New artiste Eppi Rebel out of Montego Bay has taken the brave step of counteracting Vybz Kartel’s hit single Clarks. The artiste whose career has recently been lifted off the ground, says the move is not a ‘diss’ to Kartel but a humorous jab at the deejay. The song is called Kickers and features singer Dannella.

According to Rebel, “The song is a hit song and the tune is going out for the youths from Mobay. A Polo Ralph Lauren we wear and Kartel dis wi brand so wi affi tek it to him. It’s nothing personal to Kartel it’s just music and we a tell them seh the younger generation seh Kickers. Over the years we grow up in Clarks but the younger generation has moved on.”

The song seeks to promote the ‘Kickers’ brand of shoes over the traditional ‘Clarks’. Eppi states that while Clarks has been the traditional favourite of many the more expensive ‘Kickers’ are the choice of young Montegonians.

The track is hard-hitting with lines such as Twenty five thousand dollar fi one, if u no know /Papcaan a no Montegonian. Dannella also has wicked lyrics in the song and quips: Toothbrush a fi brush teeth, member seh Clarks no have gingivitis…Gaza Slim fi go learn proper hygiene, toothbrush no brush fi shoes cause that’s unclean. This in response to the line in Kartel’s song which says, Toothbrush get off the dust fast.

With lyrics like these aimed that the high-riding Gaza clan, it’s no surprise that this song has been wrecking the airwaves on radio stations all over Jamaica.

Originally from Tucker, Eppi now calls Salt Spring in Montego Bay his base. The deejay, has been writing songs since 2003 and has his own label called Rebel Productions. Eppi believes that artistes like him from Montego Bay have good lyrics and songs and should get a chance to show what they are made of.

“A couple years now wi a try a ting inna Bay and a nuff yute still deh yah fi buss so wi glad seh di people dem love the song.”

He continued, “When we were young we could not afford shoes now that we can we buy, we go for only the best and its only natural that we sing about it.”

Eppi says he feels that he had to represent Mobay because some of the youths in his area were a bit upset that Kartel would ‘diss’ Polo, a brand that they hold dear.

“We hear Kartel song an the youth dem did tense fi a while so wi just address the situation. A Polo wi wear and we do agree that real bad man no model inna shorts, but when we wear wi Polo a no model wi a model a wear wi a wear it,” Eppi Rebel explains.

Like most artistes, he says he is also looking to take his music to an international level. “Wi no only can deejay about shoes, we have other things that we can deejay about. We have several songs out there but because of the Clarks ting this is the song that jumped out at the people and we are glad for the recognition,” he said.

Rebel plans to release his new girls tune, How u look good so later this month and says the song will show his versatility.