General Degree: "My EP is 100% feel good music!"

Can you tell us about the EP that you are promoting during this tour? 
General Degree: "'Feeling Irie' is the name of the EP and of the single and video that's released with it and it's doing very well for the moment. I performed it in a couple of shows of the tour until now and people sing it as they know it already. It's a proof that it's a catchy song, I'm glad about it. This is a good look for a song that's just been released a few weeks ago. It is 100% feel good music. I don't come to take over the reggae or the dancehall scene, I don't want to do that, I'm just continuing what I started.  I want to continue doing some good music like it was made in my time and I want to put back the music on the right track, because a part of the tradition of reggae and dancehall is getting lost now in JA." 

Can you tell us about your label, Size 8, on which you released your EP?
General Degree: "I've quit producing a few years ago. After producing riddims like Hot Milk/Quick Sand, Mutton Snappa or Poison Gropper, in the early 2000's, my Size8 label was somehow stopped. I just revived the label to drop this EP." 

You are known as a dancehall artist, why did you choose to turn to reggae music for this new release?
General Degree: "Over the years I've been doing a lot of reggae songs like 'Almighty God', 'It No Matter' and others.  I've been a one drop artist from way back, even before I buss in the business. So I can do hardcore reggae. And last year I came up with a dancehall album which contains the hits 'Nuf Fraid' and 'Bambalam'. So I wanted to do something different from the usual. Then Tom Hype and Max Hustle from Germaica Austria sent me a riddim on which I recorded 'Feeling Irie' and as I really loved the feeling of the song, it motivated me to go more deep again in the reggae. And the next thing is that I know people in Europe rate the roots and the rub-a-dub music, more than the latest dancehall trends, so I wanted to record this EP for the European massive as well." 

Which producers from Europe do you rate? 
General Degree: "Apart from Germaica, I heard a lot of good music being released by Silly Walks or Pow Pow. There are a lot of bad riddims coming out of Europe now!" 

Which producers and musicians have been involved in the making of the EP? 
General Degree: "I had some legends busy on that project. Fatta from Anchor Studio produced a lot of the riddims. And those were played by artists like Firehouse Crew or Danny Bassie. Lenky was also on it, with Sly and Robbie. Steelie (from Steelie & Cleevie) produced the song 'Massive'." 

It looks like reggae's on the rise in JA now, how do you see it?
General Degree: "Reggae is up and down. Dancehall still overshadows it. But there are some youths who are carrying the authentic reggae vibes and are doing well." 

What's your method to write hit songs, year after year since the 1990s?
General Degree: "I prefer to avoid asking myself this question. I think music found me more than I myself searched for the music. When I hear a new riddim somewhere, it talks to me and I hear something. I'm very quick to find a melody, it can happen immediately; this is why I always like to have a recorder with me. As I said, I'm also a producer and I can hear things that a lot of people don't hear. It's just a talent I have for which I have to be thankful for. It always keeps me finding things. Look for example, that song Bambalam that had a worldwide success with Zumba dancers. I was in Panama for a show and got introduced to this Panamean producer, who speaks only Spanish, and he played me that riddim. Instantly I found the idea for the beat and recorded instantly. Now on Internet you can find more than 200 videos of choreographies and girls dancing on this song… They've been posted from countries like Isreal, Russia, US, Mexico… So I really give thanks to have the capacity of staying current today and every day." 

Can you tell us about your early years? 
General Degree: "My trade as a youth was tailoring. But very early, I start performing on sounds like One Love and Conquering Lion, the sound where Garnett Silk used to sing on… In the late 80's. There even used to be a tape of a session where Garnett is singing and I'm deejaying but I don't really have this one no more. Later I went to record to Bobby Digital, Steelie & Cleevie, Penthouse Records, Danny Brownie… I enjoyed making music back in those days. I was making some experience with those great producers. Even though I don't meet success in the first days, I enjoyed hearing my music on the radio and so." 

Who were the artists you would refer to as being your models or inspiration? 
General Degree: "There were some artists, just older than me, who I looked up to as examples like Supercat, Papa San, Lt Stitchie or Professor Nuts." 

Your breakthrough song was 'Granny', a funny song for sure…. In which circumstances was it recorded? 
General Degree: "I was about 20 by then. It was a fun thing I did whilst in a session with Danny Brownie. But if it was for me alone, this song would never have come out. Because it wasn't really me singing, it was just some funny kind of joke thing, some gimmicks. But Danny was very excited. I told him that I didn't want it to come out a road. He begged me and said 'Please, let me release it, you have a hit song there I promise you. Give me a chance'. So he did it. I wasn't really convinced. But later on as I walked through Halfway Tree, some people were gathered there and playing the song, I moved further, not saying anything as I wasn't known by then. A bit further some motorists were playing it in their car. I went home that night and when I woke up the next day, the song was playing all over the place. I became a buss artist in just a day!" 

Can you tell us about this other song that was considered as your breakthrough song outside of Jamaica and the Caribbean: 'Traffic Blocking'?
General Degree: "Well actually it's just a vibe song, something to have fun. It's not about a motorist story as people might think. I wanted to have something exciting in the intro, so I sang the: "Yeah, yeah, yeah…", and then I like to play with words and turn them around. I wanted a rhyme with thighs and stockings so I found out 'Traffic Blocking', which is a word that doesn't exist anywhere else than in my song." 

What's your view on the current state of dancehall? 
General Degree: "It is a lot different. There was more fun and excitement by then. More shows were keeping and it was globally better. Many riddims that are being released now are too bubblegum-ish; they're not real and really sound fake. You may improvise and do some new stuff but there still must be something in it to make you feel good. A lot of the so-called producers are not even musicians; they're just playing with the thing.You have to know where you're coming from otherwise you won't know where you're going. So if you never listened to the music of Yellowman, Josey Wales, Lone Ranger, Supercat, and you have no idea of who those artists are, then you're only going to do foolishness. You will think you do the right thing, but you will only do nonsense. Because there are some recipes, some patterns, some formats that you have to follow in the dancehall if you want to be good and if you want your music to come across." 

We can see some of the young dancehall artists are being very controversial in their songs now, but 20 years ago, with tunes like 'The Pianist', you also created some controversy.
General Degree: "People found it a bit rude indeed, it was banned from the radio in JA but still it was a hit song. Not everyone was pleased with it. But now when I see some of the youths, some of them are really going overboard. Hardcore is hardcore of course, but they should take out the offensive thing in their music; you shouldn't hurt people with lyrics. Sometimes I see the morals are out of their music." 

Which young dancehall artists do you rate the most? 
General Degree: "I definitely appreciate the vibes of Assassin aka Agent Sasco and Bugle is very good too."