JERMAINE COOPA DAN GITTENS is no stranger to the Crop Over scene. One can say he is almost a fixture as he has been attending tents and shows with his mum from age five.
“She [Alison Gittens] was a backup singer for years in various calypso tents so I used to tag along with her . . . . So I would have grown up on soca and calypso music . . . seeing Gabby and RPB and MADD performing.”
Coopa Dan has quietly been making a name for himself on the music scene, and has now teamed up with one of those stalwarts – Eric Lewis from MADD.
“2013 was really my year. Everyone was asking the Question Of The Year – how you bumpa get so broad?” That song really put me on the map and got me known in places such as Canada, the United States, Britain, the Caribbean and as far afield as Germany.”
That buzz created in 2013 carried forward into 2014 and the artiste said many were looking for what he was bringing.
“I was able to use the connections and links I made in 2013 to work for me – relationships with producers, local and international DJs and also the same for radio stations.”
Coopa Dan released four singles last year and a collaboration with a Trinidadian artiste.
Calling 2014 better in terms of body of work and experiences (in his quest for rise to the top, he also singles out cowriting soca queen Alison Hinds’ response to Question Of The Year), Coopa Dan has stepped up his game for 2015 .
“I decided to come with a different sound. This year I am actually singing . . . . My previous style was like chanting, fusing the soca with a dancehall influence. I am singing sweet soca and actually entering that competition.”
Coopa Dan said the change in style was necessary: “As an artiste you don’t want to sound too monotonous. You don’t want every time you sing a song people say ‘Oh, that’s Coopa Dan’. I want to have a different feel to my music this year.”
Own Day is one of the songs he has released and has gotn calls from as far as Houston saying the song is on heavy rotation.
He called the change a “gamble” but so far it has been well received. He has three tracks this year – the other two being True Story and the very comical collaboration Choose One with Eric Lewis.
“It was a blessing to do the song with him. To see that I grew up being influenced by MADD, as I loved the entertainment they bring and the laughs so I was sceptical in approaching him.
“When I was writing the song it was a funny type of song and from the time I got the topic MADD came to mind. One of my friends urged me to approach Eric. He liked the idea and I already had the verse and chorus and he put a verse and did some production and the song was born.”
Coopa Dan said he wrote the song after getting poor customer service around the island. “It basically goes along the lines of ‘you can’t be unmannerly and ugly too’. Choose One,” he said, laughing.
For True Story it revolves around him growing up in the tents and going to events, his love of soca and his growth in the genre.
His inspiration for working hard and being a fixture on the entertainment scene now has a new focus: his four-month old daughter.
“I am not sure if I am going to write a song about her and sing it during Crop Over,” he said, laughing. “I don’t see people jumping and chipping down the road to a song about how much I love her and how she smiles. What about those who have a son?” he said, chuckling, adding that he will use the relationship with her in one of his songs.
Coopa Dan though is no stranger to children. As a schoolteacher of infants for past eight years, he said many children see him in the father figure role.
“Not to sound cheesy but many of them look at me like that . . . like a dad. Many call me daddy at school. I play many roles such as doctor, police father.” Being a teacher has given him the virtue of patience and a head start to work from, he said.
Jermaine smiles from ear to ear when talking about Jamiya Chelsea-Rose Gittens.
“I am a Chelsea football team fanatic and when I found out I was having a daughter I knew Chelsea was going to be a part of it and I didn’t want to be so blatant with it with first name,” he said.
“I have found a new love. It is a cliché about ‘not knowing love until you have a child’ but it is definitely true. You become so much more selfless. Everything for me is about my daughter. When people ask me if I good, I say ‘ask me if my daughter good’, because if she is good, I am good.”
Jermaine says he has even changed his eating habits as he wants to be healthy and live longer to be around for his daughter.
He related that when he found out he was to be a dad it was a beautiful surprise and he was there for every doctor appointment, ultrasounds . . . right up to the actual birth in the delivery room.
“I was so excited, doing a little shopping. I am spoiling her. I take her up as soon as she cries while grandma says let her cry.”
He said he and his dad had an OK relationship.
“He supported me and we could have conversations like we were friends. We have a good relationship and I am carrying that over into my relationship with my daughter. They say fathers are protective and strict with their daughters but when the time comes I will play it as it goes.
“I am enjoying her as a baby, the little noises she made, the laughs out loud. I change pampers too. My daughter was born on January 24 and I have seen her every single day . . . . even though she lives in St Michael and I live in St Philip.”
Jermaine said as an adult there wasn’t anything he had to do every single day except pray, but now he makes sure, if it is even for five minutes, that he makes the time to spend it with his daughter.
In terms of values, he doesn’t have to look far when instilling them in his daughter.
“My parents raised me right. I am 27 years old and I believe you should always respect your parents. I have never lost respect for any of my parents. Never used any abusive language toward them. I believe in manners. My dad and mum will pick up slack if I fail, which I don’t intend to do.”
Ending the interview how we started – with Crop Over – he said he was looking for an exciting year and was shooting a music video for Own Day.
“I am always about going up. I started from the bottom and each year it has been progress. I don’t want to be stagnant. I am looking to perform at major events this year and travelling outside of the season. I also want people to really like my music.”
