Alex jumps Outta Di Boxx
IN October last year, word came that after more than two decades, dancehall quartet T.O.K was calling it quits. Since then, former members Rushaun “Bay C” Clarke, Craig “Craigy-T” Thompson, and Xavier “Flexx” Davidson, have got their solo careers off the ground.
But Alistaire “Alex” McCalla has been slow getting out of the blocks. He has dropped his debut solo single, which is titled
Tek a Whine.
“Basically, I just had to take the time off. I don’t really know about anyone else, but if I’m doing something I have to take the time to do it right, and I just had to do that after the group broke up. I have also had to refocus, to think more like a solo artiste as opposed to being one member of a group. I now have more freedom to express my creativity,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “There is no longer the debate and discussion. I now have to rely on myself for everything; everything falls on my shoulders.”
Tek a Whine is also the first production from his Outta Di Boxx label and production company. The track came out of a session with sound engineer and producer Richie Loop.
“The best of artistes and professionals know that they must be able to take advice as we don’t know everything. I was able to find this in Richie Loop. We just knocked heads, came up with one line and the rest is history,” Alex explained. “He pushed me to express myself vocally in a way that I had never done before. I am even deejaying on this track and I am not a deejay. But that’s what Outta Di Boxx really represents. The music will not be typical.”
He is putting the finishing touches on his first album Next Levelution which is set to drop in 2017, but no definitive date has been set.
Alex is optimistic about his future, noting that during his T.O.K years he had put a few things on hold which he plans to take up.
“The truth is, I never expected the break-up. But you just have to roll with the punches. Now I can do some of the things I have always wanted to do, such as acting. I had put that on the back burner and I now have the opportunity to explore that and see what happens,” he said.
