General Degree Declined Dave Kelly’s Request To Voice ‘Old Dog’, ‘Suzuki’ And ‘Think Wi Nice’

Legendary Dancehall producer Dave Kelly had written Beenie Man’s Old Dog and Frisco Kid’s Think Wi Nice and given General Degree first choice to select either song, but, the Manchester native recently revealed that he opted out, as he was uncomfortable with the lyrics of both tracks.

Degree told Muscle, host of Toronto’s Entertainment Report Podcast that he chose the third song the Madhouse producer introduced him to, Heavy Man, as the lyrics were less risqué even though he was still guarded, as the song was still too braggadocio for his taste.

“Dave Kelly came to me and he said: ‘Think wi nice; I didn’t like that song,” Degree explained. “Those songs were written and put down on a paper…I got two songs to record off that rhythm and I didn’t like them.  And I ended up voicing Heavy Man and still didn’t like Heavy Man…I hated that song. Yeah, because I didn’t see myself bragging.”

“I think that song was a bragging song and I couldn’t see myself bragging.  And I know I got Think Wi Nice to do and I still didn’t want that song.  But I still end up doing Heavy Man, because out of the maybe three songs dem I said OK, I will just do this one.  But if you notice this song, I never perform it nowhere.  That’s how much I didn’t like the song.  Not because it wasn’t a good song that Dave Kelly wrote, but I didn’t see myself talking about man want a gyal and impress gyal…,” he said.

Degree said the day he was asked by Kelly to take his pick of the songs is etched in his memory, as the producer was the first songwriter he encountered who wrote lyrics using a pencil, something he copied when writing his own songs from then onwards.  The lyrics to the three songs were written by Dave with a pencil on sheets of paper and shown to him.

“I got Suzuki to do too and I turned that down.  Suzuki, Think Wi Nice, Heavy Man and I can say this without thinking if is really so it guh, because I was there.  I saw the lyrics dem on the thing.  So Think We Nice, Suzuzki and Heavy Man I got to do and I choose Heavy Man,” he said.

The Duggu Duggu riddim also featured songs such as Wayne Wonder’s Glamour Girl, More Wood by Baby Cham and Duggu Duggu by Stranger.

Later on Dave Kelly wrote Beenie Man’s Old Dog and introduced General Degree to the lyrics, asked him to voice the song on the Stink riddim, but the Brinks singer said he shunned the song as the lyrics were not in keeping with his modest image.

“When it come to the Stink riddim now, I got Old Dog to do… When I went to the studio the day and Dave Kelly have di lyrics dem and him seh Old Dog, and mi seh ‘no enuh.  Mi nuh like dah song deh’.

“So it is Dave Kelly who wrote those songs.  Dave Kelly gave it to me.  That was one of the songs he gave me to do and I said: ‘No I don’t like that’.   And I did a song called Daddy Teddy .  That was my song that I wrote… So that is the history of those two riddims.   I can talk clearly about them.   But Old Dog, I got it to do and I didn’t want it.   Because I couldn’t see myself a see Old Dog, yuh done know.  The rest is history after dat,” he said.

Kelly’s Stink riddim was a huge success with chart-toppers such as Merciless’ Gal Dem Gizzada, Captain Barkey’s Go Go Wine, Alley Cat’s Hot Gyal; Baby Cham’s The Mass, and of course Beenie Man’s  Ole Dog.   Kelly’s own Girls Anthem, which he released under the moniker “Rude Boy Kelly”, Spragga Benz’ Girl Watchers, Tony Curtis’ Do You Wanna, and Wayne Wonder & Frisco Kid’s Dreamland were also big musical successes.