Producer Contractor makes big debut as artiste on iTunes Afrobeats chart

In the entertainment business, Sean ‘Contractor’ Edwards is recognised as the man who has built a reputation for himself as a music marketer, executive producer and one who keeps abreast of trends internationally and can be called upon to to provide interesting insights on various topics of interest.

Through his Contractor Music Group, Edwards has the ears of several big names in the industry, including DJ Khaled, and has worked on projects with Shatta Wale from Ghana, Capleton, Morgan Heritage, Chris Gayle, Lauryn Hill and a host of others.

Edwards, however, in what he ruefully terms “another life” was a poet whose work was set to music.

“I’m an only child, so I would write my thoughts in poems which were more like songs,” Edwards explained.

One of those “poem songs” was titled Old Wealth. It was originally released in the year 2000, but it wasn’t a massive hit by any means. However, it was pulled out of the archives this year, given a facelift and enjoyed a resurgence with some amazing chart activity.

“ Old Wealth was was remixed and remastered by Karl Pitterson who is Bob Marley’s engineer. A record company in Miami, Buffalo Music, re-released it in November and it debuted at number one on the USA iTunes Afrobeats charts,” a proud Edwards shared.

He added, “I feel really good because I might be the only Jamaican to do it as a solo artiste because Afrobeats is not our core genre. The song is about slavery and history and that’s why it did so well in Afrobeats … plus my brand and label is prominent now, and I like to be think out of the box.”

FIRST COMPILATION ALBUM

It was in 2018 that Edwards started showing some muscle in the production arena when his first compilation album, Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Album charts and remained there for four consecutive weeks. It spent 19 weeks in total in the top-10. The 2020 edition of the Tropical House hit in more than 20 countries in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East on its release.

The latest edition of the series was named among the reggae albums up for Grammy consideration and Edwards tucked another feather in his producer’s cap when his productions were recently recognised for surpassing five million streams across multiple platforms.

However, despite sitting in the producer’s chair and enjoying massive creative control on his projects, he has never inserted himself as an artiste, focusing instead on helping to make other people popular.

“I don’t regret going into marketing because I contribute much more to the industry this way. I can contribute on so many levels to producers, artistes, promoters and even those who own stage and lighting equipment,” said Edwards said, who got into marketing while working for his father’s wholesale and hardware store in Spanish Town.

“My father asked me to establish a tile department for him and not long after he started to boom in the tile business islandwide . I realised that I was good at marketing and I enjoyed it. Then I saw there was a need for it in reggae music so I formed my own company Contractor Music Marketing,” he said.

Although music is his first love, he occasionally does marketing for other businesses, one of which is the Issa Trust Foundation. And Edwards was quick to note that it has fuelled his philanthropic side.

“It’s not just a job, it is a mission which has really given me an extra sense of purpose especially as it relates to children. When I visit the hospitals with them, I see how important our health care system is for the country to reach its full potential. The recent visit with the Foundation to the Savanna-la-Mar Primary school made me see how important it is for children to be able to see the board, and read the books and tablets clearly,” Edwards stated.

His ultimate goal, he said, is to unite his music production with his own philanthropic efforts in a meaningful way, even as he continues writing poems which might just end up at pole position on some unexpected global music chart.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com