of doors for me,” he said.
He said that he learned a lot from the ‘big name’ artistes and how they dealt with their career on and off stage.
“I’ve seen their behind the scenes, I saw the good times and bad, the mistakes, bloopers.
I saw they weren’t perfect, because when you see them onstage you think they are so perfect and everything is good, and when you really see the background of how they get to accomplish what they’re doing you are shocked,” Pepper Ranks said.
Pepper Ranks is hoping that the video, which was produced by Tru Capo Productions and directed by himself and Nigel ‘Capo’ Lewis, would be an inspiration to many.
The entire shooting and production of the video took four months and Pepper Ranks extended special thanks to all those who were involved.
He also thanked KVK Enterprises, TDC Thrifty Car Rental, Brown Sugar Designs, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, Dr. Leroy Richardson, Gem’s Fashion and others who contributed to the music video.
To check out the preview to his new album click on link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ1vjodWnvE
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