REGGAE RISING STAR

October 2, 2010

Beky Glacier:
Spotlight on a
Rising Star
By Kevin Pennant
Out of many there will be few
to rise, take stage, and bellow
out their stories surrounding
the circumstances of life,
narratives told with a firm grip
of the microphone and
channeled through the
hypnotic, forceful rhythms of
dancehall reggae.

Beky Glacier in
studio. Trevor
DeFreitas is
President and co-
founder of Phyah
Proof Entertainment

While many voids remain open and
ready to be filled, the barrier to entry
remains at the bottom of the funnel,
where producers and distributors
control the release, while the top
brims over with talent vying to get in.
With a limited number of producers
straining the flow of talent we are left
with artistry that is insipidly recycled
and repackaged renditions. As the
maturity of dancehall turns to the
more formula based means of
achieving the ends, reggae’s true
vibes has all but stalled, but Phyah
Proof Entertainment has the key to
ignite the engine with a little known
spark named Beky Glacier.
My prelude to the new talent
came as a video link to you-tube.
Upon hearing the distinctive voice I
was nostalgically greeted by a Half-
Pint quintessence of reinvigorated
dancehall reggae in raw form.
Beky’s potent delivery is reminiscent
of a Barrington Levy “broader than
broadway” posture. Solidly, Beky
came across cunningly, feasting on
the arrangement of digital baselines
accompanied by the provocative bob
cuing keyboard riffs, as if the rhythm
was especially cooked up for him.
The “Downfall” video was superbly
shot in familiar surroundings for a
tune befitting of the struggle for a
rising star. The backdrop
represented the densely populated
Diaspora of Caribbean cultures,
displaying intermittent flashes of
prominent street corners that can
only be found in Brooklyn. The
Glacier covers the drum and
keyboard-laced track containing a
laser-pulsating auditory effect,
interspersed precisely, and
demanding of the staccato torrent of
lyrics “dem a carry news and a tell
pure lie, cah dem wan come mash
up all me an me spouse/ but me
have God in a me heart God in a me
life so me na ramp fe go bun dem
out”.
When I spoke to the artist he
was as advertised, cool yet
assertive, about his focus and path
in the music business. I noted his
dexterity to bilaterally dee-jay and
sing and highlighted the dissimilarity
with current artist trends of relying on
studio enhanced vocals that limit
stage performance and Beky
quipped, “I believe that working on
the vocals, and being true to your
craft, and not just about the
business, but being true to the craft,
so that whenever you do step out
there and show what you have you
can come across as real as
possible.” He honed in on his singing
skills in an era marked by popular
R&B songs being done over with an

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October 02, 2010
Beky Glacier:
Spotlight on a Rising
Star
Continued
increase in tempo and a rhythm
laden with heavy baselines, polished
with renditions by Sanchez, Singing
Melody and Richie Stevens. But he
decided that the well-travelled road
was too easy and stated that “ I
REGGAE RISING STAR
drifted from the easy route of quick
notoriety where I could have sing
over a Michael Jackson song, or a
New Edition song but I wanted to
write my lyrics, practice on delivery,
and not sound like anybody else”,
albeit he is a fan of some of those
renditions. I asked how would he
categorize his style, is it culture,
lovers rock and he abruptly
proclaimed, “my style is a lifestyle”,
slyly remarking, “not the prophylactic
ting”, “different emotions, different
feelings, different expressions, and
just being a person you exert certain
emotion, certain action and whatever
way I ‘m feeling the best outlet is to
put it down and sing about it.”
Beky describes himself as a
Rastafarian culturally, which invokes
real feelings of his environment and
the changes it brings in which he
thoughtfully expresses through song.
Glacier addresses his spiritual side
by praising Jah as the Sun shines to
recalling many brethren who have
been incarcerated and identifying the
plights of the ghetto youths and the
role of politics in those instances. In
an industry with opposing
geographical scenes, with Jamaica
Jamaica West Indies
Kingston.
“my style is a lifestyle, not
the prophylactic ting,
different emotions,
different feelings, different
expressions, and just being
a person you exert certain
emotion, certain action and
whatever way I ‘m feeling
the best outlet is to put it
down and sing about it.”
Beky Glacier
done in the states have been less of
a challenge as the thirst for new
artists and material are more
welcoming. He notes that
acknowledgement in Jamaica is hard
to come by and would require
moving with the powers that be.
Glacier appreciates and respects
being the promotional staging
ground, while the lucrative contract reggae as “the mother of dancehall”
and fortune are met overseas, and the King’s music. Certain
Glacier understands the business. He aspects of the music or the hybrids of
realizes that the talent in Jamaica is it, may contain subject matter that is
quite abundant and at any given skewed with the prevalence of
dance there may be more artists than negativity and Glacier questions
whether “we are reaching for
patrons who are all striving to be
negativity or is that negativity is all
heard. In the fraternity he respects
around us and that is why it [seems]
and admires the apparent humble
talent of Busy Signal. Glacier is quite that that is all we can sing about or
aware of the violent overtures where relate to”. Glacier firmly believes that
overinflated egos infect and stain the reggae music will never die and that
music in what he views as just being the music has always been a vessel
too overtly confident. “through unity and love, we can
Beky Glacier’s stage appearance always seek betterment, and that the
is apparent in the video and he has message will always be around
done many shows all over. Shows in because there are people who
Jamaica can be quite harrowing and hunger for that message.”
oftentimes parallel performing at the Beky Glacier’s Album Relentless
Apollo. Beky states that his first show is now available on YouTube and
in Jamaica was an experience in MySpace. Follow Beky Glacier on
resilience as the crowd Facebook.
was initially less than
receptive, but warmed
to him soon after he
became more
aggressive in
conveying his talents.
Shows that he has