The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment Desk continues with the seventh in its series during Child Month highlighting some of Jamaica’s young performers who shot to stardom.

LITTLE Kirk spent his formative years in the tough inner-city community of Drewsland, St Andrew. Considered a no-go area for many due to outbreaks of violence, it was also home to the popular Jack Scorpio sound system.

“Mi ah go dance from mi ah 10… Mi used to live ah 48 Headley Avenue and Jack Scorpio used to deh ah 30 so mi coulda jus’ walk guh up di road because mi grandmother, Miss Gwenny, used to sell banana and cigarette up deh. So mi would jus’ go up deh and linger fi di mic, but when mi nah get di mic mi just pick up some bottle and sell, so mi can get some food,” Little Kirk told the Jamaica Observer.

The singer remembers the evening when his fortune changed.

“One Thursday mi go deh. Echo Minott an’ General Trees was there an’ Echo Minott gave mi di mic an’ mi just buss up di HQ. From that, di deejays encouraged mi to pass through… Whole heap ah artiste used to pass through. Ah deh so mi meet Beenie Man to, ‘cause him live cross di bridge and him just walk come over,” he recalls.

Encouraged by the reception of the elders, Little Kirk wanted to showcase his talents outside of his hometown. On one occasion, Jack Scorpio had an out-of-town gig but did not want him to travel with them.

Mi hide inna di truck behind di sound boxes and went wid dem. When mi reach a country I don’t remember if ah St Elizabeth, but ah one of dem country deh. So inna di night mi come out and’ go inna di dance and Jack si mi and did ah frown. Mi nuh remember who gimme di mic, but mi buss di place again,” he said.

Little Kirk and Beenie Man started visiting other sound systems to showcase their talents, including General Disco, Stacks Disco, Stereo One, Destiny and King Jammy’s.

Two years into his teens he recorded his first single, Killer Sound, for Winston Riley in 1984 on the Techniques label.

“Dah song deh carry mi guh England, Cayman Islands, all ‘bout,” he said. “Mi buss before Beenie Man.”

Another Riley collaboration, on the Stalag rhythm, showcased Little Kirk’s What’s Love Got To Do With It (Tina Turner cover) as well as Tenor Saw’s Ring Di Alarm and Yami Bolo’s When A Man’s In Love.

As he matured, the artiste desired to reach a wider audience.

“When my voice started changing, mi feel mi get better. I was singing some cultural songs like Ghetto People Broke… but Michael Jackson was one of my favourite singers and he did Man In The Mirror, and di words spoke to me,” shared Little Kirk.

“I sang it for Patrick, and dem time deh him a work wid Firehouse Crew. Wi build di riddim at Creative Sound and di next day wi voice it. Wi give ‘Barry G’ an’ him spin it two time and it jus’ start mash up di place. Ah ‘Gilbert’ stop it from go number one,” he recalled.

Patrick refers to Shocking Vibes Records principal Patrick Roberts, while Barry G is Barry Gordon, Jamaica’s number one radio disc jock during the 1980s for the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation.

Hurricane Gilbert, the second most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Atlantic basin, hit Jamaica on September 12, 1988. It killed 49 people and caused $700 million in damages.

The following year, Little Kirk struck pay dirt with his cover of John O’Banion’s I Don’t Want to Lose Your Love (1982), made popular by American country singer Crystal Gayle in 1983.

“I studied dat song like a year before. Crystal Gayle had couple of songs playing on di radio an’ that one did stand out. I was voicing other cover versions but when Little Lenny did She She (Gun Inna Baggy), I was at di studio when the riddim did a build and I tried it [the song] on it [the rhythm] and sey: ‘It can fit.’ So when Lenny tune start go out there an’ a gwaan, mi sey: ‘Mi ah go voice it.’ This was ‘89,” he said.

Little Kirk’s cover of I Don’t Want to Lose Your Love made him a bonafide star. The song was a fixture on the local charts.

He has advice for up-and-coming artistes.

“Study di business part of di music. You have to know your rights an’ what you’re entitled to an’ what other people involved in di process should get,” Little Kirk stated.

With 10 albums to his credit, he has never stopped working.

“Mi keep voicing songs, mi get shows… Di Almighty come first but music ah mi life; music ah mi world,” he added.