Fadda Fox on a mission

Nicholas Sealy is on a mission. And that is to make the name Fadda Fox remain on the lips of people in places like Switzerland, Tanzania and Brazil.

The entertainer has been enjoying tremendous success on the music scene, especially during the last five years.

“The formula I have is to deliver feel good music. That means to do songs people can relate to, party to, can understand. My songs are a storytelling situation.”

“I preach all love in my music so I want people to leave home and come out and party.”

In 2013 he was making waves with a big song called Boat, a collaboration with Bo Bo. In 2014 he had people Ducking . . . they still do up to today. If you were at Illuminate fete early last month you would have seen US celebrity hypeman Fatman Scoop trying to learn the “Ducking” dance as Fadda Fox performed.

“I didn’t even release much songs last year except for Good Ole Days and a collaboration, Show Me Energy, with Charly Black (from Jamaica).”

“I am on a mission. I am not about competition,” said the artiste, who was a first-timer as one of the Sweet Soca semi-finalists last year.

“My manager entered Good Ole Days. I didn’t know till last minute. This year I didn’t enter. To be honest, I am not a competition type of guy and my mind is not on competition.”

He said last year was a good vibe. Good Ole Days did what it had to do and the fans showed plenty love.

“It was written by myself and Skinny Fabulous. Show Me Energy was written by Jovan James, myself and Charly Black. Doing collaborations is part and parcel of what I do as it works well in giving everyone some exposure.”

He said it is also strategic as some of these artistes are well known and can help get you that “foot in the door”. He calls it a win-win situation: “It works for them too as it gives them the opportunity to spread their name in the Caribbean.”

He also has a song with Motto from St Lucia called Shell Dong Dat.

“Motto and I have been back and forth in music for a little while. He reached out to me to do the colab on the track and I said yes. That track has been nominated for International Soca Awards for Colab Of The Year. The video also has over a million views on YouTube.”

“My laser vision is on spreading the Fadda Fox brand. My team and I are looking at different territories such as the European and French markets. My aim is have songs that are played not just in Barbados. I want to fly that flag as much and as high as I can. I want to stamp my name in every corner of the world.”

When it comes to letting the songs get airplay there is a method to the order, said Fadda Fox.

“Me and my team go through the songs and say what will be on what riddim, what will be a single and who we are going to do remixes with. I want to spread my wings further than just the usual markets. That is why we reached out to [Nigerian artiste] Runtown. I really wanted to get into that Afro beat genre and also that territory. I want to get my music into the eastern side of the world.”

The musician said soca is a growing brand and there are too many markets for artistes to just sit comfortably home and let their music become stagnant.

“We need to see Barbadian artistes a lot more out there representing the brand. There are so many carnivals all over the world . . . . I want to see us out there on the road touring.”

For this year Fadda Fox has a new song to be released soon called Champion Bubbla on the Gallis Riddim, produced by Dada Music out of Dominica, who also produced Good Ole Days. On the track you will hear Fadda Fox trying his hand at some Creole language.

But if you have been in any Crop Over fete for the 2018 season you must have heard Rock That Body, co-written by himself and Jus D and produced by Optimus Productions (Jesse James) out of Trinidad.

He said that tune is one of his favourites.

“We had a vision for the song and we wanted something real diverse and with an international feel to it. I just did an Afro remix to it with a French artiste and we will launch that soon. There is a promotional video releasing for it.”

Fadda Fox hasn’t been home for too long nowadays as he is in demand to perform overseas.

“I just came back home from Infinity Music Festival in Martinique. We are heading to St Lucia carnival and I have plenty gigs coming up for the rest of the year.”

He said last year his most memorable moment was performing in North and South Carolina. He was astounded by the response in those places from the crowd. Another highlight was performing on stage in the Bahamas, with Wyclef Jean, who told him Ducking was one of his favourite songs.

“I didn’t have any lows last year. Why? Because my philosophy is that everything that happens to you in life is kind of a blessing in disguise. You just need to learn and adapt to them. I am about further elevation all the time.”

He will be spending some of his time here enjoying Crop Over, but he has overseas commitments after.

“My plan is not to be seasonal. I want to release music at least every month or every two months. I think it is silly not to take advantage and tap into other markets. I want to do some colabs and other projects. I am working on my merchandise line also too with some new stuff.”

In September he has a birthday tour, and so far confirmed is Switzerland, Sweden, London and France, with more to be added.

The Fadda Fox brand is a well oiled machine with a hard-working team behind him: Mario Turton and Leonardo Worrell as management; booking agencies in Ministry of Vibes, Pyramid Entertainment and Dwight Yearwood of Riddimstream. Marketing and publishing is handled by Ashley Dyall Caricia Taylor and DJs Fuzz, Trixta and Shaker.

“Things are looking up. I have no complaints whatsoever. I am just continually giving thanks.” (NS)