It’s been 35 years since Anthony Red Rose scored a double with songs that marked the dawn of dancehall music’s digital age. Under mi Fat Thing and Tempo not only launched his career, but taught him important lessons about the music business that continue to serve him well.

Unlike some of his contemporaries who shun the genre’s evolution, Red Rose takes a page from his mentors, Lloyd “King Jammy’s” James and Osbourne “King Tubby’s” Ruddock, seasoned engineer/producers, who embraced a new sound in the 1980s.

“I adapt and also I learn from the younger artistes and mix it with my flavour,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

One of Red Rose’s latest songs is Sorry Eyes recorded on singer/producer Hopeton Lindo’s Feel It rhythm, released in May. As an artiste and producer, the lanky singer said selecting the right rhythm is a dancehall art.

“Honestly speaking, (as a singer) yuh have to select the right rhythm that matches your key that you are comfortable singing with. With production, it depends on the rhythm and which artiste matches the rhythm,” he theorised.

Red Rose and Lindo met as ‘interns’ at King Tubby’s Waterhouse studio in the early 1980s. They learned the ropes at the feet of a master engineer whose belated foray into production yielded Tempo, a massive hit for his St Mary-born protege.

Tempo followed Under mi Fat Thing which was done on the ground-breaking Sleng Teng rhythm, produced by James in 1985.

“King Tubby’s is the highlight of me being in the music. He thought me almost everything; I learn a lot from him. May his soul rest in peace,” said Red Rose.

A former Manning Cup goalkeeper with Kingston Technical High School, Red Rose has had a successful dual career. Other hit songs as a singer include Intimate (with Bounty Killer), while he has produced big hits by Terry Linen such as Couldn’t be The Girl For Me and Storm is Over.

The title song by Lindo, Love Don’t Fail Me from Fiona and Love Won’t Let Us Wait by Peter G and Novel-T, are some of the other songs on the Feel It.