Beres Hammond’s son sings his praises

"Greatness" is what Rasheed Hammond, the son of reggae legend Beres Hammond, expects of the upcoming collaboration between his father and another legend, R&B singer Charlie Wilson.

Rasheed, who has been working with his father for more than a decade and has been on a musical journey his entire life, is a big fan of Wilson, who scored his first top 10 R&B hit in 1979 as co-founder and lead singer for R&B-funk pioneers, the Gap Band.

"I only heard about this [project] a couple days ago and I could hardly believe it. Charlie Wilson and my father on a song together, that has to be great. Just greatness. I have been listening to the Gap Band for a long time. You could say that I am an old soul," the 27-year-old University of the West Indies graduate shared with THE WEEKEND STAR.

Rasheed was an integral part of the buzz that engulfed Beres Hammond's Harmony House Studio last Monday evening as he took pictures and videos of the happenings and of the A-list musicians who had been assembled for this special project which saw Wilson jetting into the island for one day only, just to do the song with Beres.

He was seen posing for a picture with Wilson, who asked him if he intended to follow in his father's footsteps.

"No," he said smiling,"I play basketball."

STARTRUCK

Rasheed later admitted that he is passionate about the sport, and that the only time he ever felt startruck was when he met one of his favourite players.

"But I must emphasise that it was music which opened that door for me to meet him. I never get starstruck around entertainers, because many of them I have known all my life, but I respect all of them for what they do and for their own individual greatness," he said.

He was full of praise for his father, who "grow [him] good", and even shared an anecdote.

"Whenever my father used to pick us up from school, once we reach in the car, he would ask us, 'What's the first thing yuh seh when yuh come in?' And we would have to tell him 'good afternoon or good evening'," he recalled with a laugh.

When asked if he tells everybody that Beres Hammond is his father, he smiled and paused before answering.

"No. Never," was Rasheed's serious response.