LIVING in Jamaica and the United Kingdom helped singer Matthew Radics develop an indiscriminate taste for music. He strives to bring that across in his own productions.
Radics, 33, was born in London but spent most of his formative years in rural Jamaica, where he got to appreciate the classic songs of the 1970’s as well as the dancehall beat that dominated Jamaica during the 1990’s.
There is a mix of dancehall and hip hop on The One-Eyed Man, his recently released EP which is on Sounkillaz Music, a company he operates with his brother, Rivah Jordan.
Its lead single is Break My Heart.
After experimenting for several years with hip hop, Radics said it was good to return to his roots, even though things are not bright for Jamaican music in the UK.
“The music is pretty much stigmatised, it’s difficult to even keep a dance without the police locking it down,” he explained. “People listen to Gappy Ranks, Stylo G and Randy Valentine but reggae is pretty much underground.”
Radics and his brother were known as Soundkillaz, a hip-hop group that did gigs around London. They changed to reggae five years ago by launching their label of the same name, which has to date released projects by Prezident Brown and Michael Rose.
The One-Eyed Man, which has seven songs, was co-produced by the brothers and Houdini, a producer with a name in London hip-hop circles.
Matthew Radics moved to Jamaica shortly after his first birthday. While living in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay during the 1990s his father, singer Jack Radics, enjoyed a purple patch with hit songs like Twist and Shout (with Chaka Demus and Pliers) which made the British national career.
Radics Snr produced his son’s first song, In The Backyard, which was released in 2000.
Though he counts his father among his strongest influences, Matthew Radics wants to make it on his own terms. He would not mind emulating the old man’s success in the UK.
“That would be cool. I think the songs are good and we make music that appeals to everyone,” he said.
— By Howard Campbell
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