By Davina Henry—–
He dominated the dancehall scene in the 1990s, and althoughJamaica has not heard much from General Degree in recent times, the artist insists he has always remained on the scene.
Known for hits such as Traffic Blocking, Boom Boom and Granny, General Degree is now gearing up for his ‘Snapple Dapple European Tour’. When questioned if this was his resurgence on to the musical scene, General Degree told The Gleaner he had always been touring.
“I’m always in Europe, it’s nothing new. I’m there every year. I’m going there now on a promotional tour of my Snapple Dapple Volume 1album to get people familiar with the album so they can support the album,” he said.
Not to be left out, the artist says he is also in the process of shooting and releasing videos for his Jamaican fans. However, there are no shows in the works for Jamaica at the moment.
“That’s not for now. I’m just getting back in the system before I take on any shows here. I’m really a low-key person,” Degree explained.
Having branched out as a producer, ‘Snapple Dapple’ has been his producing moniker for the last 12 years. This album, he believes, will showcase his maturity.
“Snapple Dapple is my producer name. I’ve had that name from about 12 years ago, so I decided to name the album off my nickname. These new songs are more on the conscious and social commentary side, it’s more mature,” General Degree told The Gleaner.
He also believes that the industry has changed since he made his debut in the 1990s.
passion missing
“I don’t see the passion, the love. It’s more like a competition, people trying to tear down each other,” he said.
When questioned as to what he would bring to the industry this time around, General Degree said, “I’m not trying to bring back anything. I’m going to maintain what I have. I dominated the industry in the 1990s and I helped and contributed in my own way to the development of dancehall in the 1990s.”
According to Degree he “wouldn’t want people to feel like [he’s] trying to change the thing”.
“I’m just doing me and I doing my best,” he said.
Degree’s Snapple Dapple European Tour is slated to run from November 22 to December 16 and will make stops in Mannheim, Stuttgart, Geneva and Zurich.
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