Producer Skatta Burrell Rates Norris Man’s ‘Persistence’ As His Best Work Ever
Dancehall music producer Skatta Burrell has rated Norris Man’s 2000 hit Persistence, on which he worked as a sound engineer, as his best production ever.
Skatta gave Norris Man his accolades on Monday, in one of his regular throwback Instagram posts, where he shared the song’s accompanying music video and hailed the Rastafarian artist.
“How could I ever fail in life when Norris Man & Iley Dread gave me the opportunity to produce this monster Hit. My 1st #1 song that ripped thru over 60 charts worldwide and to this day hands down my best work, for it shaped My entire spirituality and Passion for music,” Skatta proclaimed.
In continuing his adulation of Norris Man, Skatta said that he would use his powers to ensure the singer appears at Reggae Sumfest this year.
“I would love to see You on Reggae Sumfest this 2023 and I’m going to do everything to make it happen My Brother. Bigupp @badgyalcecile wit the beautiful harmonies and @benzlyhype on keyboards,” he added.
In an interview with YouTuber Teach Dem a few years ago, Norris Man had described Persistence as a poetic piece of songwriting, which he had done during a time of struggle as an upcoming artist in Reggae/Dancehall with his Kings of Kings stablemates Skatta, Cecile and singer Crisinti sharing the same issues.
“It was me, Skatta Burrell, who is today with Downsound Records. We started out as bredrin; that’s how everything started out. He was a engineer; I was an artiste. We met up at Kings of Kings… at that time Ce’cile was the secretary working for the guy Stephen Ventura,” Norris Man had explained.
“It was a wonderful opportunity because is like we started out a camp. Because at that time you have Xterminator, Star Trail Records; everybody was moving in camps. And Skatta was the engineer who record me on a lot of songs. All the songs on the album called Persistence, Skatta record them. He also mixed the album. It was his first big credibility,” Norris Man said of Skatta’s role in the 16-track debut album.
Norris Man had, likewise, praised Skatta as his best engineer ever.
“He was a good engineer and what happened at the time, I think Kings of Kings – he never really wanted Skatta hundred percent to mix all the songs… but he (Skatta) is an engineer who used to my sound, my voice. Suh yuh just haffi be the best When it comes to ne he makes it right. Because we are friends and we started out togedda. We been in the studio day and night…,” he added.
Norris Man, who is known for other hits such as Bad Road , Keep It Real, Woman Have Patience , and Home And Away, said that Persistence marked a turning point in his life, as when the song was released, it became an immediate hit due in part to his melodies, and intonations, which made the song memorable, and a highly impressed Irie FM disc jockey, who gave it steady rotation.
“Everything changed right there. Give thanks to the disc jockey weh name Mighty Mike who discovered the song and send call me in person. Because he thought the person who sing the song was a bigger person, a older person. When him meet me I was just a youth; him a look fi a big man,” he said.
“I was just writing what was coming to mi head. I didn’t know if I did do a great ting or what. I just know mi meck good music. Das all. An from mi a yute mi always have dis idea. I don’t want to do music just like dat. I listen other artiste and den I seh ‘listen, I want to be different from all a dem’. Suh, I always experiment with mi melodies, so dat give yuh di sustenance on the song,” he added.
“It (Persistence) opened real doors, because VP decided dem want an album…we have a distribution deal with dem. And from dat album come many great hits. All bigh song outta Jamaica like ‘dem nuh want si wi strive’ [Bad Road] and Bright Days…,” he said.
Norris Man said Persistence also enabled him to travel outside of Jamaica to Canada for the first time, along with Spanner banner and Ce’cile, and that it thrusted him into the limelight amongst the likes of the then-dominant Sizzla Kalonji and Anthony B.
“I don’t make many songs like they make, but the few that I do they set a great mark..,” he said.