This is the ninth in a 10-part series on ‘Generation Next’ of Jamaican music producers.

WHILE helping to “string up a riddim” for Grammy winners Junior Gong and Sean Paul two years, budding engineer Jermaine Gordon recalls the former complimenting him on his studio skills.

“Him sey ‘youth, yuh wicked yuh nuh’. Mi fren’ dem used to sey di same ting but mi use to think is a yes man ting. When him tell mi it mek mi confidence grow,” said Gordon, known to peers as Social.

The 28-year-old is still an engineer, but has moved into production with Raw Yard Records, a fledgling company in the Cockburn Pen area of Kingston.

While he worked on songs like She Like Me and Suitcase at Guh Hawd Productions in Manchester, Fantan Mojah’s No Long Talking marks his official debut as a producer.

The song is on the Stageway beat, scheduled for release in November. Gordon also produced songs by Lutan Fyah, Devano and Ras Bogle on the Motion beat, another Raw Yard ‘riddim’.

He believes too many contemporary Jamaican music producers have moved away from making Jamaican music.

“Yuh can hardly find dat Jamaican vibe, is pure hip hop an’ crossover. What I try an’ do is put a likkle dub an old school vibe like Sleng Teng to the thing…mi like dat flavour,” he said.

Gordon is from Nine Miles in St Ann, a rustic rural district where Bob Marley was born. He grew up there with singjay Black Am I, a Junior Gong protege.

After completing an engineering course in Montego Bay last year, he did a stint with Guh Hawd. He recently moved to Raw Yard and hit the ground running with songs by the established Fantan Mojah and Lutan Fyah, as well as emerging acts Devano and Kalanga.

I’m A Champion by Devano, Gordon’s next production, is also expected to be released in November.

— Howard Campbell