BORN Clifford Smith, Mr Vegas has been a constant force in the music industry for almost two decades. Yet he still finds the ingenuity to remain relevant in today’s dancehall.

The year 2012 was a resurgent one for Mr Vegas, as he recorded the chart-topping and party-stopping track Bruk It Dung that lasted the entire year and into 2013.

Vegas told teenAGE all about his success now and in the past, when he sat with us for an exclusive interview with Press Record.

Coming to the Jamaica Observer offices to visit the FYAH 105 FM and record a new jingle, Vegas told us all about his style.

“My style is a cross between like a vocalist like Sanchez and a deejay. When I was growing up, my idols were Sanchez and Pinchers, who had that style.”

He said the emergence of patois in the music and appearing on the same ‘riddims’ as deejays was what heralded the rise of singers in the dancehall. He recalled that singers used to go first, then deejays would dominate the scene.

“My success started in 1997 (Heads High), so I have been in the industry about 17 years,” he told teenAGE.

In reflecting on what he enjoys about the industry, Vegas said it is travelling the world.

“Seeing and meeting the different cultures — in Japan, France, Belgium, Germany — people speak a different language. But with music, you get to see people coming out and enjoying themselves, singing along and relating to your songs as well. Touring the world and representing Jamaica,” Vegas told Press Record.

He told us that he sees himself as an entertainer first, but his status a brand ambassador would have to be endorsed by the Jamaican people.

— MED

Find out more in our new, exclusive in-studio interview Press Record with Mr Vegas on the Jamaica Observer

website or on YouTube.com/TEENageObserver.