Cham Interview German version / English version

Text + Photos: Benjamin Poljak

5. März 2008

Damian Beckett, a.k.a. Cham a.k.a. Baby Cham is since December 2007 on Tour in Germany and visited Berlin in the place called Kulturbrauerei. He became really famous in 2006 with his tune "Ghetto Story" on the 85 Riddim. We had the chance for an interview after the concert Backstage.

Pullupmp3: Hi. Everything cool??

Cham: Yes.

Pullupmp3: Is this the first time for you in Berlin?

Cham: No, I think we came here probably 2003. We opened for Sean Paul.

Pullupmp3: At Columbiahalle right?

Cham: Arena.

Pullupmp3: Ah, ok. So how do you like Berlin.

Cham: Yeah I love Berlin man, the vibe and the friends have so much energy. I tryed to keep up with them, but too much to manage in a day. I love the vibe, the vibe is good.

Pullupmp3: And the females - right.

Cham: The females are beautiful.

Pullupmp3: I would like to know where are you born and grown up in Jamaica?

Cham: I was born and raised in marverly, that is in Kingston 20. I spend some time in Waterhouse and went down to Sherlock Cresent what is still Kingston. I am a kingstonian.

Pullupmp3: Did you like to go to school?

Cham: Unfortunately yes. I love going to school. Because thats where all our friends ... we enjoy it so much. Thats where your skill beating on the decks, freestyling for your friends.. Schooldays were the best days of my life.

Pullupmp3: Thats where you start to sing?

Cham: Yes. My uncle had a Soundsystem by the name of Studiomix. Supercat use to perform on the Soundsystem, John Wayne... and thats where we got the inspiration from.

Pullupmp3: Do you have children?

Cham: Yes, two boys.

Pullupmp3: From one woman?

Cham: Yes, I keep all the money in one house.

Pullupmp3: So you stick to your woman.

Cham: Yes I stick to my woman.

Pullupmp3: Ghetto story - is it your true story?

Cham: 70% of it is my personal life. The next 30% of it is what I have read, what I have seen at the 7 o'clock news, growing up as a kid.

Pullupmp3: You sing a lot about gun lyrics.

Cham: Yes.

Pullupmp3: Why?

Cham: To me an artist is like a mirror of society. we reflect it by words, melodies and beats. If society is not showing us guns then youth not singing about guns. If soceyety is just all nice, this big paradise, then we will singing about apples and bees, fruits, nice females, water the trees, the birds. but society show so much things. When you go in the studio you reflect. You have the bad side of your reflection, you have the good side. Sometines you hear the gun songs and thats from our recollections.

Pullupmp3: What do you thing about legal Downloadshops an the whole digitalisition of music and how does it appears to you?

Cham: Well you have to work with it. Thats where the kids are going and the kids are the one that downloading the songs, not the parents. The kids are the ones who buy MP3s of the internet.

Pullupmp3: They have to buy it - not the illegal one.

Cham: We hate the illegal way. When I go in the studio and I spend a hardening time in the studio for you to take it pirate way. As far it is illegal it is illegal.

Pullupmp3: Do you found for yourself other things to express youfself. Exept Djing, do you have hobbies or something like this?

Cham: I like to play Videogames. I like to play Fifa 2000. Straight up.

Pullupmp3: Are you good?

Cham: I am good. I think I can go against the best.

Pullupmp3: Which three things do you want to reach in your life?

Cham: One to win a grammy, secondly I want to be the best father that I can bee ever and thirdly just the best human beeing I can be.

Pullupmp3: What was the greatest day in your life?

Cham: I got two great days, the birth of my two sons.

Pullupmp3: And the worst day?

Cham: The worst day has here to come. I have been living it up. I got breath to breed and get up every morning, you never know. You might win a lot on stage performing no better can it get. On stage performing for people and they just going crazy and you feeling the music. It cant get better than that. If I would ask for more I would be ungreatful.

Pullupmp3: Is there one thing in you life, what you feel a shame for? Something you like to reverse?

Cham: Everyone got the own road to trap. Everything happens for a reason, if you suppose to regret what ever happen ...then..because everything happens for a reason. You might stumbled yesterday and today you find the biggest song in the world. Probably if you didnt stumle yesterday, you wouldnt go in the studio and work as hard today. So I am never regret nothing at all.

Pullupmp3: Can you tell me about some newcommers we might not heared about till now.

Cham: Spice. She is new, dominant, she is blowing it up right now.

Pullupmp3: Ok. But we know Spice.

Cham: Thats hard man. I havent been in Jamaica for a long time either. I havent seen jamaica since christmas, but we have some new talents down there that is verry talented.

Pullupmp3: I heared pressure is a big artist now.

Cham: Yeah, Pressure is comming up. He is doing his thing. Jamaica produce so much talents, it is hard for you to keep up. I am away from Jamaica since december and I am sure when I get go back to jamaica like two month from now... it is a total different scene.

Pullupmp3: Do you have an advice for the younger djs who are not so far as you?

Cham: It is all about music, that the world needs to be done. It is never about hype, egos no individuals. As our creative juice flow just stick to the philosophy and using the studio to have fun, nothing else.

Pullupmp3: Tell me something about Tony Kelly.

Cham: Tony Kelly... may you have it twisted? My producer is Dave Kelly, thats Tony Kellys brother. ha, ha, ha...

Pullupmp3: Sorry man. (Now I feel ashamed and I went red!)

Cham: Thats all right, I get it all the time. They are brothers. Dave Kelly is one of the individual... he is verry talented, shy, never ever do interviews, never take pictures, you never see him in a video, but he is a so talented. Always demand like the best from the all of times. He is like the Dr. Dre of Dancehall.

Pullupmp3: How was it for you to be under contract for a major label?

Cham: Yo, it is a beautiful thing. We signed with Atlantic Records from 2004, Capetal Records came along after the success of "this is why I am hot" and bought us out of the deal, so now I am signed with Capital Records / EMI, because EMI own Capital Records now. It is a beautiful thing, because you gett... when you make the music you sure that you gonna have a distribution that spread your music all around the world. But it dont make your life any easyer. You gotta work even 50 times harder, so it is not like you get a deal and then you all good. No. I got a deal but I didnt get a dime son, was it for musical be surly be the nine son. I dont mean nine to five, I mean crime son, this aint no rhyme son.

Pullupmp3: Your top five performers

Cham: Michael Jackson, James Brown, Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Baby Cham

Pullupmp3: If you could change something in the world, what would it be?

Cham: Just all this crime and violence, all this hatred, all this religion stuff. People try to go against peoples religion. There is only one god. If you wanna call him allah, you call him allah, you wanna call him god, you call him god, some people want to say selassie i, whatever they want to call.

Pullupmp3: How do you call him?

Cham: God.

Pullupmp3: So you do not believe in Rasta.

Cham: I respect rastafari but I am not. So different brother so different mind, some smoke some do not.

Pullupmp3: Soundsystem Culture now and in the past. Where are the differents?

Cham: From vinyls to CDs, from the selectors just play to selectors getting your name from toasting over the mics now. People pay to see selectors like Firelinks, Tony Matterhorn, because they make such wicked speeches over the microphone. Before, it was just selecting. Now it is all entertainment. Dubplate clashing, ... when you make a special Dub-Plate for one sound, no other sound can play it. Selecting. Now you have Dubs. Thats why we try to do the Ghetto Story dub different. Everyone got a special, just for them. Everyone got the own story. I was trying to take it back to the days of special. It is hard. You never know.

Pullupmp3: Wich kind of music do you like to listen, except Dancehall, Reggae and Hip-Hop?

Cham: Every music, Rock and Roll, RnB, Jazz. Music has no boundary and we are musicians, we really love music. I listen every type of music. if you get my I-Pod right now you see: Seline Dion, Kid Rock, Chher, ...

Pullupmp3: What can we expect from you in the next time?

Cham: I have so much dreams man. We are working for a second album in the studio... the album is due for the fourth quarter, if not the fourth quarter, first quarter of next year (2009). Hopefully Capital Records can do what they gotta do, I am gonna do what I am gotta do. and look out for T-Pains album, Rick Rocks album is comming...

Pullupmp3: You like to say something else?

Cham: Just keep it peacefull, keep it loving. Remember that is allways Mad House. Remember to support the music at all time. Dont pirate the music, support the music and keep it peacefull and allways believe in one god.

Pullupmp3: Thanks for your time.

Discographie:
Wow... The Story (2000), Ghetto Story (2006) und diverse Singles.

Web Site:
http://www.cham-music.com/