ARGUABLY one of the greatest talents from the late 1990s into the early parts of the new millennium, the Sherlock Cresent-grown Baby Cham rose to prominence after teaming up with one of the greatest producers and songwriters in the dancehall/Reggae industry, Dave Kelly.

TEENage flexxed with Cham to discuss much of the past, present and future.

Born Damion Beckett, Cham has been in the industry for 15 years and says this longevity would not have been possible without the tutelage of his mentor Dave Kelly.

While attending Calabar High School and later Camperdown, Beckett worked with his uncle’s sound Studio Mix, which gave him the opportunity to be at the studio and witness artistes like Supercat and John Wayne first-hand.

It was the love of the music and the inspiration of one man that gave him the final push to record.

“There was a deejay by the name of Buju Banton who was running the place. I did my research and found out that Dave Kelly was the man behind the music.” After their introduction, Kelly advised Cham to finish school and then return.

One year later, Cham did just that. Soon, Cham released his first track The Mass, which was instantaneously a hit in the streets.

Girls Anthem, his second track, soon followed and gave Cham the push and confidence he needed to be a mainstay. “Is like mi get goosebumps when I first heard the song on the radio,” Cham said. “You feel the weight of the world off your shoulders.”

In 2000, Cham released his debut album Wow: The Story, which was described by Miami New Times as “the most anticipated album in years from any reggae artiste”. Six years later he released Ghetto Story which had him on the road touring for two years and away from the dancehall scene.

Cham has released an onslaught of hits like Vitamin S, Galang Gal, Ghetto Pledge, Monopoly, Another Level with his long-time friend Bounty Killer and many more. Cham has over the years been able to reinvent himself as a bona fide dancehall artiste and months after the success of Ghetto Story in 2007, Cham was back on tour promoting the hit single This Is Why I’m Hot with hip-hop artiste Mims and Junior Reid.

Now finally off the road, Cham is currently working on his new album. “The single Stronger featuring Rodney Pryce and Michael Rose has been released and is doing very well so far,” Cham said. He further states that with all the talent in production that exists in Jamaica he can only hope to work with half of them. Dancehall fans can definitely expect much more music from Cham as he continues to make great strides in dancehall.

— Chieftin Campbell