Jamaican singer and
By John Berger
DJ promise a ‘wicked show’
Special to the Star-BulletinA call to Jamaica finds Chaka Demus and Pliers primed to return to Hawaii.
Last time, Chaka, the DJ/singer, and Pliers, the singer, did three shows with just a PA system. "Now we're coming with our band and our backing vocalists. The band is kicking. We're coming full blast with wicked show," Chaka says.
Pliers says he and Chaka personify the "combination" style of Jamaican pop music in which a DJ/rapper works in tandem with a vocalist. Chaka and Pliers both sing, but Pliers is the romantic lead while Chaka interjects melodic but rougher counterpoints.
Pliers hopes to visit Ethiopia, and mentions Boyz II Men, K-Ci & JoJo, Mariah Carey and the Notorious B.I.G. as artists he enjoys listening to. Chaka mentions Whitney Houston and says he would like to perform in China.
Some rasta-reggae purists may scoff but the duo has long transcended ethnic and cultural definitions -- especially in Hawaii. Their last album, "Tease Me," sold more than 30,000 copies here on the strength of its catchy title track and several other songs that had previously hit big in England. Their current album, "For Every Kinda People," has been huge here for most of the year. Their current single, "Witness Stand," matched the success of "Tease Me" in getting high-rotation play on local pop stations that generally don't play reggae.
They're about to start work on a new album for Unexpected Entertainment Group Ltd.
"You can bet that this album is going to be the bash, the best, the top," Pliers promises.
The duo speaks with confidence that comes with years of hard work and steady success. Chaka made his first record, "Increase Your Knowledge," in 1986; he had been inspired by an older DJ named Nicodemus and performed as Nicodemus Junior. "He told me after a year, 'You're no more a junior. Your name is Chaka Demus because you've really improved it."
Pliers has a similar tale. "There was another singer named Pincers. People used to say I sounded like him, so a record producer said I should go ahead and (take the) name Pliers. Just like that."
Both men were enjoying successful solo careers when they began performing together during a short North American tour. By tour's end they'd decided to keep working together. Their first record, "Gal Wine," hit big on the London reggae charts. They secured their reputation with a song Pliers had written about an old girlfriend, "Murder She Wrote."
"She knows I was writing about her," Pliers says. "Every time that girl see me up to now she ask me for money, uh huh. She cause the idea and I did the writing."
They say they had no idea that "Witness Stand" was a hit here. Pliers says excitedly: "You hear that Chaka? Damn, man! I really want to come to Hawaii now!"
Chaka Demus & Pliers
Opening act: Rita Marley
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