Growing up on the small island of Roatan (off the coast of Honduras), singer Roatanean Kid had a strong sense of his Jamaican heritage. That helped him develop an early appreciation for reggae and dancehall. Those influences can be heard on Bae, a collaboration with Nigerian Afrobeats star Ric Hassani.
The song is produced by Navy The Best for Mundial Music Entertainment.
“I was raised on reggae and dancehall ‘cause our families are from Jamaica. Dancehall is a big influence on us ‘cause most of our parents and grandparents come from Jamaica and other islands, so the culture was followed up,” RoataneanKid said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.
He said he and Ric Hassani have been friends for two years but never worked together. When the self-proclaimed gentleman of African music was scheduled to perform in Roatan, the time was right for them to break the ice.
Bae, RoataneanKid, believes, has the grooves to break him in the increasingly lucrative Afrobeats market. He credits aggressive marketing for the song doing well in his homeland and the expansive Latin region.
“I am still surprised of the way the song is moving in my country, ‘cause it’s a different genre for me and to see my people show so much love, it means a lot. We have done promotion with radio and TV stations at home and several other islands, but most we have done strong promo on social media,” RoataneanKid explained.
Roatan has just over 45,000 citizens, some of whom are descendants of Jamaicans who first went there in the 1930’s to work on banana plantations. Being the grandchild of those pioneers, RoataneanKid incorporated elements of their culture in his songs when he started recording 10 years ago with the group, Young Hustlerz.
While the Latin beats of his country are his main influence, RoataneanKid counts Vybz Kartel, Gyptian and Jahmiel among his favorite artistes. He has recorded songs with, and for, Busy Signal and producer Christopher Birch.
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