KINGSTON, Jamaica – IN 1997 he told you about ‘Shelley-Ann’ and ‘Dwayne’ (Me woulda shame) and spoke of his dilemma of being in love with ‘His Best friend’s Girl’.
Now the ‘Oh No’ artiste, popularly known as Red Rat, is steadily trying to regain his dancehall status and now goes by the moniker Double R.
However, is there room for the artiste who brought positive and humorous spins to the dancehall industry in the 90s that is now ruled by hardcore artistes including Vybz Kartel, Mavado and Busy Signal?
The artiste, whose real name is Wallace Wilson, told Yardflex.com recently that he had an interest in music since the age of four and he was inspired by his father who was a prominent person in the industry.
According to the online site, his father played guitar for Byron Lee and the Dragonaires and produced his first album, ‘Soft Lee’.
His father was also a writer, producer and musical director for Cynthia Schloss and Boris Gardner.
The artiste has over 15 years in the business travelling around the globe performing to thousands of fans who could not get enough of his humour and high-pitch voice.
His first album ‘Oh No…It’s Red Rat’, was released in 1997 and was hailed as one of Greensleeves Records best sellers to date.
That album featured ‘Tight Up Skirt’, ‘Cruise’ and ‘Big Man, Little Yute’ with fellow main street artiste Goofy.
His second album, ‘I’m a Big Kid Now’, was released in 1999 and featured more hits and special appearances by Treach of Naughty by Nature and Salaam Remi.
However, in the midst of Wilson’s success, his mentor Danny Browne suddenly decided to walk away from the music business for personal reasons.
It was reported that Wilson was surprised by the unexpected departure of Browne and he too decided to take a hiatus from recording to spend more time with his daughter Taiye.
Although he was out of the spotlight as a solo act, Wilson continued working behind the scenes producing tracks for artistes such as Beenie Man, Bounty Killa, Spragga Benz and T.O.K. under his label, Brat Productions.
In 2002, he was inspired by fans to return to the business and, along with Delroy Escoffery of D’Empire Management, he formed Rat-A-Kastle Records and has since recorded new tracks in Holland, Germany, the UK, Jamaica and the US.
He is now more interested in helping the younger generation who wants to make their mark in the business and plans to feature them on his label.
Some Jamaicans are not too keen on the change in name or the comeback the artiste has been trying to make. They are of the view that he would not regain the status he once had in the industry, noting a new breed of dancehall artistes are taking over.
