King Shark swims solo on Crucial Time
SINCE starting Montego Records in the 1990s, Alphanso ‘King Shark’ Henclewood has produced numerous artistes.
Recently, he took a little time for himself to release his debut album Crucial Time. The set is a blend of message music, lovers rock and dancehall, sounds King Shark grew up listening to in Greenwich Town, a seafaring community in Kingston, Jamaica.
“For so many years I have been producing a lot of artistes. It feels good to finally get something out for myself,” he said.
The songs on Crucial Time feature a who’s who of Jamaican musicians including keyboardist Robbie Lyn,
guitarist Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, bassist Chris Meredith, drummer Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis and multi-instrumentalist Fazil Prendergast.
It includes the songs Tears, Tonight is The Night and ‘Round and Round.
King Shark’s passion for music came from his years in Greenwich Town where he rubbed shoulders with the community’s top musicians including Smith, singer Earl Zero and chanter Prince Alla.
In his youth, he attended dances in the neighbourhood and saw up close top-notch artistes such as Cornell Campbell, Johnny Clarke and Phillip Fraser. Montego Records has produced albums and songs by Prince Alla, Rod Taylor, Michael Prophet and ‘Chinna’ Smith.
It is not all music for the Santa Fe, New Mexico-based King Shark. In 2010, he produced Rasta Life, a documentary about Greenwich Town and its music history.
