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SOUTH FLORIDA – In an interview on 99 Jamz radio station last June, soca giant Kevin Lyttle spoke briefly about Island Ting. This is his upcoming collaboration with Charly Black, the Jamaican dancehall star.
Lyttle, who is from St. Vincent and The Grenadines, described the hybrid track as, “Bad, bad, wicked and mad.” He added that, “This collaboration is mad!”
The South Florida-based Lyttle knows a thing or two about collaborations, especially with Jamaicans. The remix to Turn me On, his 2004 song, featured top deejay Spragga Benz. It was a massive seller that earned him global fame.
Lyttle produced Island Ting which has the soca-dancehall feel that has made Turn me On such an enduring favorite with fans around the world. Moreover, it was his idea to recruit Charly Black, who is best known for the 2014 dance single, Gyal You A Party Animal.
Like most Eastern Caribbean countries, soca is the sound of choice in St. Vincent And The Grenadines. However, Lyttle always had a love for dancehall music from Jamaica and listened to everyone from Beenie Man and Shabba Ranks to Carl Meeks.
Turn Me On first came out as a soca ballad in 2001. It became a regional hit. Three years later, Spragga Benz joined the track. It entered the Top 20 in the United States and the United Kingdom. It also reached the Top 20 in several European countries.
That global success was surprising, Lyttle admitted during the 99 Jamz interview.
“Everybody was like, ‘it’s a hit, it’s a hit!’,” he recalled. “I always tell people, I thought it would be a hit in the Caribbean, but not a worldwide hit.”
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