We try our best to just advocate as many positive things to the young people of Barbados. Alot of people don’t believe that in music or in anything other than academics you can survive or make a living. We are basically saying that nothing is wrong with academics, we want you to go to school and study, but we also want you to broaden your horizons and open your mind and just feel what you want to do and vibe what you want to do and don’t be afraid to go after your dreams.

Edwin Yearwood, 1/1/2003.
The Boatyard, Barbados.

Edwin Yearwood, the lead singer of Krosfyah, remains the only Barbadian to claim Party monarch, Road Monarch and Calypso King titles in the same year. Not surprisingly, he has performed in St. Lucia for Nelson Mandela, and continues to entertain and mesmerize crowds with his remarkable voice known to many through songs like Wet Me and Pump Me Up. This versatile band rang in the New Year singing reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, rock, calypso and soca. After an hour and a half of performing, Krosfyah's frontline took the time to talk with jouvay.com during intermission. As their 2001 Road March tune asks, Sak Pase?

Jouvay.com: Here we are with Krosfyah’s Edwin Yearwood and Khiomal. It’s Krosfyah’s 14th anniversary.

Edwin Yearwood: 14 years in Barbados at the Boatyard.

J: So I heard you beat TC and Andy Armstrong back in the day in the teen talent competition.

E: Oh, that was years ago. That was 1983.

J: How old were you then?

E: I’ll never tell. I’ll never tell.

J: None of you Bajans tell your age eh! So what are you working on now?

E: We’ve started working on our new album for 2003. Khiomal has written about 4 songs already. I’ve managed to write just one. And we’re also getting ready to rehearse for carnival in Trinidad.

J: Who are you guys playing with in Trinidad?

E: We don’t care. We’re just going to have a ball.

J: So Road Jam was your big hit for 2002.

E: Yeah, we won road march in Boston in 2002 with Road Jam. “I feel like wukkin up, when you get behind the truck you bound to think we crazy.”

J: You’re hilarious. Who’s your main producer down here?

E: Recently, we do about 60% of the producing ourselves. We still work with someone who has been our major producer in the past, Nicholas Branker. We work with Chris Altman, Darren Grant, ourselves in our own studio called Underground Studios. We doing our thang.

J: How about Monstapiece?

E: Yes, we do work with Monstapiece also. I’m right now doing a project with them for Onika in Trinidad for carnival 2003. I’m writing and producing some of it.

J: So you produce too?

E: I do a little thing. I try.

J: I know you guys have been to San Francisco before. How was that?

E: Oh we loved San Francisco. That’s a beautiful place. Some of us have been there, some have not.

J: Maybe someone will bring you all back. Khiomal you’ve never been?

E: Somebody please bring us back. We miss San Francisco. I even bought a Giants Jersey man.

Khiomal: I want to see it.

J: Yeah, you guys had women giving you their chests for autographs when you performed at Afribbean in Mountain View.

E: O…..K…..

Jouvay.com: Khiomal, how long have you been with the group?

Khiomal: This would be 3 years.

J: You look really young too. I read on Krosfyah.com that you were one of the youngest to reach the semi finals of the party monarch competitions back in 1998. Congrats. Edwin, how did you start singing?

E: I don’t even know how I started singing. I just love singing. I used to sing a lot at home in a tree. And one day a gentleman passed and would not leave until I came down. He wanted to see who was singing. After that it just went from there. I grew up in a place called the Bayland, St. Barnabas and the Pine in Barbados and they got behind me. An entire 3 communities came together and pushed me because they believed in my talent. I was in lower high school when this happened.

J: And from there your career just took off?

E: Yeah, well, we had a lot of hard fighting, but from there I knew what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be an artist. I knew I wanted to make a contribution to the art form of Barbados. It just went from there.

J: Well, you’ve made a big contribution to Caribbean soca music in general. It’s interesting how you play a lot of reggae and alternative stuff here in Barbados versus when you perform at carnivals in North America where I see you most often. You all are really all rounded.

E: Soca is what we do, but it’s Old Year’s night so we wanted to give people a wide variety. We don’t do this in Barbados at all. Actually, it’s the first time we’ve ever done this.

Khiomal: We do perform reggae normally.

E: Plus it’s our anniversary so we’re celebrating as well. Happy Birthday Krosfyah. Happy Birthday.

J: So, you have 3 lead singers? Khiomal, Edwin Yearwood and ..

E: Barry Chandler. Come over here Barry. Speak up.

Barry: She has not asked me a question.

E: We love to make fun of Barry because he’s very shy. He won the talent show also.

J: Barry, you were in high school when you won the teen talent?

B: Yes, I was 16 years old. That was 2000.

J: 16. Thank you for telling me your age. So, how did you hook up with Edwin them?

B: I performed with a band by the name of Double Xplojun

J: You were in Double Xplojun. I just went to see them tonight.

B: Ok. And he saw me performing a couple of times and sort of liked what I was doing.

E: Anything else you want to ask us?

J: Yes I want you guys to give a shout toJouvay.com.

E,K,B: OK. We shouting out Jouvay.com. 1 2 3 4 this is Krosfyah.

K: Jouvay.com.

E,K,B: Yo, this is Krosfyah and you’re checking out Jouvay.com, we’re there, Jouvay.com, jam de session, Krosfyah rhythm, we’re there, dingolay…Jouvay.com, we’re in the new, I got my new shoe.. (infamous Jouvay.com whistle rings).

E: Oh gosh, where dat woman come from?

J: So, who wrote the lyrics for Pump Me Up?

E: Well, I wrote and composed Pump Me Up.

J: That is the ultimate.

E: Thank you very much. We love the song. It’s like an anthem for us. That’s the first song we wrote on our very first CD together and the CD went gold, selling many thousands for us and we feel very proud that God blessed us with that.

J: When you say the CD went gold, how many sold?

E: Well, it’s 50,000, but it’s surpassed that by miles.

J: Which label are you guys on now?

E: Independent label. Krosfyah.

J: That seems to be the way to go. Where can you find your stuff online?

E: You can check www.KROSFYAH .com or www.vprecords.com.

J: How does VP sell your stuff if you’re not on their label?

E: We have a distribution deal with them. We were signed to VP a couple of years ago with a CD called Hot Zone. Since then we’ve decided to go independent. We manufacture and produce everything here in Barbados.

Jouvay.com: So, what kind of charity work you do down here?

Edwin: Well, we’re associated with the Barbados heart foundation, which is a foundation that was put together to raise money to help people with heart diseases, we are also attached to the HIV commission here in Barbados, we’re also attached to about 3 or 4 others. We do alot of stuff for children. The Barbados cancer society is an organization that we work closely with as well. We try our best to just advocate as many positive things to the young people of Barbados. Basically we are here because of them, we are here to represent them. Alot of people don’t believe that in music or in anything other than academics you can survive or make a living. We are basically saying that nothing is wrong with academics, we want you to go to school and study, but we also want you to broaden your horizons and open your mind and just feel what you want to do and vibe what you want to do and don’t be afraid to go after your dreams. Those are the things that we push. We do alot for charity.

Jouvay.com: For real. Thanks alot. Look forward to the rest of the show.

"I keep hearing a melody and it’s just a haunting me…la la la la." Following this intermission break, Krosfyah continued to ring in the New Year with their hit songs and high energy, and were joined on stage by Flexxi and the Mighty Gabby…described by Edwin as the living legend, the Lion, the Conqueror, real royalty, the Barbados Prime Minister of music. 3:30 am, January 1st, 2003, DJ Double R takes over and plays until the day breaks.

Much thanks to Michael Agard.

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