Taking Things To The Vmax
By By Wayne Bowman
wayne.bowman@trinidadexpress.comStory Created: Sep 18, 2011 at 8:34 PM ECT
Story Updated: Sep 18, 2011 at 8:34 PM ECT
The YouTube video sharing website and others like it have opened windows of opportunity that were before unavailable to fledgling singers, musicians and other artistes the world over including Trinidad and Tobago.
You never know just who will come across your videos when you post them. Remember the Sorrel Boyz, a group of friends that put their "Yuh Want Some Sorrel Or Wha" video on YouTube? They garnered over 200,000 hits and went on to record several hit singles accompanied by professionally produced videos.
One day Rob Fusari who produced some of Lady Gaga's breakthrough hit singles was surfing through YouTube and came across videos posted by local hip-hop artiste, Vmax. Fusari was impressed enough to contact the young man and offer to send him the tracks for three pieces of music he created so Vmax could write and record lyrics to them then send them back to Fusari who'll then decide if he will release them.
"I have the tracks and I am taking my time to work on them. I was very surprised when Fusari contacted me. There is no recording deal or anything like that as yet. He just wants to see what I'll do with the music, then we will take things from there. Vmax said.
Born Ronald Max Verasammy, Vmax who is now 20 years old is considered one of the top local hip-hop artistes. Even four-time International Power Soca Monarch, Bunji Garlin said the former St Mary's College student is a uniquely gifted artiste that he would like to do collaboration with one day. With all the kudos he gets, however, Vmax remains a humble young man who spends a lot of his time working on improving his skill.
The moniker, Vmax comes from a scientific term that means the maximum rate of catalysis or the highest rate of velocity possible. This reflects the perfection that Vmax is seeking to achieve in his music career as far as how quickly he can rise to the top not only on the local arena, but internationally as well.
Vmax, who is from Pipol Road, Santa Cruz, developed a liking for hip-hop, especially the music of Tupac Shakur, when he was six years old, but he did not begin to get into writing his own songs until he was 14 years old. Around that time he began to spend a lot of time alone writing and learning various vocal techniques. Vmax also engaged in freestyling sessions in school during break times to hone his skill.
By the time he was in Form Four he would attract large gatherings as his fellow students came to hear him spit his rhymes. This of course raised the concerns of some teachers who did not seem to appreciate hip-hop or some of the topics Vmax would explore in his raps. In fact, although St Mary's College has an annual talent show titled Prefects Concert, for the students, Vmax never performed in any of them while he was at the school.
"I never officially performed at Prefects Concert because some of the teachers thought that I would make the students behave too wild because of what they used to see happening whenever I was freestyling during lunchtime. In my last year at the school I ran up on stage after the concert as the students were leaving and started to rap, calling everyone back in. Some of the boys got on so wild that I was not allowed to perform for our graduation, which I was supposed to do a rap at," Vmax said.
Vmax gained more widespread attention when he participated in the Synergy TV Spit Your Game freestyle battle competition in 2009. He won the competition, beating out rappers who were older than he, which was not new to Vmax as he had always held his own against rappers who have been in the game longer than he had been. When he was 14 years old, Vmax spent four months going to school in New York, living in the Bronx where some of the world's best hip-hop acts have originated. Vmax even did battles with grown men while there and easily held his own against them, winning sometimes.
By the time he returned to Trinidad Vmax was ready to perform at events and saved his money to produce his first single, "Dreaming" at Highway Records, which is based in Curepe. To date he has built an impressive portfolio on various Internet sites with several singles including, "All Day", "Come Around We" with Jesarai, "World Crisis" with Marlon Asher, "The Cause", "So Sour Yet So Sweet" and his latest release, "Find My Way".
"I will soon release a mixtape with Jesarai called, God's Citi, which means God's citizen. In everything you must put God first. Jesarai is a very talented young man that will soon be making a big impact. I am just seeking to continue growing as an artiste and a person. For now I am managing all my affairs with the help of my mother who has always supported me in my quest to be an artiste.
"It is not easy for any artiste to make it and being a hip-hop artiste in Trinidad is even harder. What I have done is use my freestyle skills to get people's attention and then give them what I have written. There are so many talented young people out here that need a break, but because they are not doing soca or reggae they can't get any support. We love our own music, calypso and soca, but we also love other genres and can express ourselves through these other forms of music," Vmax said.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/sunday-m ... 91213.html
