Also await their moment
PROFESSOR Nuts may be one of the most under-rated acts in modern dancehall. A comic lyricist in the vein of Papa San and Stitchie, he never reached the heights of those deejays.
Nuts has shown flashes of brilliance in his 30-year career. This is most evident on such rib-ticklers like his breakthrough song Inna de Bus, and Woman Dey Ya. Unlike Papa San and Stitchie, who scored with a succession of hit songs and signed to overseas labels, Nuts’ chart success has been sporadic.
He has always been a popular live draw, however. One of Nuts’ finest moments was his appearance at the Border Clash event in Spanish Town during the late 1980s. Still recording, Professor Nuts is currently a judge on the Magnum Kings And Queens talent show.
Of the reggae balladeers who came to the fore during the 1990s, Benjy Myaz is easily among the most gifted. He cut his teeth as a bass player on the north coast hotel circuit and was a member of Jimmy Cliff’s Oneness band.
In the mid-1990s, he launched his solo career with a cover of American jazz singer Randy Crawford’s Love You Higher. His debut album of the same name featured strong cuts like Show Your Love and Conversation which was recorded for Third World’s 1994 album, Live It Up.
Though Myaz recorded two other well received albums, he has not achieved the acclaim of many of his contemporaries. He is a highly-regarded musician who works with top producers like Bobby Digital, contributing bass to Morgan Heritage’s Don’t Haffi Dread and Sizzla’s Da Real Thing albums.
Nadine Sutherland was only 12 years old when she signed to reggae superstar Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong label. While still at St Andrew High School, she won the Tastee Talent Contest and recorded two solid songs in Starvation On The Land and A Young One Like Me.
Sutherland’s career has been a mixed bag, recording only three albums and a spattering of hit songs. She showed glimpses of her early promise in the 1990s with three sizeable hits: Babyface, Action and Anything For You.
Action, done with deejay Terror Fabulous, became a dancehall anthem. It was a strong hit in the United States and remains Sutherland’s biggest seller.
