BASSSETERRE, St. Kitts – AT the tender age of 22, Small Axe Band’s member Vishorn Kareem Bolus is showing positive signs of becoming one of the Federation’s lead vocalists to emerge from a ‘jam band’.
With a Road March hit under his belt and possible US-tours in the not so distance future, Bolus told SKNVibes all about how he comes up with his hit songs and his influences.
The Old Road native, flashes earrings marked ‘Jazzbo’ which he said is his nickname, has short braided hair and also answers to the name ‘Shabali’, which he said some of his fans call him.
His voice has a deep Reggae-like tone to it when he speaks, so it was no surprise when he revealed that his musical influences come from Beres Hammond and Gregory Isaacs.
“I grew up under music. My father likes a lot of Beres Hammond and Gregory Isaacs. I wasn’t really into the Soca thing but I said I’ll give it a try…I also listened a lot of long time Small Axe songs growing up and I really like the band, so I gave it a try,” he said.
Bolus said that his father and the manager of the band Gregory Warner are friends and, about three years ago when they were looking for another vocalist, his father recommended him to Warner.
During his days at high school, he was a part of a group called ‘Sweet Voices’ and would sing for shows promoted by the learning institution and also during its assembly.
He said that he received more exposure and was allowed to sing on more shows after doing some recordings with his cousin-in-law, Hakeem Samuel, who at the time was the producer of the late Masud Sadiki.
During his first year (2010) in the band, Bolus said he did not have enough time but did a “sample thing” on the party remix.
In the following year he wrote ‘Jockey’, which was one of 2011’s popular tunes from the Small Axe Band.
Many persons enjoyed gyrating and losing themselves to the sweet ‘riddim’ of the song.
At the 2012 Carnival celebrations in December, the band released the full song ‘Drop, Cover, Hold On’ (DCH), which had been a chant for some time.
The feedback was positive and DCH became one of the band’s top contenders for that year’s Road March.
When it was announced that they had won, Bolus said he was not surprised because he felt the song encompassed all the components of a Road March hit-catchy beat and lyrics. He also thought that Kollision Band had a good song as well.
He also wrote ‘Break it Off’ and ‘Show Me the Reason’.
So what inspires him to write these songs?
The crowd of course!
“Most of the time while I am performing I would go home and think back about how some of the girls get on, and put myself in their shoe and write about it,” he said.
So what was the idea behind DCH?
Bolus said that it was first a chant done by former Small Axe Band lead singer Imran. He said after Imran left the band he decided to write a full song for it.
He said that the manager told him they were buying a new system and were going heavy for Carnival.
“So I thought it would have been a good idea, ‘Earthquake a come do the DCH’, and I used that idea and put it in a song and added some trash talk as well.”
Bolus said that he and Imran also came up with the dance for the song.
He considers winning the Road March as his greatest accomplishment with Small Axe so far and is hoping to capture more wins for the band.
Bolus declared that management has applied for a US Visa for him so that he could travel and perform with the band on their US trips, as he usually misses out on them.
And when it comes to performing onstage, Bolus said that he makes sure he entertains, even if it means calling a young lady onto the stage.
In 2011, after taking a short break from the Small Axe Band, he joined the Limitless Band, a band that was formed by Masud Sadiki and regularly performs on Wednesdays at Sprat Net.
“They were already aware of what I can do because of Hakeem. So they called me and I joined them. I already knew a variety of songs, including Reggae, R&B and Soca, and I am comfortable with both bands so far,” he said.
Bolus said that he is presently single and has a son, who he would support if ever he showed an interest in being a performer.
In terms of new songs, Bolus said he has a number of chants that would first need a ‘riddim’ to go with them. And the crowd’s feedback to the chants will determine which of them would become full songs.
