Trapykal comes clean
UPCOMING artiste Trapykal is determined to carve out a niche for himself in the competitive arena of dancehall. Using everyday life experiences and putting a positive spin on them is how he has survived life’s challenges … and it is the same way he says he will be achieving his goal.
Born Omroy Mattis, Trapykal enjoyed his childhood in Mount Industry, St Catherine. A past student of Glengoffe High School, Trapykal never missed an opportunity to showcase his talent at community events and school concerts.
After graduation, he decided it was time to take the profession more seriously and with that he began by selecting on several sound systems, namely High Grade, Young Girls Promotion and Black King.
After hearing how good he sounded on the mic, friends and colleagues encouraged him to consider singing, instead of deejaying.
Acting on their advice, Trapykal started dropping in on small stage shows and performing.
Things started looking up for him when more experienced artistes took him under their wings. DYCR and Ninja Kid gave him his first taste of the studio and saw him recording tracks such as Bad Mind is a Terrible Ting, Jamaica and How Long.
Still, the big break seemed elusive for the upcoming artiste. Unfazed by this, he still pressed on.
Things looked up for him when someone introduced him to Bounty Killer, who in turn recommended him to a producer called Chester.
Trapykal recorded Until Then on Chester’s Troop Riddim and Great Blacks on Pology Productions’ IRiddim that hit radio stations in 2009. They received heavy rotation after being released.
His latest singles Powerful and Bad Mind is Active — both produced on Chester’s Clock Riddim — are presently enjoying good rotation on air.
He has also just released his video for both tracks and according to him, they should be hitting TV stations soon.
While pursuing his big break, the young artiste is encouraging other upcoming ones to “embrace the reality that stories told by us artistes can be lyrical in content, but must be meaningful at the same time”.
He affirms that he won’t be taking any shortcuts to success and “my music will always reflect who I am and what I represent.”
