Cali P- The Best Of Both Worlds

It is has always been my view that some talents are as genetic as one’s eye colour or body type. Why do children find themselves drawn to certain musical instruments? How do they seemingly inherit their parents’ tastes in music, food and culture? Well, while an argument could be made in many instances for nurture, as opposed to nature, as to the reason why certain paths are followed; there seems to be a fact that some tendencies are definitely not taught. This concept could explain the early life of reggae crooner Cali P.

Born as Pierre Nanon to a Caribbean father and European mother, it could be said that he experienced the best of both worlds. The rigid professionalism of the first world mixed with the laid back nature of the islands. Backayard got the chance to sit with this budding superstar and pick his brain about his upbringing and how that set the stage for his career.

It has only been a couple of years since I realized you were not Jamaican, which rare since it is normally easy to tell who is actually from the island and who is not based on the music. Where exactly are you from?

Me? My father is from Guadeloupe and my mother is from Switzerland in Europe. I am just an earth citizen, yuh nuh, African child. Yes I, Jamaica mi live.

So with a background like that, how did you get into music?

It was through my family still. My father is a musician to this day he is a percussionist. He is a Rasta man so reggae music was there from the start, drumming was there from the start. That is something that I just love since I was a likkle yute, yuh nuh.

When did you start to look on music as your profession?

That was also a natural step in a time when I was like 14/15 at school, yuh nuh. Yuh start to think at school about what kinda work yuh haffi guh do, wah yuh haffi guh learn and ting. For me music was always the ting that I really love to do so I used to be on a soundsystem in that time.

What was the name of the sound?

Gideon Solider sound, a sound inna Switzerland. A Rasta sound it was a family that had it and a magazine called Armagideon Times, they also used to organize shows for soundsystems. So that was a thing we used to contribute to since I was 15, yuh nuh. Dem time deh we did have di vinyl so wid di vinyl now, yuh have di riddim pon di next side. More time we jus switch to the next side and sing lyrics wah we did a write through the day during school yuh nuh.

So that time you were thinking along the lines of the Rastafarian faith?

Yeah man!! Rastafari for me, was there from when I was born. My father was a Rasta so that a di first ting. It is what I feel comfortable wid, yuh nuh. My parents now is not people that would force mi to haffi wear my dreadlocks or yuh haffi do this or do that. So I had time to experience nuff tings, listen nuff different music. Yuh did have a time weh mi seh MICHAEL JACKSON…. (Laughs)…. A jus so it set. Yuh have a time weh mi listen rock music but when mi was about 12, mi really start understand nuff tings and I think within dah searching deh I found that definitely my culture was Rastafari and I start to understand it better. I had dreadlocks as 3 year old, 2 year old but is not the same thing you understand.

So when did you make the transition from just being on the sound to actually recording music?

That was around 2002, yuh nuh, 2002/2003 was di time when really like it started. Just being in shows and singing and people just give a positive reaction. That mek mi really start guh studio and mek mi start record dub plates yuh nuh, dem type of vibes deh. To me that was a type of schooling in that time, developing di voice, developing di vibes and my craft, singing. Yeah, that was in that time 2002/2003, we start really sing and put out song on 7 inch and all dem ting deh.

On which label?

The first real international tune weh come out on 7 inch was on Pow Pow Movement, yuh nuh di Superior riddim, a song name “Forward”.

What was the response to that?

The response to dah song deh was good yuh nuh. The good ting about it was in that time it was on 7 inch and it was a time weh people really a tek time discover music. Because dem getting all these 7 inches on di riddim really and truly a selector would take di whole bunch a 7 inch and listen to every song and what him like him a guh start work wid. So really and truly I get a good exposure through being able to exist in that time cah nuff selector sedid link up and dem see di ting. Nuff big tune did deh pon di riddim too, so di riddim did big yuh nuh.

Was that throughout Switzerland and Europe?

Well….. I would say worldwide. Yuh see di song weh Gentleman did have on di riddim, ‘Superior’ itself “I know Jah loving is superior….” That was like a worldwide hit, yuh nuh. So that riddim selection was pretty good was very good. You had Sizzla on it, yuh did have Morgan Heritage “We nuh inna dem ting deh…” I was like 18/19 then so I really have to give thanks for being able to be on that riddim. It did definitely bring attention to di ting; so after we did do nuff different different selections. Like inna Jamaica mi did record for di Fireball label weh did lick over culture riddim.

At that time were you hitting the market as an act without management or did you have a management team?

I always had people around me yuh nuh. For instance first, mi did have di soundsystem. So one of di selector dem did a deal wid management tings and we did learn nuff all together because it is always a ting weh is everybody a do di action together. So management yes we have people around wi but we haffi just put in di action fi wi self same way yuh nuh. So that is something we always used to learn yuh nuh. After mi did have a bredrin name Tim fi awhile weh really a work pon di ting. Then in 2007, I met Riga. He wasn’t really a manager in that sense but we work together after years and years like really helping out each other and start to structure the whole Hemp Higher label, yuh nuh. Big Up Riga, yeah man, up up.

After the first single, you were recording around the world?

No, that was really Europe because I was based in Switzerland at the time. The real ting was to go to different different countries like there is so many festivals. Go inna di festival dem perform and mek di people dem see wah a gwaan, guh inna di dance dem. Until di moment come when actually people call and seh “Yo we requesting you to come”. So you nuh that is just the ground work and at the same time, I started to do music for ski movies. That was for a crew in America. We were doing dubplates and dem end up putting that in movies and that create a whole new movement. Because before ski used to use rock music on their ting so now dem start put reggae music, Cali P music. So dem start search into reggae music and up to now is a real good movement. Yuh even see wah day di Inspired movement yuh did have di tune wid Kabaka Pyramid & Raekwon. This is a whole soundtrack where I mek di song wid Kirk Knight from the Pro Era crew and yuh have Masicka and Kardinal Offishall wid a wicked wicked tune.

Just another source of revenue…..

Yeah, so that is just the movement. How me did record at that time wid this kinda people dem and I also did the steps like 2004/2005 come up, I did a lot wid di ski people dem yuh nuh.

When was the first time you came to the Caribbean?

I mean I used to come to the Caribbean all di time. The first time I came to Jamaica was 2008/2009 yuh nuh. But my father is from Guadeloupe which is a Caribbean island so from mi born.

How was it for you to come to Jamaica?

It is very special. That is why really and truly I took my time to come to Jamaica because I been doing music, singing in patois knowing nuff people from Jamaica, yuh understand; Knowing di culture, growing up as a Rasta, it is a very special place for me! So I did know that I need to come for a time. I caan jus come for two weeks, a three weeks and seh yeah that is it. I KNOW that wouldn’t work. So when I came to Jamaica di first time, I came for three months nearly four months and really hold a vibe. That four months really mek mi decide that Jamaica is better than I was even thinking about.

Yeah, because I was about to ask you how was it for you here. Mainly as many who are from Jamaica cannot wait to leave. But as a visitor what were your impressions of the island?

There is nuff different impressions that mi get, there is nuff tings wah mi see. On one side Jamaica open up my eyes because yuh can see POVERTY, yuh nuh. For instance, Guadeloupe is colonialized place, di street dem set because a suh di ting dem haffi set and dem have certain social securities weh yuh nuh see inna Jamaica. So Jamaica, rough in that sense because di people dem haffi look dem bread and deh pon di hustling. Living with that open my eyes to a lot of tings but then again deciding why, yes can I live inna Jamaica was really di vibrations all over. Di people dem really artical dem full of respect, keep your eyes open. This is how I am, yuh nuh, a straight forward person. Mi deh yah can hol’ a vibe, that is how me feel balance yuh nuh. So is not just a musical ting is also a personal ting.

Which song you recorded while you were in Jamaica for the first time, would you say took your career to the next level?

From mi reach inna Jamaica, is ‘Like A Lion’, ‘Hotsteppa’ a di tune weh di people dem did tek on to.

Was the process different recording here than recording in the spaces you used to record?

Yes, I see a difference in di building of the music because here yuh have a lot of musicians, a lot of singers and yuh have a lot of producers. So when people in di studio, it is a lot of people more time working on a project, yuh nuh. Which is unity ting and I love that yuh nuh. When I used to live in Europe, I had my studio but there is Cali P alone in his studio, yuh nuh, jus writing his tune and recording. So I get to find out when I come to Jamaica, I sit with ten people and I was by myself trying to set my tune because this is how I used to work. But I see that ten people deh inna di circle ready fi hear what is di next line maybe fi even contribute something or is jus natural vibes, yuh nuh. That is a different way of building songs but definitely very nice to experience, yuh nuh.

What would you say your first trip to the island had on your career?

The first trip to Jamaica wasn’t really one for my career in that sense. Mi did waan work inna dah unity deh. Being able to go inna one elder yard and listen to him and him experience of music, even mek mi feel close to my father who is a musician and always a tell mi about things. So is like; Yo mi love dah energy deh exchanging word, sound and power yuh nuh. When there is a lot of people within di same ting di same mission, then there is exactly where I want to be. Straight!

When did you produce your first album?

First album came out in 2007, ‘Lyrical Fire’. And that was Pow Pow records that did put out that album and di first single “Forward”. They were really strong in that time as a label so they were able to put out a Cali P album, with different singles recorded for different producers. A likkle time after that we did a next album called ‘Unstoppable’ which was more a dancehall/hip hop/R & B project and fully produced by Riga from Hemp Higher. That came out 2010/2011 and at the same time too we had the soundtrack which was not an entire Cali P album but the soundtrack for ‘Like A Lion’, the movie, where I had like nine tracks. After that we put out ‘Healing of the Nation’, the last EP before ‘I-Thoughts’.

How has your production process changed?

‘Healing of the Nation’ was basically a project that I was able to do with people that work with over years and years, yuh nuh, that still keep on doing reggae music. I choose around 4 or 5 people and get some riddims together. I listen to a whole lot of different riddims that each one did have to find di vibes that could make a whole project sound like it have one sound. That is really hard to do because everybody have a different style, yuh nuh, but we haffi mek it have one vibe and that was ‘Healing of the Nation’. ‘I-Thoughts’ now was mainly produced by Manu Digital from France. He is a good producer, man, Flash Hit records. Big up Flash Hit records because dem really have a sound. How me get fi know dem was di first song I did wid young JR ‘Nuh Wah Nuh War’. It have a real international reggae sound so we did start work pon di album wid people like Seani B from England and work on the BBC, who did di song for me wid Capleton for di album then yuh have Equiknoxx Music who did di song wid me and Shanique for di album. You have Teka, who I have worked with for a long time, did ‘Guiding Shield’ for me on the album. That is it man.

What are you going to try to do with this album ‘I Thoughts’ that you never tried before?

I can tell yuh. I am starting a tour for ‘I Thoughts”, in October. This will be the first time, I get a tour with 30 shows in less than two months yuh nuh. That will be a new experience and I give thanks that the reaction to the project is that good. So that is first thing I am going to do right now and just keep promoting the album. I like to record a lot of music but I don’t like to put out that much music like that anymore. I just want to really put out a album and let people get time to soak it in. That is why I try to do good quality music so I give dem time to get dah album deh and see what the reaction is yuh nuh, Yeah man.