Second time's the charm

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Trey Songz asks Jamaica to expect more mature performance

With a larger catalogue and a lot more international experience, R&B singer Trey Songz plans to make a big impact at Friday's Reggae Sumfest International Night 1, which will be his second performance in the island.

Trey Songz will make his first Reggae Sumfest appearance on Friday night in Catherine Hall, Montego Bay. But this will not be his first time performing in Jamaica, as in August 2008 he was one of the headliners at an event called Face To Face at Temple Hall Estate, St Andrew. The event, where Trey Songz performed alongside acts like Yung Joc, Assassin, Playaz Circle, QQ and Leftside, was poorly attended.

Four years later, Trey Songz says he has a lot more in store for his Jamaican audience.

"I've had more experience onstage, I'm more of an international artiste now, I've toured the world, couple albums have dropped since then, a mixtape and I have a lot more new music. I have the same band, I have background singers, so it will be a more lively performance. I think it will be longer," Trey Songz told The Gleaner from France on Sunday morning.

"I am very much excited about performing on the Sumfest stage. It's a great platform. It's the first international night, so I look forward to representing my country well and very much being accepted by you guys. I love the culture, I love the women, I love the weather, the food, so I look forward to not only performing onstage but just being in Jamaica."

Jamaican culture

While he is not a reggae artiste, Trey Songz says he will try to include aspects of the Jamaican culture in his act.

"I am not a reggae artiste, so it feels good to be called on. I will try my best to incorporate some of your culture into my set. I plan to sing my heart out and leave it onstage and no matter how big the audience is, I plan to make everyone in the building feel special and make it as intimate as possible," he said, noting that his last performance was at Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, United States, just weeks ago.

Jetting from Miami to Los Angeles and then to France in a matter of two days, Trey Songz explained that he currently has a very busy schedule as he gears up for the August 21 release of his album, Chapter V, which features songs like Heart Attack, Reasons, Dive In and Simply Amazing. The album will also feature a track called Ladies Gone Wild, produced by Jamaican producer Teetimus, who is known for working on songs songs like Affairs Of The Heart by Damian Marley and Vegas' Bruck It Dung.

During the interview, Trey Songz also boasted of other Jamaican connections such as a 'Jamaican-to-the-bone' neighbour he had during the initial stages of his music career. On Sundays, he said this woman would braid his hair and cook him foods like oxtail, curried chicken, rice and peas, fried plantain and fish.

Despite what will be a short stay in the country and his very busy schedule, the singer says he wants to fully enjoy his trip and get a taste of the culture.

"I don't have anything planned yet. My life is so busy, it's hard to adjust from day to day. But I definitely wanna get into some water. I wanna get some good food and I wanna see some of the culture," he told The Gleaner, while noting that his first visit to Jamaica was when he was 17 years old.