It is one thing to see the Hypa Kids perform their effervescent tune Happy Feet in the Celebration Time calypso tent, where they are based, egged on by their dad Ricky Li’l Rick aka Hypa Dawg Reid. It is quite another to see a massive 10 000 strong audience of mainly adults, such as the one that was present at the Farley Hill National Park last weekend for Soca Pon De Hill, erupt in thunderous jubilation when the two youngest members of the Reid clan, Rickara (seven) and Rinicko (ten) took the stage. They are perhaps the most popular family for the Crop-Over Festival, if not the “hypa-est”, but it was clear last Thursday, as Reid and his Hypa Family, including his 13-year-old daughter Marika René, Unda Dawg, 19, and the Hypa Kids sat down for a rare interview with the SUNDAY SUN, there was more than mere hype behind this family affair.Beyond the sensationalism and controversy he often finds himself at the centre of, Li’l Rick is also known for his shrewd business sense. The Hypa Family can be easily be seen as a complement to his business plan. This is the Hypa Kids’ second year performing for the Crop-Over Festival. Hypa Dawg explained how it happened. “It was simple. They came to me and said they wanted to get involved after Unda Dawg and myself came out with Break ‘Way (2008)”, he said.Of the song Happy Feet, Reid explained he was inspired by the November 2006 movie and had initially written the song for himself but on reflection realised it suited a younger age group.Writing Happy Feet for the children was a great way for him to tap into his childlike side, Reid said. He explained he had to take on a child’s persona to approach it from a child’s perspective.“Writing for children you have to put yourself in the position of a child and pretend to be a child. You need to put yourself in the person’s shoes you’re writing for,” said Reid, who is competing in today’s Sweet Soca and Party Monarch competitions.“Rickara started singing the song first. Then I heard the two of them running around the house singing the song so I said I would rewrite the song with parts in it for Rinicko,” Reid said.“It wasn’t hard for me to learn the song. It took me three days to remember it,” Rickara said.They both added they liked being on stage performing in front of crowds like their father, but for Rinicko holding the microphone was the best part. Reid has reservations for now about their being involved in the Junior Monarch competition.“I would think about entering them in the Junior Monarch later on but right now I like how they’re doing on their own outside of competition. Sometimes defeat can be hard for children. While social commentary is a good experience for them, the music doesn’t really go anywhere after that. That’s also why I wanted the Hypa Kids to do party music so that it would last outside of Crop-Over,” he said.Patrons familiar with the Celebration Time tent would have seen Reid appear on stage during the Hypa Kids’ performance. This, he indicated, is purposely orchestrated.“I put myself as the hype man or the emcee for them hyping up the crowd to put up their hands.”Asked about rehearsals and preparation for live performances, Reid explained that, just as he had done with Unda Dawg, “We would talk about on the day. They learned the songs really fast in terms of sitting down on the rhythm and holding the melody in key.” A football injury kept Unda Dawg away from the stage this year. Patrons at Soca Pon De Hill got an opportunity to see him on stage when he performed with his father. But he’s also keen on deejaying and has been investing in the field with the help of his dad.“It was great for me to be back on stage. I missed it. I had even written a song for another guy and myself to perform but that’ll have to be next year now.”The Hypa Kids and Unda Dawg all performed at yesterday’s Kiddie’s Kadooment and Junior Monarch at the National Stadium. The only member of the Hypa Family missing from the stage was Marika, who by her own admission is very shy and reluctant to take the microphone. Nonetheless, Reid hopes she will get involved in the administrative side of the family business.Asked how he felt at Farley Hill when the crowd responded so exuberantly to the Hypa Kids, an equally bashful Reid stated: “I felt really proud. It reminded me of when Unda Dawg first went up on a big stage with a lot of people and everyone was [teasing] he would “take me out”. It was good reliving those feelings again with the kids who came out much younger than he did and to see them handle themselves on stage. It feels really good that the kids are being acknowledged also by the National Cultural Foundation and the whole family will be coming out and performing together,” he said. Ever the savvy businessman, Reid indicated there were plans afoot to incorporate the entire clan in future projects.“I’m talking with another producer about putting out an album at Christmas and there might even be some songs out for Independence as well in November. The plan is to keep the Hypa Kids and the Hypa Family rolling inside and outside the Crop-Over festival,” he added.
