With soca in his veins, Derek Pereira is no stranger to the musical mosaic of Trinidad and Tobago. The 30-year-old son of a parang star has flirted with every corner of the Caribbean nation’s music industry. His induction into the soca fraternity was made official in 2001 when he burst onto the scene as an artiste with a song called Millenium Wine.
For six years Mr. Slaughter somehow managed to stay afloat without ever having competed for the soca monarch crown. In interviews he publicly maintained that he was not interested in competitions. In 2007, all that changed.
“I was blessed with a strong, supportive team behind me throughout the year. It was actually them. They were like, “yo Dawg E., you need to go on the main stage. I think that’s what would be able to put you over to the next level,” said the first time finalist. He says his hit song was inspired by the tragic loss of many friends and acquaintances over the years.
“It used to always have me so sad that I decided to write a song about it, and that’s why I wrote Spread the Love.” That song is actually bigger than it seems, because it’s not just about spreading the love in terms of different countries. It’s spreading the love for home, because what starts home ends abroad.”
Slaughter says he thoroughly enjoyed performing to a packed house at Hasley Crawford Stadium in February. “I must say it was a very good experience. I was even telling a friend of mine, if I knew it was going to be like that, I would have done it a minute ago.”
For Mr. Slaughter, gaining broad acceptance as a performer in Trinidad has been anything but easy. “The biggest challenge is not having a band, and not having a superior network in terms of publicists and ray ray, rah rah,” said Slaughter listing soca artists and their respective bands and entertainment companies. “Out of all the years, I believe this year, I finally started to make and impression as an artist. Because what used to happen is, I would do things I thought they wanted from me. An elder in the business (Chris “Tambu” Herbert) told me that you have to be happy with yourself first and then they gonna accept you for who you are and that’s what I started to do, more than ever.”
And Mr. Slaughter is many things; father, artiste, co-producer, writer and dj. Behind the scenes, he wrote A Cry for Peace for two-time Calypso Monarch, Singing Sandra. As a radio personality at 96.1, he popularized his dj crew, X-caliber Disco nationally and internationally. He would eventually take both his sound system and his listeners with him to the newer Red 96.7 FM. The move meant hard times getting airplay on his old station. Never-the-less, his music still made it to the ears of his fans.
“What was really amazing to me was all the songs that I made last year that they did not play were all of the songs that I used to intro this year. Like when I sang Up in Dat, oh my goodness! It was stupid!” said Mr. Slaughter.
With three albums under his belt, no one can deny that Mr. Slaughter means business. He etches songs into the collective consciousness with his rich bassy voice. Songs like Carnival (I Love You), from the debut album “Bound to Represent” and Trample and Done the Party from his sophomore offering “Living Legend” capture the ceaseless energy of carnival and pride of the Trinbagonian people. Mr. Slaughter’s third album “Port of Spain” was launched on Tuesday, March 7 at the Woodford Café in Trinidad.
Challenges at home have never prevented Mr. Slaughter from taking his show on the road. He tours the UK, Canada and the US annually. In 2006, he toured Japan twice visiting five cities performing as both an artiste and a dj.
“X-caliber plays a paramount role in my life, because it was like the stepping stage for me. That was the stepping stage for me to come out and do my thing, so I can never be ungrateful to it,” said Mr. Slaughter. Going forward, Mr. Slaughter is hesitant to say what comes next. None-the-less, he is confident that his patience will continue to pay off.
“Me, I fill the gap of, at some point in time you’re gonna have an itch. When you get that itch, I’m a be right there to scratch it. That’s the difference with me, I will wait. I’m gonna wait for that magical moment and just say ‘RAH!’ (growling)” .
Mr Slaughter performing at his album launch inside Woodford Cafe (Tuesday March 6th)
For more information on Mr. Slaughter and his upcoming tour dates visit www.MrSlaughter.com
http://www.toronto-lime.com/news/news_2007_slaughter_interview.htm
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