By Theresa Goodwin
With a prestigious United States Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for Legendary Music under his belt, Kenroy “Kenne Blessin” Carney has now become a driving force throughout North America, London and the entire Caribbean.
His primary goal is to continue making history as an artiste and build a platform for young professionals within the musical industry.
The Jamaican born and transplanted Antiguan and Barbudan national is a multi-talented artiste with a crossover sound that compliments any genre of music-Soca, Reggae, Hip-hop and Cross-over. Carney began his musical journey in his native island learning Reggae and Dancehall before moving to Antigua and Barbuda.
The Naw Give Up singer — now domiciled in Atlanta, Georgia — is currently working on his latest project which includes input from two young local artistes, Ge’Eve and Island Prince, who are regarded as two of the country’s most promising singers.
The two are featured on the Hot Wata Riddim which was released yesterday on all streaming platforms around the world, featuring three songs: Naughty Party, Bad and Boujee, and Naw Trust Them.
The track Bad and Boujee by G’Eve celebrates her transition into adulthood in a confident manner, while Nah trust them by Island Prince is revealing his versatility as a song writer.
The riddim was produced by singer-turned-producer Carney, of Doings Recording, in collaboration with producer Andrew Dorsett of Similus Global Media.
The relationship between Carney and Dorsett dates back to years and exposes his hidden talent for beats and riddim
Asked why he chose Prince and G’Eve, Carney said both songs were given to the duo because of the dynamic relationship he has crafted with them and their families while living here on the island.
The third track on the riddim is Naughty Party by Kenne Blessin himself.
“My goal is to work with more of the young artistes that want to excel in the world of music, not only in Antigua and Barbuda, but internationally; not just the ones who produce songs for just the carnival period.
“Artistes, who are looking to position themselves, because I learnt the hard way and I want to help others achieve their goal as well,” Carney told Observer recently.
Dorsett said his initial encounter with the project was when he heard the demo of G’Eve’s song.
He said he was blown away even more so after finding out that the beat was created by a longtime colleague and friend, Kenne Blessin.
“I have known Kenne for over two decades, primarily as a performer and songwriter, but knew he had something special with this project. I was asked to record G’Eve’s song and eventually became more involved because I believed in it so much,” Dorsett said.
He said that he did some additional production, recorded and produced the vocals for Bad and Boujee, as well as the final production, mixing and mastering.
Meanwhile, Ge’Eve shared that she and Kenne Blessin have held talks about working with each other for years and she is pleased they have finally attained that goal.
“Being the only female on the Hot Wata Riddim, I needed a song which speaks to women in a way that they can relate from style to confidence,” she said.
“Bad and Boujee was written by Kenne Blessin and myself and the production was done by Andrew Dorsett. More Hot Wata yet to come for Antigua’s Carnival 2023,” she added.
Island Prince’s participation followed a phone call from Ge’Eve herself who told him about the project.
He later found out that it was his father’s longtime friend Kenne Blessin, and while the song did not “hit him as yet”, he jumped right in as it was something every young person could resonate with.
“Now that the project is complete, I actually like the song even more now that the end project came together. Working with Kenne Blessin, Andrew Dorsett and Ge’Eve has been great; they check in from time to time to ensure all is well,” Prince explained.
Hot Wata is now streaming on Youtube and will be on spotify and a host of other online streams following its release yesterday.
Carney said the work continues and includes a groovy soca song which is slated to be released in time for his birthday on 11 February.
He is also featured on a gospel compilation with a host of artistes in Atlanta. The gospel was done on the High Praise Riddim which was produced by Murphy Productions and B Joshent.
He is also now actively promoting his new single Naw give up which encourages people to keep striving in difficult times.
In that single, he encourages everyone to stick it out and not give up as the song is aptly titled.
Carney explained that “sometimes, we are faced with challenges and difficult situations and there is nothing we would rather do than escape, but the song is a reminder for fans not to give up on their dreams and goals”.