New Artist of The Month: Royal Dainties!

Royal Dainties

Meet Royal Dainties! Way back when I started this blog and started doing ‘artist of the month’ type of features, I had a handful of names in mind that I really wanted to get out and for various specific reasons. Be it their circumstances, how much potential I felt they had or some other aim, these were artists who I felt the world (or at least the bit of it who hang around here for some reason) should’ve known more about. Now a year and half on or so, I’ve done most of them, Mischu Laikah, Smiley, Jah Nyne, Goldee etc. one of the names which remained on the shelf was Royal Dainties from out of Chaguanas, one Trinidad’s most talented Reggae artists. I had good reason why I hadn’t drew on him just yet (and believe me, there were times when I was close) - I was REALLY expecting and waiting on him to drop an album or just REALLY start a push out with his music internationally, but it just hadn’t and still hasn’t occurred, which is so unfortunate, but I thought that maybe I can kick start something on that end (I can’t) and that now was the time to introduce my wonderful readers to a name who has been one of my favourite under-knowns for quite some time.

You may’ve actually heard from this very interesting singer/chanter previously because he is a very good friend of the Ganja Farmer, Mr. Marlon Asher, and should you have been so fortunate as to catch a show of Asher’s in the Caribbean or maybe in New York or in Toronto, Dainties has been touring with his friend for quite some time now and they’ve also recorded in the past, such as the tune ‘Blazin’ Hott’ which featured on Asher’s album, ”The Ganja Farmer” (and Yes - I know Marlon Asher has like 45 albums and they all pretty much have the same tunes on them).

But, at least as of yet, the successes had by Asher and Isasha and Khari Kill and of course, Queen Omega and Jamelody, have eluded Royal Dainties on the international level, but he remains one of Trinidad’s most respected artists and justly so. I’d also be willing to say that artists like Zebulon, Jah Bami, Million Voice, Ziggy Ranking, Ras Pilot and Prophet Benjamin may be more well known than he is outside of Trinidad, but hopefully things are going to change (not that he’d be more well known than they, but just that his music begin to gain a greater exposure. Just last year, I was very happy to see a tune from Dainties, ‘One Aim’, pop up on Project Groundation’s ”Down In The Ghetto Mixtape” and also going digital (and thus global) was a BEAUTIFUL combination Royal Dainties did alongside Achis Reggae favourite Nadia Batson, the sweet ‘My Joy’, which features on her very strong ”Caribbean Girl” album.

And those certainly weren’t Royal Dainties’ first taste or his first breakthrough. He’s been making big tunes for years in TnT. He even shot a video, years back, for the nice nice tune ‘Feeling Nice’.

That tune appeared on volume two of the ”Reggae Roadblock” series from CMG (which I think has ended now), and he also had the sugary sweet ‘Eyes of An Angel’ [aka ‘Face of An Angel‘]’ which appeared on the third (and presumably final) edition of the series and both of those compilations and tunes are also currently available digitally, respectively. And he’s also scored in 20010, most notably with the very romantic, ‘Love You Back‘.

And to learn more about Royal Dainties and where he came from do check out this old but COOL interview with Jason Williams (bka JW, from JW & Blaze, reigning Trinidad Soca Monarchs and Road March Kings) (even bka one of the guys who sang ‘Palance’)

So, I don’t know that you’ll be watching much, but do keep an eye out for Royal Dainties’ works and while I’ve already given up on 2010 (although I am WELL open to be surprised), HOPEFULLY 2011 can be the big year for one of the strongest artists on the Trini Reggae scene.

Royal Dainties @ Myspace