Tearah hails dancehall greats for their work and advice

Former sound engineer-turned-artiste Tearah is determined to show the global music industry that he is destined to be one of the greats in dancehall.

But even with more than 10 years' experience in the business, he still faces challenges with securing fair deals as well as copyright and creative incentives.

"It is surprising that in this day and age, music professionals become uneasy or uncompromising when the topic of making a deal for a production [comes up]," Tearah told THE WEEKEND STAR.

"As an artiste and also as a songwriter, I've always pushed to get what I deserve from my music, in terms of credits, but it has been a major bump in the road. It cause a problem when I ask questions about the percentage I receive from a track. I think it is one of the main reasons persons haven't heard more of me as yet and why some projects have not been released."

As his stage name suggests, Tearah is "ready to tear up the streets". Though frustrated with the setbacks, the artiste, who has been working with Digital One Productions, continues to read and seek advice from the elders in the business. He said they have not only influenced his decision to pursue a career in music, but have offered some of the best advice.

Tearah, given name Adrian Morris, hailed the likes of Shabba Ranks, Vybz Kartel, Sean Paul, Busy Signal, and Aidonia and his 4th Genna camp as leaders and prolific lyricists.

"I am really grateful to people like Aidonia who has made a great impact and has given me good advice about my music on ways to improve, as well as CD Master, for the guidance; they've been really supportive," Tearah said.

His sentiments manifest on the single Big Up Dancehall which was produced by Digital One Productions and released last May. He anticipates that the project, though almost a year old, will reach its full potential soon and could actually be a breakthrough, though he is not focused on that entirely. The latest single Thank You Father, which is only two weeks old, has also been getting traction.

"I get inspiration from a lot of artistes from different genres; I love and listen to all types of music but nothing compares to the love I have for dancehall. I believe the listeners are the ones who turn something into a breakthrough, so it wasn't the aim. The song is just me showing respect to the elders, and I pay homage to the culture which, although people say is changing, dancehall cyaa stall," he said.

"Likewise, my career will never stall. From I recognised my talent in high school, I always had a goal of pursuing it. My previous employer and mentor Franklin Bell really encouraged me as well to consider doing something with my talent. I knew I had to move on, take a chance to get my recording career off the ground. So I'm taking aggressive action now, with promotion and putting in the work. I continue to be grateful, to read about the business side of things and welcome new advice," Tearah continued.