Tosh Alexander Talks Wanting A Skillibeng Collab And Sampling Dancehall Classics
Reggae-Dancehall artist Tosh Alexander is a huge fan of Skillibeng, describing him as one of the most interesting musicians to have come into the musical space in recent times.
According to the female artist, who has been in the business for over a decade, Skillibeng’s approach to his craft is so unique and different that he reminds her of Vybz Kartel’s career in the early days. “He’s different, it is just like -I’ve never heard his kind of approach to music before, honestly,” said Tosh. “His approach to music is very different. It is almost like when Kartel came out. His approach to the music, how he’s on the beats, his lyrics – they are not normal and that’s what Skillibeng is and it’s refreshing, it’s different.”
Tosh said that Skillibeng is one of the male Dancehall musicians she would be most interested in collaborating with. “I would love to collaborate with Skillibeng. He’s so dope,” she said. “It even takes a little while to kinda of like get into it [Skillibeng’s music] because I’ve never heard dancehall like this,” she added as she heaped on the praises for the rising Dancehall star.
It’s Skillibeng’s type of authenticity that Tosh strives for in her own music and has led her to remix old Jamaican classics.
Most recently Tosh remixed Sizzla’s 2003 hit Give Me A Try adding that the current trend in the musical space is to sample old school tracks, however, it is often not done by Jamaican artists but outsiders.
“Music is going in a direction where, as with anything it comes full circle, so we are going back into a space of tapping into those older sounds. So, my thing is I am going to use Reggae because I’m Jamaican first and the whole world loves it and the whole world is using it right now. You know we hear it all over, so why not tap into something that’s naturally our birthright,” explained Tosh.
“I just wanted to pay homage and modernize a classic and in this instance provide a response to the tune from a woman’s perspective,” she added.
Tosh shared that she had almost forgotten about her remix to Sizzla’s tune when she happened to meet his son who heard the song and thought his father would like it.
After getting Sizzla’s stamp of approval, Tosh decided to release Can’t Give You a Try which debuted on February 11.
While the response was a “no” to the question posed in the original track, Sizzla still made an appearance in the video and allowed the artist to use the Judgement Yard space for some of the visuals.
According to Tosh, Can’t Give You A Try is just one of the many remakes to classic hits that she has up her sleeves, noting that she will be dropping similar tracks throughout the year, while working on her clothing line.
Named after her mother’s favorite singer Peter Tosh, Tosh Alexander is known most for Ready Fi Dem, 911 featuring Ky-mani Marley, Bad Girl and, she is also featured on Timberlee’s 2009 single Heels.