Blackwolff's debut CD which went on sale two weeks ago, sends a message of "redemption from a dangerous street life of guns, knives and violence".

The 35-year-old singer, born Neil Fox and raised in St. David's, moved to the US ten years ago and is now based in Wellington, Florida.

Through consistently performing on the road over the last five years or so, Blackwolff has become well known on the Florida music scene.

His first CD was produced by Love Life Records, the company he founded two years ago. Last year the company signed a $3-million distribution deal with Platinum Groove Entertainment.

Blackwolff was disturbed by the news of the infamous clashes of around 40 young men armed with machetes, knives, bricks and pieces of wood, at Wellington Oval three weeks ago.

But he hoped his music, which is now getting play on Bermuda as well as US radio stations, would help to combat the negativity.

"I came up kind of rough in Bermuda and I know there is not much for the kids to do," Blackwolff said. "When you get talented people who are trapped, it creates frustration.

"They then take it out on their kids, who may grow up to be mean. Suddenly you find they are 19 and running wild."

He urged those involved in violence to think more carefully about what they were doing, as they stood to hurt themselves as well as others.

"I think they should look for other ways to vent than resorting to violence," Blackwolff said. "If we all agree we are intelligent, then violence insults intelligence. War is a sign of ignorance.Bermuda's only 22 miles long, so what do get when you have a bunch of crazy people with nowhere to run? Chaos."

He believed that the key to solving the problem lay with parents teaching the right values, but also with Government creating an environment where people's talents could find an outlet and blossom.

"Parents can only do so much," Blackwolff said. "You can teach them all the values you like, but the streets teach children a lot about life. If the parents aren't real, then a kid will have no back up and the streets will raise him.

"There's a lot of money in Bermuda, but where is that money going? More of it needs to be going into the community. There needs to be more reward for doing sports, more mentors and a school for the performing arts. There is a lot of talent in Bermuda but a lot of it is needlessly going to waste.

"Bermuda needs its own heritage ? at the moment it's following someone else's."

Rap is widely perceived to be a vehicle for negative notions, but Blackwolff is determined to spread a positive message.

"A lot of these people put out this stuff just because they can," Blackwolff said. "They're pushing out angry thoughts and feelings and it's reflecting on kids.

"My music is the opposite. The message of is, 'Enjoy your life while you're living'. Families can listen to my music. I even have fans who are 60 years old.

"I know gangster guys who've told me the streets need more of this type of stuff. Music can do great things." Blackwolff describes his music as a combination of hip hop and dance music, entailing some Caribbean sounds.

Sales of the CD had been going well since the April 4 release, Blackwolff said this week. And he added that he had a busy period ahead of touring, promotion and shooting music videos.

He hoped to perform in Bermuda ? and bring several US acts with him ? at some time in the future.

More information about Blackwolff is available on the web site