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Madd Anju
We were not sure what sort of person we were about to meet, but we knew he
must have a hint of madness to him judging from his stage name of Madd
Anju. When we were introduced to the man himself, he looked sane enough
and after speaking to him at length, we found there was a lot more to him
than his choice of stage name. This was a man who had a lot of talent and a
very jovial demeanour.
Madd Anju was born in Kingston 24 years ago and raised in various parishes
of Jamaica in "country an town". He states a number of areas, "Ochi,
Portland, Falmouth, St. Mary... St. Andrew". We certainly agreed when he
told us he was "a true Jamaican". He got his stage name from friends who
attributed it to his personality. He says, "My changing moods... one minute
I'm up there, the next minute I'm quiet". He was first called Madd Bwoy and
then Anju decided to coin the moniker Madd Anju as his DJ name.
The big names of Shabba Ranks and Super Cat are who Madd Anju
cites as his inspiration to get into the business. He felt that prior to
Shabba most stories in Danehall songs "nuh stay together". He says, "When
Shabba start DJ, him DJ bout a girl an de whole ting, de whole concept.
Everyting jus stay together, everything relate back. De first verse lead to
de second, to de third, to de chorus an dat got me interested in music". As
far as Super Cat, Anju liked his sound as it was "smooth an melodious an
relaxed".
Anju was originally part of the Mainstreet Crew. He wrote songs for
the Mainstreet artists such as Red Rat, Goofy, Buccaneer and
General Degree. He says, "I got a little frustrated" and this led to
him forming his own group with Red Rat, Italee and Red Rat's brother.
They called themselves the Down So Crew and were together for a
couple of years until Red Rat buss with the tune 'Shelly Ann'. Anju
recalls, "Him split from de group an it was like he was a pivotal part a de
group in terms dat mos of de songs dat we done/recorded were combination wid
me and him an Italee".
Although the group split up, Anju's break was just around the corner. He
did a song for Goofy that he had previously recorded for a friend on a Hip
Hop rhythm. The friend never released the track and also did not pursue his
career in the music business. Anju had the song on a cassette and Goofy
heard it one day and asked Anju to record it on a new rhythm. That song was
'Wha Dis Farda' and catapulted Anju into the public eye with its witty, yet
comical take on life.
That song as well as all the others we have heard done by Madd Anju were all
written by him. He writes all his own lyrics, but says, "I intend to do
songs that are written by other people... because flava is good. You might
be good at what you do, but sometimes a different feel from somebody else
might add some spice to what you do". This open-minded approach can also
account for the tracks he has done so far coming from a comical standpoint.
Anju felt, "Too much of de Dancehall music now is serious. Music is to
entertain and alleviate stress, to have fun, to make you feel happy like
when you go out. Dem seh laughter is like food to de soul. So is like I
tink laughin is de best way to go". As such, Anju injected some humour into
his tracks to help "lift" people's spirits and make them feel good.
The comical thing has worked well for Anju and he has had smash hits with
'Wha Dis Farda', 'Mus Breed Sumpen' and 'Hey Fat Gal' to name a few. He is
currently working on his album and hopes it will be out sometime soon.
Anju is not just an artist and writer, he has also dabbled in production.
When he was with Down So Crew, they produced around 9 to 10 of their own
tracks and he says, "When Goofy produce, Red Rat produce" and as such
Red Rat produced Anju's song 'Wha Dis Farda' and he did the track 'Chess'
for Red Rat's label Brat Pack. He says, "We all sit in an put in our
input".
Although he is not signed to a record label as yet, Anju hopes to be signed
to "a record label dat have de interest of Dancehall music at heart". A lot
of Dancehall artists get signed to international labels, but a lot of the
time Anju says, "Dem want de form of how we deliver our lyrics... but they
don't want to take de music along wid it". He believes Dancehall is a very
marketable music form as a lot of people worldwide love it, but "it just
needs to be promoted properly".
Anju takes his role as an artist seriously as he believes he is a role model
for young people that listen to his music, hence he says, "I'm very careful
in tings I say". He also has plans to do motivational talks to children at
schools alongside other artists such as Ce' Cile.
Being Jamaican and having been in the music industry for a while, Anju
believes the Jamaican governments decision to clamp down on slack lyrics and
copyright is because "de government don't wan support de music". He sees
Dancehall music as a means for artists and people to express themselves and
let people in other areas know what's happening in their own. He says, "A
DJ will come from Rema, so dem know wha gwan in Rema. Somebody in Trelawny,
dem nuh know wha gwan in Rema. Dem nah go tell it out over de news, yuh nah
go hear de truth". As such the truth comes through in the music and "de
artist can stir up de people dem conscience".
The issue of slackness is slightly different though and Anju believes,
"There is much more to address apart from slackness and violence". He says,
"De radio DJs should decide if dem wan play it an de sound system should
decide if they wan to play dis slack song an den de people should call in an
seh we don't wan hear dat". He does concede though, "If it's workin, dat
means there's a market for it. It's a free country".
Another issue Anju feels strongly about is the lack of untiy in the music
business in Jamaica. He says, "Reggae music dead when Bob Marley
dead. People should be lookin back an seh Bob Marley start somethin an look
where it reach now, but instead dem lookin back an seh look what Bob Marley
did do". He feels, "We need to come together if we want the music to
excel".
So far Anju has worked with Jah Miles from New York, Donovan
Germain, Bankeylous, Colin from Fat Eyes Production and King
Jammys to name a few. He also hopes to have tracks with Shabba Ranks,
Beres Hammond, Beenie Man and Capleton on his forthcoming
album. He says, "Those are in the pipeline". In the meantime he has
performed at loads of stage shows including Sunsplash, Spectrum, Sting,
Champions in Action and Fully Loaded. Anju has toured the Tri-State area
and the Caribbean and is looking forward to touring Europe sometime soon.
Anju feels good about his accomplishments in the business to date as he
says, "When you do a song, you don't know what is going to happen. When you
do somethin an people tek to it, it's a great feeling". He doesn't know
what he would have done if he hadn't gone into the business as he doesn't
like the idea of being in an office every day, but says, "Me nuh like
predicatable work".
His advice to up & coming DJs is three-tiered, "First of all, get a good
level of education. Secondly... you haffe love de music. Thirdly... you
haffe have talent". He also says, "You haffe have perseverence. It took
Beenie Man 15 years to buss".
For the future, Anju says, "The sky's the limit. I see myself as an
entertainer. I see myself on television, in movies, on de big screen,
helpin out youts in de street, people - anything". He also has plans for an
album that will be forthcoming this year and promises his fans he won't
"load up my album wid tracks dey already know". As yet it's untitled, but
rest assured the title will have "something to do with madness".
So, keep an eye out for Madd Bwoy Anju as we're sure he has a lot more in
store for the 2K1.
To book Madd Anju contact Ray Alexander on 876-998-5083.
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