Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Listen to the message in my music, says B.L.A.C.

First Prev 1 2 3 4 Next Last

Fortune and fame would be nice but what B.L.A.C. really wants is for people to hear the message in his music.

There’s a choice of genres for people with specific taste – rap, reggae and more recently, songs that have showcased the singing voice he never knew he had.

“I’ve pretty much been doing it since I was 16,” said the 35-year-old who put out his latest video, The 9, yesterday. “I want people to take [my message] on as their own sound; make it a soundtrack to their life in a sense.

“I would like the whole world to hear my music, to hear what I have to say. Whether I become rich off it I do not know but my goal is to reach people, to touch people with my words. I just hope that my songs can make their day better and make them realise their worth as well. Whether I become rich or famous, my legacy will be the content I provided.”

It’s what he was thinking when he wrote Meant For You, one of his “newer conscious reggae tracks”, and Deep Love, which he put out one Valentine’s Day. Like another one of his tunes, True Worth, the aim is to “reach people with [his] words”.

With more than 200 songs under his belt, B.L.A.C. believes he has hit his mark.

“It does connect to them in a sense,” he said. “Don’t ask me where it comes from. It just hits me and I just start writing. And when I get in the mode of writing I just continue to do that. If I take a break, usually it would set me back a bit. I create momentum just by continuing to write.”

He cannot remember when he put out his first song. He usually writes the lyrics and sources the beat “from YouTube or local producers down here”.

“The process is usually I’ll find the music first and then just start to write to that,” said the singer, who was born Rejon Tucker. B.L.A.C. is his mantra, the letters stand for beyond limits abilities change.

Once he got serious about his music, he decided that voice lessons would be a good investment and signed up with Marcelle Clemens, the late vocal teacher.

“[She told me] I had a singing voice. I literally only went there just to get my breathing down – I used to write these very long verses and I used to run out of breath while I was performing them. She taught me different ways to counter that. She taught me how to deal with my diaphragm breathing, my chest for the belting, for the deepness. Voice lessons pretty much got me to the spot where I’m at right now.”

He believes his first public performance was at Chewstick, when it held open mic sessions at the old Ambassador’s Club on Reid Street. In those days few people knew him as an entertainer.

He said of those early appearances: “I was kind of nervous but I’ve always been confident so the nervousness I get is more of an eager thing. I’m not nervous as far as stage fright. I’m more anxious to perform.

“People always received it well. They always liked it. I do it whenever I can do it if a show’s coming up and people reach out to me. It’s not really a full-time thing because you can’t really make money off that down here.”

A high point was in 2017 when he performed at Gathering of the Juggalos, a days-long rap festival in Oklahoma.

“I performed with my cousin in Detroit who was signed to an independent label called Insane Clown Posse. He told me to come up and we performed some of the songs off his album because I’d collaborated with him, and people received it well out there.”

He couldn’t believe when people started asking for his autograph.

“It was a cool artist experience. I would say that was one of the best experiences I’ve had thus far in my career.”

Locally he’s performed at several events including Culture Shock at Snorkel Park. He also has projects that keep him busy – such as the albums he releases every January.

“I try to tie Bermuda into my music by always having nine songs on my album; I release on January 9,” he said, explaining it was a nod to the island’s nine parishes. “And then if I do another project within the year, that will be in September because that’s the only month that has nine letters in it. I also have my own merchandise, my own clothing brand called Atlantic 9.”

Following that pattern his next album, Love Me From Afar, comes out on all streaming platforms in January.

“I don’t get too dark. I have uplifting songs. I have songs that just really talk about how society is and I have songs that are like family songs. It’s just trying to touch on all aspects of life, “ he said.

Follow B.L.A.C. Triangle on Instagram, B.L.A.C. List on Facebook and B.L.A.C. Triangle Music on YouTube

A shot from B.L.A.C.’s latest video, The 9. Released yesterday, it was directed by Critical Flavor and shot and edited by Marq Rodriguez. Fashion Stylist, Amie B Rodriguez; fashion credit, Amir Robinson (Photograph supplied)
B.L.A.C. has released a new video on YouTube, The 9 (Photograph supplied)
B.L.A.C. has released a new video on YouTube, The 9 (Photograph supplied)

You must be Registered or to post comment or to vote.

Published December 03, 2020 at 8:00 am (Updated December 03, 2020 at 8:14 am)

Listen to the message in my music, says B.L.A.C.

What you
Need to
Know
1. For a smooth experience with our commenting system we recommend that you use Internet Explorer 10 or higher, Firefox or Chrome Browsers. Additionally please clear both your browser's cache and cookies - How do I clear my cache and cookies?
2. Please respect the use of this community forum and its users.
3. Any poster that insults, threatens or verbally abuses another member, uses defamatory language, or deliberately disrupts discussions will be banned.
4. Users who violate the Terms of Service or any commenting rules will be banned.
5. Please stay on topic. "Trolling" to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations will be deleted.
6. To understand further what is and isn't allowed and the actions we may take, please read our Terms of Service
7. To report breaches of the Terms of Service use the flag icon