May 15, 2006 @ 2:00 pm

Baby Cham: Shares His Ghetto Story

by: Richard Cruz

With the weather getting warmer, and Sean Paul having the number one single in the country earlier this year, dancehall is poised to endure a long, successful summer. This time around, however, the spotlight is fixed upon Baby Cham, whose single, “Ghetto Story,” has steadily climbed the charts and represents a crucial part of dancehall that has been lacking as of late: the raw, more lyric-based side.

VIBE recently caught up with Cham and discussed his new album, his outlook on the state of dancehall, and the success of what appears to be reggae lovers' new found anthem: "Ghetto Story."

Vibe Online: Others who are very lyrical, such as Spragga Benz, Vybz Kartel and Bounty Killah have achieved relative mainstream exposure, but none have been able to completely cross over as has Sean Paul. Still, every so often, a song like “Ghetto Story” or “Welcome to Jamrock” are accepted by the masses. Did you expect “Ghetto Story” to become an anthem for dancehall?

BABY CHAM: I did expect it to become an anthem for dancehall, but what it’s doing outside of dancehall, I didn’t expect. It’s doing some crazy stuff! The raw video that we [shot] in Jamaica is in rotation on MTV Jams and is on Direct Effect and the video hasn’t even been worked by Atlantic [label Cham is signed to] yet! It’s on [popular London radio station] Choice FM A-List. Dancehall artists never get on A-List unless you’re Sean Paul or Shaggy. Its doing some things I’ve never dreamed [of]. When you work hard, you want it to happen, but you don’t expect it.

You’ve been performing music for quite a while, and 5 years ago you achieved moderate success with “Man and Man,” which was good in the clubs, but not as well received on radio and television as “Ghetto Story”. Is this a case of the mainstream finding a place for dancehall in their rotation or of your style changing over the years?

Baby Cham: I think is a little of both. Timing has a lot to do with it, also. The song is so real, and the melody breaks it down so people understand what it’s saying. Plus, dancehall is doing so well right now: Sean Paul [“Temperature”] was just the number one [single] on Billboard, so that’s a plus and helps everything fall into place. As an artist, I’ve been experimenting over the years, so I’ve learned how to break down that barrier.

Most of the recent dancehall songs that have become hits are more uptempo, and maintain the same party vibe and introduce a lot of dances, obviously. In your music, you’re telling a story about poverty that not only occurs in Jamaica, but worldwide. Will the rest of your album, Ghetto Story, be reflective like its first single, or will it be more jovial?

Baby Cham: Well you’ll never hear a beat on my album that’s going at 120 beats-per-minute. That’s not me, that’s too fast. To me that’s not authentic dancehall music. Dancehall music normally has substance. When the beat is going so fast, its fine, I appreciate it and respect it, but that’s just not me. My album is entitled Ghetto Story and that’s just what you’ll get. in the ghetto you have hardship, but at the same time you have fun, so you’ll get fun music also. I’m more of a realist, and that’s what I write about.

So no [wildly popular and fast] Junkanoo riddim for you?

Baby Cham: (Laughs) No Junkanoo, no ‘Bad Man Forward, Bad Man Pull Up.' But its all love because when I go to the clubs, I want to hear those songs and I want to see the dances. But for me, that’s not it.

The video has an aesthetic similar to the movie “City of God”. Is that a favorite movie of yours?

Baby Cham: I love that movie. At first, I didn’t know that Brazil was like that! That script could have easily been written based upon a city in Jamaica.

And how about “Shottas”?

Baby Cham: Crazy! One of my all-time favorites. It helped give a good look as to what [the ghetto in] Jamaica is all about, it was real. ['Belly’s' interpretation of Jamaica] wasn’t so real. You’re not going to be driving through Jamaica and people run up on your car and knocking on your glass, that just wont happen. 'Shottas' is real because not every day something pops off, but when it does, it can get ugly.

Why did you change the album title from “Thinking Wit De Wrong Head” to what it is now?

Baby Cham: (laughs) When I got signed to Atlantic, the first song we put out was ‘Vitamin S’ and its one of those songs that make you stray a bit out of line from your girl (laughs). Sometimes, we as men, tend to think not with the brain upstairs, but the brain downstairs (laughs).

Your longtime collaborator, Dave Kelly, produced the nostalgic Eighty-Five Riddim [the beat upon which “Ghetto Story" is featured].

Baby Cham: That’s why its called the “eighty-five”, its from the era of 1985 where [all music] the tempo was at 82 beats-per-minute, and where you’re hearing real lyrics, no gimmicks. You have to be saying stuff that people can relate to, to keep their attention. When it’s fast, its easy. All I have to say is [sings] ‘give dem de dance/bust de dance’ and you’re going to dance!

There’s always been that battle where dancehall reggae is split amongst roots, culture, uptempo & dance, etc…

Baby Cham: Back in the days [in Jamaica], you had Ninjaman and Shabba Ranks. Ninja was the gimmick and Shabba was the lyricist, but Ninja was the biggest thing in Jamaica, hands down. But me need lyrics, me need gimmicks also, me need everything. I need “Bad man forward”, I need “Poppin My Collar” (pops collar and laughs). I need a wide variety of music, music as a whole.

What are your thoughts on other Caribbean-based genres that are influenced by reggae, like soca and reggaeton?

Baby Cham: I love music! I don’t know the names of all the artists, but I love music. It all comes back to reggae though, and you have to show respect. Soca is being sold almost like dancehall now, and if reggae wasn’t so huge, there’s no way that reggaeton would have come and done it [the way it has]. Yo, we’re all from one spot [the Caribbean], we just got separated somewhere along the line, and we all have to support each other’s music.

What is your dream collaboration?

Baby Cham: It would be like this: Bob Marley on the hook, Stevie Wonder doing the intro, Dr. Dre and Dave Kelly making the beat, I have to have Whitney Houston singing somewhere, and Michael Jackson in the video. That’s my dream!

Baby Cham's GHETTO STORY hits stores August 2006. Read more vibe.com online exclusives.

Article tags: Baby Cham, Baby Cham Ghetto Story, Baby Cham Reggae, Reggae, Baby Cham New Album, Baby Cham New Single