The winner of the CellularOne Mobile Movement Tour spent several days in the Big Apple recording his thought-provoking tune "Why''.

Ali Smith won a Mobile Distribution Agreement with CellularOne and Swagger Wireless, which included ring tones, screensavers, wallpapers and MP3 video clips, a $5,000 publishing deal, and a trip to New York City to record his winning single at Roc the Mic Studio. He also had a one-on-one session with DJ Clue, who is a well-respected industry veteran who founded Desert Storm Records.

Mr. Smith and Simone Gibbons, who is the assistant marketing manager at CellularOne spoke to The Royal Gazette in an exclusive interview what winning the August competition meant to him.

Other competitors who performed at Snorkel Park were 1undread, Blac f. Vibes, Black Diamond, Blaze, Double J, J Shamar, Jackie Ayres, Joy Barnum, Mr. Dudley, Mr. Mikey, The Homegrown Band, Tiny T, Torrie Baker and ZenjiSan.

Not being the excitable type, but one of steady calm, when asked how he felt after beating off the competition, Mr. Smith replied: "When I had won, I felt a little excited, but I am not the type who always gets excited like that, because it has been a long time in this business.

"Call it a person who has heard a lot of promises and hearsay. So basically, I am at ease – I am a comfortable artist.

"But I was very happy that I had won, because it was a venue in which I had never been and it was also something that I had never done before."

Regarding the trip to New York City last week, he said: "It was a success in as far as my recording."

Asked how Roc the Mic studios compared with some studios on the Island, he answered: "It was a little bit more expressive, like crying out the message and I really like the quality of the studio – it was nice and clean and had everything an artist looks for in a studio."

Taking control of his recording cut down on his studio time and allowed for fun and frolics in the big city.

"I went in the studio and I told them exactly what I wanted to do," he explained.

"I said I wanted to sing the whole song first and then we can go over it or certain spots and so we did that and then I'd come back in and listen to it, and then I'll probably hear something that is not right in my book and I'll say, 'eliminate that'.

"Then we'd put a double on top of that. I'd say that in a about an hour and a half to two hours we were done."

Mrs. Gibbons added: "He was on the money. They gave him control and they said, 'this is your song, so we want you to tell us where you want to put emphasis'.

"He directed his own show and Bryant Biggs, the president of Swagger Wireless, was really impressed because quite often you go into the studio for 12 hours and you go over one line for four hours.

"But he was in and out and his voice is phenomenal."

Mr. Smith said this was all because he has been used to having the finished product completed.

"It's not like I get excited, because I know what I can do," said the singer.

"It is not being biased, it is about being a little confident and feeling at home wherever you are recording."

After the recording, they attended The 40/40 Club, owned by music mogul Jay-Z.

"After about an hour, they brought a rough cut of the recording," he said.

"It is not the finished version, as they are going to put in female vocals, but they were quickly able to turn it around and we were able to bring a copy home with us."

The song is in protest against violence amongst the youth, which he says he understands because of his past life experience.

"There is too much violence going on here and I for one went through my turmoil in my life," said the 38-year-old.

"I looked in the mirror and cried to myself and said, that it was not me', so I made a change and now a lot of young guys call me a role model.

"Between the ages of 16 and 21, I was a street fighter and I have done some things that I have regretted, although I never went into hard drugs, but I had an attitude.

"I felt that no one really cared about me. But it was only that my mom wanted me to do right and become something in life."

But the real change came when he said: "I was almost on the stop list through violence and it would have slowed my life down.

"Then I had also done something that I had really regretted and would have regretted for the rest of my life and that was a wake up call.

"I could have also went to jail, and I have never been to jail."

Although he is a little older than many who are attempting to make it in the music business, one benefit is that he has found that with age, his voice has gotten stronger.

"My voice is stronger than it was than when I was 21, and I would say that is from steady polishing, because I do record from out of the house before it gets to studio level.

"I get instrumentals, write a chorus and I record right on the spot."

Since returning from New York last week, he has written five songs, one is nearly completed, and he said the other five are frames with the chorus.

He got his start in music at Sandys Secondary School from singing in the changing rooms.

"It had an echo and it wounded like a microphone. I used to do that and I really, really liked it.

"Then it was also going to family reunions and if there was some type of bickering in the family – I would just sing and people would start clapping. This would fill my heart with joy and everyone else's."

His grandmother also encouraged him to sing gospel.

But he performed in his first show when he was 21 with Ninja and Sanchez.

"I used to also perform in sessions at Pond Hill and Clay House Inn," he said.

"In between playing the music, the artist would perform."

His repertoire includes Rhythm and Blues, Reggae, Gospel and several other genres.

"I have R&B songs at home and I just pile them on top of each other," said Mr. Smith.

"I sang at a friend's wedding about a month ago and I wrote and sang the song and as I was singing people had their eyes on her, because they were wondering where the song came from."

But above all, he said: "I would like to thank CellularOne and Swagger Wireless for giving me this chance, because there are a lot of artists out there that are doing pretty good, but what type of impact are they making with the young men of Bermuda.

"If you cannot grow a goose bump then you have to change your way of writing, because there are no chilling type of lyrics that can even get my attention right now.

"Who profits from that (violent lyrics) because the youth are going out there in broad daylight chopping people up with machetes.

"So I don't like the way that music is going nowadays, so I think it is my job to step in and save some people."

If Mr. Smith's ringtones sell really well, then other record labels may offer him a deal.

"On their website, Swagger has all unsigned artists, but they have an agreement with Def Jam and a few of the other record labels in that they get first preference," said Mrs. Gibbons.

"So if Ali sells 100,000 then they might sign him, so it is a great opportunity.

"It is also a great opportunity to make money off the ringtime itself."

Mrs. Gibbons added: "Ali's song will be ready for download as of December 1st and then the second and third placed individuals will follow after than and then the other 12 finalist will follow – everyone will have the same opportunity."

The ringtone will be available on www.swaggerwireless.com, www.itunes.com and www.aol.com from December, but it will be available from www.cellularone.bm within the first quarter of the coming year.