BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – EVER since he was a child, Charles Emanuel has been melting hearts with his melodious vocals and it is no surprise now that he has taken his career to the next level with his first mixtape named ‘Invincible’.
The mixtape will feature six songs and ‘Invincible’ will also be the name of the first song he will be releasing to the public, which he describes as “Upbeat, radio friendly and surprising”.
Emanuel, whose real name is Charles Miller Jr., said the mixtape title denotes not letting anyone stand in your way, especially in the way of your dreams and aspirations.
Something that is all too familiar for him.
Emanuel revealed that on many occasions people told him that he would always be overlooked and ignored because of the type of music he does.
“This project is to prove certain folks wrong as well as challenge myself musically. I have some people who support me wholeheartedly and I appreciate them, but sometimes it feels that I’m being overlooked. I would guess it's because the type of music I usually create, as it’s not really listened to from locals.”
The music he released in the past were usually acoustic type alternative music, but he decided that with this mixtape he was going to show something different.
Something he refers to as ‘Island Soul’.
“What I mean by a different side of me is that in terms of the music, it's not as acoustic as some of my other originals are. Most people know me for mostly acoustic performances, but this will have a more local sound with a pinch of R&B with the vocals,” he said.
All music featured on the mixtape were written and recorded over a three-month period and he also enlisted the writing skills of some of his friends - Tabitha Jenkins, Dason Fraser and Ray Curenton.
He is looking at a release in early 2013.
So after eight years of performing at various venues in St. Kitts and with bands including Royalties and Untitled, Emanuel said he is excited about this new chapter in his career.
“I'm so glad it's finally happening. I think why it took me so long is because I was simply afraid. Afraid of how people would interpret my music and my stories. And now that I've learned that being an artiste is to have no fear when it comes to my craft, it makes it easier to release music, especially when you have a nice support system encouraging you along the way,” he said.
Whenever Emanuel is performing, and especially when he is doing covers, he can go from a Beres Hammond to a John Legend and also Maxwell.
He can take any song and own it.
His musical influence is extensive and no wonder his high level of talent can be attributed to artistes such as B.Slade, Pink, Allen Stone, Fantasia, Brandy, India Arie, Prince and also some of our very own homegrown, the legendary Mick Stokes, Jazzique Chiverton, Rolhensha and the late Masud Sadiki, all of whom had an impact on him.
