Throughout decades, the parish of St Mary has been widely recognised as one of few
parishes to have produced topnotch Jamaican musicians. The likes of Ninja Man, Lady Saw and Capleton are all sons and daughters of the‘banana’ parish and have successfully paved the way for other young talent to explore.
There was little doubt amongst the public that this trend would continue when they experienced this fiery reggae artiste, Teflon, born Shaniel Andre Watson on February 15, 1985. Though he grew up in a Christian home, faith led him onto the Rastafarian path, and reggae music subsequently gave birth to one of the most-promising young acts.
The ever-blazing Teflon began his musical journey at the tender age of ten, when he found favour with the congo drums and shortly after it was the flute and keyboard. This helped him developed a strong connection with music and inevitably, he reaped successes in music classes and caught the admiration of his classmates.
Telfon recorded his first single Bless Me Jah in 2003 for a small label in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. But, it was the circumstances leading up to that studio, which highlighted his share determination and love for music. Bless Me Jah quickly introduced the bartione singer onto the music world and got heavy rotations on several radio stations across the island. He later recorded Hold on to Jah Jah Love, a song which added good value to his already growing catalog.
Teflon, a young, vibrant and conscious lyricist was the perfect candidate to represent reggae music and most recognised this, and quickly his name began to spread. He was picked up by Irie FM‟s disc jockey Wayne Morris, who started managing his career. Under Wayne‟s guidance, Teflon began recording with some bigger producers, namely Donovan Bennett, Cordell „Skatta‟ Burrell and Michael Brissett to name a few.
He again found favour with the public during this period, enjoyed a rich run of form with several top radio stations and was often compared to established reggae/dancehall artiste Sizzla Kalonji. He got his first major stage show performance opportunity at the staging of the 2004 Fully Loaded event, and his performance was the talk-of-the-town the next day, as he grabbed headlines in the local newspapers. He was also booked for all major events for the following twelve months, and made appearances in Canada, United States of America and several Caribbean countries. He performed at the annual Rototom Reggae festival in Italy that year.
Teflon scored his first number one song and video when he released “Gun Rise”, on the „Bullet Proof Vest‟ riddim in 2007. The video stayed number one on CVM TV‟s E-strip Hitlist music countdown and also on RE TV and Hype TV‟s video charts. Teflon‟s debut album „Motherless Child‟ was released to e-stores February 2009 on Tad‟s International label. The album peaked at number 24 on Itunes‟ top reggae albums, which was indeed a milestone in the artiste‟s young career. Teflon also enjoyed a steady musical year in 2009, as he recorded and released two hit singles like Jailhouse Rock and All The Days (Jah Has Been There), produced by Stephen „Di Genius‟ McGregor.
Teflon‟s fan base continued to grow and was subsequently in high demands overseas, more so in Europe. Teflon was also invited at Sizzla‟s Ghetto Youthology tour in Europe and opened for the veteran act for eight weeks at sold out venues across Europe. Teflon continues to make strides in his career; he is currently working on his sophomore album to be released in the near future. The
album is being produced by Digital One Production/Madvibez Entertainment and his own label Yard A Love Records. With a strong, young, new management team in place (Richard Roache -Digital One Production and Michael “Madness” Thompson –Madvibez Entertainment), Teflon looks to continue the great tradition of top notch talent out of St Mary.
More info
http://youtu.be/RzgcV2pLfQQ
