TikTok breathes new life into Pamputtae’s Ride It

Dancehall artiste Pamputtae has described social media platform, TikTok, as a blessing, following the resurgence of her decade-old single, Ride It.

The song has been blowing up on the platform, which is primarily used for creating and sharing short videos.

"I put it on TikTok last week but mi never expect it fi tek off suh," Pamputtae told THE STAR. "Mi just put it out because mi know is a bad song. Mi nah bother nobody fi play mi song, mi just put it out and it a work. Right now, TikTok is a blessing," she said.

Entertainers have been heavily reliant on the use of TikTok to share their content and to earn from their talent. Users of the platform recently suffered a major scare after fake news peddlers began spreading information via various social media platforms alleging that Prime Minister Andrew Holness wants to ban the use of TikTok in the country. However, de facto information minister Robert Nesta Morgan moved to allay those fears by stating that there are no plans to ban the use of the app on the island.

Pamputtae, who did not wade into the policy discussions concerning TikTok, said greater Internet penetration and the rise of social media are chiefly responsible for the resurgence of Ride It. She said, too, that when the song was first released in 2009, on the 'Wibble Wobble' rhythm, it could not be played on the air because there was no radio-friendly version.

"It was always a bad song, but it a guh buss bigger now because of the Internet. The song couldn't play pon radio and Internet never so buzzy back then, so you know a radio did a carry the swing and mi never do no clean version for it. But now because of the Internet you can play and sing the raw, raw version and use it pon all your status pon the Internet," Pamputtae said.

The buzzing artiste told THE STAR that she plans to shoot an official video for Ride It. However, she has no intention to do a radio-friendly version for the raunchy female anthem.

"Mi never do an official video for this song enuh, so mi a guh do an official video. Mi want some young dancers who wah buss who wah show dem talent fi come inna the video because we a guh reproduce the song," Pamputtae said.

She also used the opportunity to encourage other musicians to remain faithful and positive about their own work, even if the desired results are not achieved immediately.

"Music nuh live a nobody yard. Work with what you have till you get what you want, and trust the process because music a something you can do now, and it buss next year. You don't know what tomorrow will bring. You don't know who a watch you. Mi work and mi pray and mi have faith," she said.