From Slangs to Songs: Chi Ching Ching

“ChiChing Ching is not an artist yuh nuh, ChiChing is an entertainer. Toast mi toast riddim, listen to mi song dem.”

ChiChing, today is one of dancehall’s most prominent entertainers. Rising on the scene as first a dancer rolling out a red carpet, this charismatic and infectious persona has been steadily creating wave after wave of wholesome authentic dancehall culture.
Ching’s recent dominance of the wider musical spheres, can be attributed almost solely to his raw talent, although a newly signed deal with Unruly Entertainment’s own boss Popcaan doesn’t exactly hurt either.

Ching is a wordsmith in his own rite, with a unique ability to see the potential in words to move a crowd and he makes full use of this ability. His wordplay is unique and somewhat reminiscent of a contemporary Jamaican Shakespeare, with an insatiable affinity for rowdy all night parties. As an addition to Unruly, Ching brings his own substance to the table, an energy reminiscent of 90s dancehall, a time where having a good time in the dance was the only real prerogative. Ultimately this feel good vibe will always have place in the culture and so there will always be niche for ones like Ching who really forward to share a joy with the masses.

In a yard somewhere, Golden Spring, St Andrew, Ching sits with his back to a zinc fence that is facing the main road. The evening drags on as we arrive on scene, but he does not appear impatient. In fact, his shades, slowed speech and steady intake of bottled water, lets me know he is recovering from what appears to have been a wild night. It made all the sense though, if we had come to interview an athlete, their last sporting bout would be showing on them as well. Perhaps raving is a sport of its own, requiring an unlikely yet intelligent mixture of tolerance, energy and overall good vibes. He didn’t shy away from talking, and pretty soon the interview was underway

Dancehall is more than just a genre of music. Much like Hip Hop during its inception, dancehall houses and entire lifestyle, a culture if you will. With Hip Hop it was the beatboxing, the dancing, the music, the graffiti, fashion and more. It was a life in itself and I believe dancehall is similar. Tell us about your experience of the culture and how it inspired you to become involved and get started as a dancer.

Once dancehall hook you yuh nuh, the feeling, the feeling won’t go away. So you see dancehall is everything to Chi Ching Ching, because dancehall is what made me become a man and allow me to stand up to my responsibilities financially and stuff like dat, yuh get weh mi a say? So dancehall make Chi Ching Ching see the way out, is like a escape route for me. Even though I went to school and dem ting deh, used to study electrical installation, but yet still mi never leave school and forward and a wire building, right now mi a wire the world, because of dancehall. So have to respect dancehall and show love to dancehall. Yea, dumb if mi nuh talk.

You have people who don’t have nothing at all and go into dancehall and become something, or they come out successful, because of talent. Yuh get me? Even if you don’t have no real talent and you go in a dancehall eventually talent a guh dash out pon yuh, because you’re surrounded by talent. Mi know man weh did a video and two twos, dem turn artist and a biggest ting. So a just so dancehall stay. Mi used to push hand truck, mi used to do a nine to five before mi go dancehall a night time. Mi neva know say mi woulda be Chi Ching Ching today. Dancehall will hook you and once you go in there you going to be somebody, unless you just don’t want to.

Tell us about your start as an entertainer in the business.

Mi start out with a red carpet, in my little community, Stony Hill, Golden Spring. Where we are right now. This likkle place mi start out from, you have the history wall over there with all a mi picture dem weh me start out with. When me start, mi started with a likkle team name All Star dancers and we used to go round and do we likkle ting. Time get hard some a dem couldn’t hold it, dem leave. So me just hold it up same way and go through with it. Mi start take microphone inna dancehall and slang. My first slang was Chi Ching Ching, and the people change my name from All Star- because a di fans name me yuh nuh. The world name Chi Ching Ching, that’s why even without a song mi always hot. Because a never me say me name dis, a dem name me, so dem put me inna dis business for a purpose. From deh so mi start buil nuff slang, and then start to work and eventually mi start catch the groove, how to put the slangs to the songs.

What kind of difficulties would you say you faced transitioning to a recording artist?

Mi fight really hard fi people start listen to mi music, dem used to catch the phrase dem and ting but, some a dem never want me do song. Dem did want mi fi slang fi di rest a mi life, dem never want me deejay and better mi life. But mi never really worry bout di difficulty yuh nuh, because even if somebody did have something to say mi never really worry bout it. Because I know that once I buil a slang and it out there and a happen, from mi blueprint the song the right way, it eventually a go happen. You have producers out there who always believe in Chi Ching Ching, like Chimney records and Supa Hype, 007 dem. They always believe in me so no matter what they were always trying to put out a record with Chi Ching Ching. So I never really worry about any other producer who never want voice me, yuh get weh mi a say? Dumb if mi nuh talk. Beenie Man look pon me one day and say, how you come a dance and a dance to people song everyday, you nuh want come a dance come dance to your song? So a dem likkle talk deh wise me up too from long time. So mi just start put the pen to the paper, and ask somebody proper to record me and somebody weh know bout music fi inna di studio. So even if mi just a do it, it on a likkle key same way.

Some people may attribute your recent successes to better management and the access you now have to certain platforms. While this may be the case to some extent, do you think it has more to do with you figuring out or gaining a deeper understanding of what you have to give to the people?

Hear wah gwaan. You will have a lighter right here so, and the lighter that you have right here is a plain lighter. You have a ting name upgrade, that is what Unruly entertainment do for Chi Ching Ching. Unruly base is not normal and for a lighter that can already light, go into a base like that is not a normal thing. I done have the talent already, so is like me get a sea of people to entertain. My vibe a energy. So the talent weh me have, some people overlook it even though nuff people did love it, but nuff people never take it serious. Some people used to say ‘yea man by next week you nuh hear from him again’ , but dem still a hear me. So when Unruly sign ChiChing Ching now, that is a major move in my career. So me have to shout out the whole Unruly Entertainment, because of them right now, turning up my career and fixing all tings!!

Whether you want to think about it in the sense of services and business, or as Kanye said artists are servants to humankind. All artists have some kind of gift which they have been out here to share with the world. As an entertainer what would you say it that gift is for you?

My character, me in person, nothing added. I am an entertainer, I’m entertaining you right now. So that is just me, at all times the people them getting that from me, high energy, vibes and love yuh get weh mi a say?

Cars are zooming past on the main road next to the yard we are seated in. Ching seems to be an inspiration to his community, and the members of his more recent unruly family express complete confidence in not only his talent but his brand. His road manager Squidell chimed in.
“The difference with Ching as an entertainer, based on what he does, he can move and entertain a large mass of people, likewise him can entertain one person in a venue. So whether it be one person, or ten thousand people is always the same vibes, just to how him relate to the crowd. Him get everybody involved, if is even a likkle baby or a old lady.”

“Yo Richie buil up a spliff fi me nuh!” Ching shouts across the yard.

You’re from here, St Andrew, a more rural part of the country, how would you say it compares with the more urban Kingston, in terms of pace, the people and how they operate?

Well dem place yah. When dem place yah love you as a artist, you know say you can go out there and make it. Because as I tell you, mi buss inna my community first, mi a run my community as a likkle dancer first before me take it to the big world. So mi practice, do my homework from here. So when dem see me in di big world, dem feel like mi just start do this thing. No. Mi DONE mi homework already, so mi ready fi collect me grade! Yuh get mi?! Dumb if mi nuh talk

When I interviewed Popcaan for the WWCF album, I got a similar feeling from him that I am getting from you, which is that amidst all the hype and the fame and even the music, many people failed to see that he was a real person, a positive one.

Alright, that’s why me take so long to breakthrough, because me nah sing di ting dem weh dem want hear dem time deh. Mi a deal with nice tings. It was a battle for me to get one song out there, that was feel good. The first song that went out there was ChiChing Ching make the Popcorn pop, then mi go One knock then way up and stay up. Now mi gone roast or fry. The latest thing weh mi have fi dem now, name NACHO. Da one ya fi di summah. Is a dance. Nacho mean cheese, and cheese mean money. So money is cheese and cheese is nacho, uno, dos tres, what come next, quatro. Dumb if mi nuh talk (laughs). So look out fi da one deh, it a go hit big!

Is there anything you would have done differently in your journey if you had the chance.

Yeah, I woulda be a movie star.

Slangs are a big part of black culture globally, there is something about lyricism and the ability to play on words that is a key feature of oral tradition. In that way it is a kind of poetry don’t you think so?

Yeah, but is not everybody can do it. Some man a say one word fi all five years, and as Ching go so, it gone. Mi a do dis long time, so mi just know when the slangs dem come about and know how fi buil dem too more time. Mi a par with Popcaan who buil slang too, so dis ting yah nah go stop. Never gonna stop my brother, yeah man. Dumb if mi nuh talk