5 Questions With ... Chuck Fenda
Published:Friday | November 3, 2023 | 12:06 AM
From a child, Leshorn Whitehead had a special love for music, making a hobby of impersonating some of his favourite entertainers. It didn’t take him long to decide to pursue his dream in the music business.
Frequently travelling between Jamaica and Brooklyn, New York, where he was born, to hone his deejaying skills, Chuck Fenda spent most of his time at King Jammy’s studio, where he released his debut single Shut Yuh Mouth When Bad Man Talking for John John (King Jammys’ son).
King Jammy was impressed with Fenda’s talent and invited him to record on his label. It was then that he recorded his first big hit, Jah It’s All About You, on the one-drop Money Money riddim. Released in 1996, the single climbed several charts in Jamaica and across the Caribbean.
In 1997, Fenda relocated to Jamaica to focus on his career, settling at King Jammys studio, and by the following year, he recorded his next big hit, Mi See it Clear. But his biggest hit was yet to come. The single Bada Bada made it to the number one slot on Jamaican charts and in the top ten on various Caribbean charts. Chuck Fenda was on a roll, and he started spewing out more dancehall hits.
In 2000, he joined the Fifth Element Records family, where the real revolution began to take place in the deejay’s life. His five-year stint with Fifth Element resulted in a noticeable change and a refreshing maturity.
Embracing the Rastafarian way of life, Chuck Fenda adopted the ‘poor people defender’ cause and focused on creating heartfelt lyrics about the plight of the poor, while revealing his Afromantic side in the beautiful lyrics he penned glorifying the black woman.
He became famous for tunes like the number one Life Ruff Out Deh, Better Days and I Swear, as well as Prayer, Can’t Stop Try, Respect Mama, and Watching Me, to name a few. His album, Better Days, on the Fifth Element label dropped in 2004.
Today, Fenda says he is even more aware of the need for the oppressed of this land to have a voice championing their cause.
1 . How would you describe yourself ?
I am that voice, both in word and deed.
2 . What’s your latest single, Heartless, about? Why did you feel the need to do this song?
I did this song for the 10-month baby. When I read the news and see that the lickle baby get shot, mi wonder what kind of heart somebody coulda have fi shoot a 10-month- old baby. When yuh see it reach to that level deh, it really touching. So me couldn’t sit back as a reggae artiste, as a messenger for the Most High Jah, and nuh do sum’n bout it.
3 . What scares you the most and what makes you smile the most about Jamaica?
The level of sufferation scare me the most ... it so difficult to dem fi mek ends meet. And it nah get better ... from my grandparents time till now. See the rich get richer nad the poor get poorer. Some type of money wha’ people haffi a live offa, it really terrible. What mek mi smile to is trod through the ghetto and see how people can still happy. Still can come out and a dance and a have a joy even though dem a live offa nutten. Dem tings deh bring a smile to mi face.
4 . Which concert has been your most impactful in terms of your performance and crowd size in your storied career?
I did a show in Central Park, New York, a few months ago. It was a summer stage concert ... I haven’t performed in New York in years. When I go out there, just the uproar ... how the people dem a react. It was just fire. It did have other artistes on the show, but it come in like when mi done perform, the show finish.
I am the only artiste mek Johnny Gourzong haffi call in the fire truck when Gash Dem and Light Dem a gwaan.
5 . Is it true that you are reuniting with Fifth Element?
Right now we are in discussion to do a world tour with Richie Spice. I haven’t performed with Richie Spice since 2006. It would be a great thing for the industry, for reggae music to see two giants out there a tour together. It would be Chuck Fenda, Richie Spice, and Etana. The fans would love to see Chuck Fenda and Richie Spice on a stage together again.