5 Questions With ... Dexta Daps

Hitmaker Dexta Daps is ready to roll into the island with his successful Trilogy Tour, which has already enjoyed tremendous success with sold-out shows in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

It is scheduled for December 1-3 and will see the Bring it to the Owner artiste headlining a trio of concerts in Kingston, Ocho Rios, and Negril. For Dexta, it is his way of “fixing things” and ensuring that his fan base at home doesn’t feel left out.

Dexta, whose real name is Louis Grandison, kick-started his career in 2012 with the release of his first two singles, Save me Jah and May you be. However, he really began gaining public recognition in 2014 with his songs Morning Love and Jealous Ova, which featured Tifa. Dexta Daps rode this wave of popularity into 2015. With the release of Shabba Madda Pot having more than 13 million views on YouTube, this song is one of Dexta’s most iconic. He has collaborated with Kranium, Masicka, Movado, M.I.A, Davido, Kiesza, and Tory Lanez.

5 Questions With... made a quick link with Dexta shortly after he arrived in the island.

1. Your Trilogy Tour is landing in Jamaica. It is not usual for artistes to bring their international tours home. Any special reason why you are doing this?

I have been touring all over the world so it’s only fair that mi carry it come a mi yaad ... cause mi a go everywhere else and a gwaan like mi nuh waan come a mi yaad. So mi just deh yah now and mi a go give the fans three shows. I’m going to fix things. I didn’t want to come and do just one show because a lot of people might not be financially stable enough to afford to come from far, so I want to spread it out a little so everybody can have a close range so dem can pull up. It also helps out with the whole trilogy idea.

2. How has the year 2023 been for you?

The year 2023 has been all about the whole project called Trilogy. I have been so focused on it ... making an album and putting it together.This album is definitely different and with the diversity of it, it will be something that you put in your car. The album is completed and scheduled to drop on my birthday on January 12.

3. Tell us a little about Trilogy the album.

Trilogy explores three different sides of me ... and no, one is not a bad man side. I don’t know if you noticed, but I actually toured the album before I dropped it. Forever was the first song I dropped off the album, but I dropped it as a single with no announcement of the album, so people received it for what it was. So mi gwaan put the whole body of work together... but in the meantime I was just touring it to introduce one or two songs to the crowd everytime just to see how dem feel. So everybody is alert of this whole Trilogy thing.

4. You are known as the magnet which attracts the ladies. Did you deliberately position yourself in that lane?

No... is not something that mi carve out and seh this is my lane. It was more like the appreciation that mi get from the ladies from the get-go, mi just show back the love. My first hit song the ladies them were so good to me. They were like ‘Yes... a you we a wait pon.’ So my first fan base was the ladies. So from me get dem as fans mi couldn’t be ungrateful and go sing one bag a gunman song inna dem head. And the more mi sing fi di girl dem a di more dem appreciate it. So is like we grow together. Is a family ... me and di girl dem a par cause dem know mi deh deh fi dem.

5. Has the music been good to you financially?

Well, I would say it’s definitely something that mi can tek care of me and mi family. But with my career, the more mi mek is the more mi invest. So even with my career, when yuh see it reach certain levels sometimes, is just we curate some of the things, so yuh know it’s costly. Even with these shows here, mi did haffi step out and seh we a go bring the Trilogy Tour here. Shout out to mi sponsors all bout ... Campari, Magnum, Boom and Wata ... yuh understand because dem really step in and seh we a go tek a load off yuh back and really represent. So it’s like a great feeling to know seh somebody out there who see wha’ yuh a do and appreciate the greatness and put a foot forward and seh ‘Let me try to put something towards this instead of try to take something from it.’ That’s like a blessing to me ... I really feel good about that. So big up to the sponsors.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com