Lecturer still teaching and toasting

Recording artiste Lecturer says his recent trip to Jamaica was worth every dollar spent.

As a member of the popular King Jammy's Super Power sound system in the late 1980s, he gradually gained recognition as a dancehall toaster.

"I haven't been here in a very, very long time," he told THE WEEKEND STAR. "It is definitely always good to come home, especially for an artiste like me."

His first big hit was with Pu**ny Too Sweet produced by Jammy's Records and released in 1987. The slack lyrics and the musical arrangement which was done by Steely and Clevie garnered the attention of international sound systems. He followed that up with DJ A Find Mi. Steely and Clevie released a part two for Pu**ny Too Sweet in 1991 and Lecturer continued to voice dubplates for sound systems across Europe.

"Back in the days, we did just love music. Money wasn't the issue, not like now where everybody putting out a song because a next one making money. But when you not doing music, bills still have to pay, we still have families to feed," shared Lecturer, who holds a delivery and maintenance job at a research lab in London where he has resided since the 90s.

While vacationing in Jamaica, going to the recording studio was "top priority".

"Tell you the truth, the riddims they give us in London sometimes they are a bit lazy. There's no vibes in them like those that used to come out of Jamaica," he said. "So even though my visit was just for a week, I had to try to put in some studio time."

He enjoys live performances and brought the same energy to a staging of Boom Box Fridays in Kingston which is livestreamed weekly. Lecturer, given name Manley Edwards, was raised in Waterhouse, St Andrew. His goal is to teach emerging artistes the art of toasting "in a way that they can make it unique to their time or generation."

"I'm a born musician; it's in my roots and I see where leaves grow and drop off but the tree can grow new leaves and look good. All I'm saying is that, one time you could tell who is who in the dancehall. Now all a dem sound the same way and all dem need is a little guidance," Lecturer said.