No, I’m talking about Bobby Digital. [And] how I got involved with the Shabba Ranks stuff. So the first set of work we did was for two friends, Mikey Bennett from “Home T-4.” And the studio wasn’t even done yet—I don’t think it was even carpeted out yet. And we mixed up some songs for him. Because Bobby said, “Hey, Chemist, take care of that.” I did. [And] he said, “How much money do [I owe you]?” And I was like, “No, you’re good. We’re good.” And he’s like, “Nah, I can’t do that. Because if I went to another studio I would have to pay [for] studio time. I’ve got to do something for you guys.” And he says, “Any riddim you hear that you want, you can just run it off.” The type of productions that Mikey did were more commercialized. [The] music was more like hardcore dance, you know what I mean? It was like a little bit different, and we were sitting down there in the studio. Bobby was spending money on the studio, you know, setting it up. And he says, “Chemist, let’s put on the tape and let’s see what we hear.” And we run the tape. He played a couple of tracks, and I started to tell him what I hear, [and he said], “You know, you’re right. Let’s run that one off.” And we’d run that track off. And the next day, Sanchez came by. And he did that cover version of Babyface’s “Give It a Chance.” And then Ninjaman came (singing), “Things a-gwan. Things a-go dung. What dem a-go do about the one house have gun.” Anyway, Shabba Ranks came in and [sang] “Gal Wine,” and Bobby saw what I could do. And so that’s how everything started. And so when I went back to England, he’s like, “Yo, Chemist, we’re working on a Shabba Ranks album you gotta come in and mix. [So] I mixed like five songs on the album.
You mentioned Sanchez—and, just to give the people—when I was looking at some of the works that are attributed to you as a producer, and you know, someone who recorded/produced songs. And I see works with—you mentioned Sanchez [already]—[but also there’s] Tenor Saw, Michael Palmer, we talked about Sugar Minott, Michael Prophet, Pinchers, Half Pint, Garnett Silk—I even saw [that you have] credits with Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs.
Oh yeah, I did a couple of albums—I did an album in England called “Beautiful Morning” that I produced with D. Brown. And I remember when I was doing that album, someone came to the studio with him and I had to tell Dennis that, “Alright Dennis, I don’t want you to use no more of that slur.” That guy kind of got pissed off, and said I was disrespectful. But he didn’t know the projects I was working on, so I have always tried to make things sound different. And for him to—and, you know, Dennis never minded—Dennis Brown was one of the kindest, nicest persons. Soft-spoken. [One] of the nicest persons you would ever meet. But he understood the nature of—we’re doing production and you can make each song sound different. Like a lot of people don’t have visions of what your vision [is]. They’re not seeing. It’s like somebody building something, and somebody comes out and draws a mock-up on slats. And [people] are like, “Hey, how are you gonna make that work?” But: wait until the thing is done. And you know, I kind of have to block out that stuff. But one thing with Dennis Brown—yeah, it was fun. We did another album—I did a couple of albums with Dennis. I worked with—who [didn’t] I work with?
(Laughing)
Except for the new artists.
Yeah.
I worked with Half Pint—I remember recording a song with Half Pint called “Crazy Girl.” And I put on the tape—but one thing with me when I go in the studio, right, and a lot of times when the artist goes around the voicing booth, they [would say]: “Alright, let me warm-up my voice. Play the track.” And sometimes they were singing so freely, so relaxed. And you would say, “Hey, sing it that way again.” And [they’d] be like, “What way are you talking about?” But you’re not a singer, so you can’t sing it like the way he sings it. So, for me, once I normally set up the mike, [I] make sure the mike is not distorted before I even run the tape. But once I run the tape, I always push that red button. And that song was just one cut. And he was calling my name in it, he was calling producers names in it (laughing). And it was just like a vibes one, but you can’t recreate that moment, that feeling that he was feeling. So if I said, “Yes. Now we’re gonna record,” things are just not gonna be the same. So yeah—I did a lot of songs with him, man.
Out of all the big reggae stars you worked with, was there one or two that you liked working with best—and why?
So, as I said, there’s very few artists that I worked with that I didn’t enjoy working with.
Yeah. And no need to name the artists you didn’t like working with unless you want to.
There’s few artists [that I didn’t enjoy working with]. It’s like most artists you go in the studio [with]—because even—you see people understand their craft. [And] a lot of people wanted the best. So a lot of people, because as an artist, it’s like you don’t want to tell them [something needs to be fixed] because you don’t want to upset them. But once there’s that mutual respect, they’ll listen to you as long as what you’re talking about makes sense. And for me, I like working with people that I can learn from. That’s one of the things that, over my years, going into the music, I gravitate—when I [went] in the studio with Jackie Mittoo, man, you could put a thousand hours on that clock. I ain’t coming out.
Right. Soak it all in.
Yeah, I’m soaking [it all] up like a sponge. I looked at everything and tried to ask him, “Man, how do you play that on a two-chord track!?” And sometimes (laughing), he’s just like, “Man, I just feel it.” And I understand for myself, because with mixing, I have to feel it—I have to become a part of the music. You know, I’m putting my mark on it and it can’t be something if I’m not feeling it. It’s all about that feeling, so there’s very few artists—Sugar Minott taught me a lot about harmonies. I loved working with Paul—“Computer Paul.”
Yeah. “Computer Paul” Henton.
Yeah. Out of all the people that I’ve worked with in my life, it’s like he’s in my head.
Who’s in your head?
Paul—he’s in my head. Computer Paul. And I’m in his head. And it’s like we think so much alike.
You did extensive work with Tenor Saw, including engineering and producing some of his biggest hits, including “Pumpkin Belly”—
No. I didn’t do “Pumpkin Belly.” It was—actually “Pumpkin Belly” was never supposed to—it was a dub plate.
Oh. Okay.
He never went there to do that track, he just went to do a dub plate.
Nice. And it just [later] ends up on that album. It ends up on the album—
Well, they didn’t have—they secretly recorded him. So he went back to do the track, yeah, but he couldn’t sing it. He—I had problems working with Tenor Saw (laughing). Tenor Saw was difficult to work with. There were days he would come in the studio—okay he was one of the artists that I had—he wasn’t easy to record.
What was the problem?
Keys. Singing on keys.
He wasn’t always able to sing on key?
Right. And I think a lot of artists when you tell them that they’re off of key, they think you’re talking about the beat. And I’m like, “No. It’s your key. Your pitch—it’s not matching up.” But then, there are days when he comes in there—
And kills it, yeah.
So—and kills it—and that was kind of frustrating because you’re making it look like it’s nothing. But now you’re singing “Fever,” and your pitch is all over the place. And it wasn’t argumentative or nothing like that, but I think because I was so young—because, you know, I did that album when I was seventeen, and sometimes it was like: “Yo, there’s this little boy telling me this and telling me that.”
Right. It’s a tough dynamic.
Yeah, but there seems to be—I don’t know what it was. I just think that some days he just came in there, and some stuff was just bothering him. You know what I mean?
Yeah.
He couldn’t focus. And then there’s days when he came in and—not a problem. He was one of the artists where—
It was a little bit difficult?
Yeah.