RDX had quite an eventful interview on popular YouTube show Nightly Fix hosted by Naro and Arri recently. They spoke about many issues pertaining to them personally and also the state of dancehall both locally and internationally.
They first spoke about their last album Level Up which they promoted on the show this time last year. Renegade spoke about being proud of the albums reach, proudly stating that “Shake Yuh Bam Bam” was even played at the recently concluded Notting Hill Carnival. No surprise there as “Shake Yuh Bam Bam” is the Record’s most successful track racking up 25 million views on YouTube since its release.
This led them to discuss them their current status in dancehall. When asked what their biggest challenge was, Renegade replied
“No man di biggest challenge RDX face is being underrated man, yea because fi a artiste weh come inna di game and deh inna di game how much time yah now , wah ten year yah now an , consistently fling out number one song an mi nah talk bout some number one song weh anuh some gas up , mi a talk bout real number one song, weh deh a real number one an di rest a artiste dem deh 2,3,4,5 and a bakkle fi 8,9 and 10 , wi do dat consistently wi have nearly 14 number 1 song and various hits around that and still…”
The discussion progressed with both Delomar and Renegade explaining how them being underrated is due to them thinking beyond the local market. They put it down to them, not flooding the market, which is currently the dancehall custom. The Dynamic Duo stressed making quality versus quantity and showed where it has yielded results for them in the form of always being relevant and also in terms of attracting bookings both locally and abroad.
The interview is very comprehensive, where both artistes spoke their minds freely. One other opinion which stood out was when they pointed out that dancehall was losing its identity. They criticized the beats being produced and claims that the songs currently being released are a knock off version of Hip-Hop. Renegade jokingly said ” Dancehall was once a human being, but now dancehall is a goat” hinting further at the loss of identity.
They went on to discuss one of their recent singles, “Set Good” which has been doing well. Released with one of the most creative videos of the year the reaction to the song hasn’t come as a surprise to the duo. Delomar went on to say, “a we mek di gyal dem lose dem self” a quote from their hit song “Ben Ova”. They also explained their formula in creating good songs that will last. Delomar credited their ability to bring all the elements together, which us evident in the way their songs take shape.
The interview went up another notch when asked about their relationship with Ding Dong. Renegade flat out stated, “Mi an him nuh good , certain man just feel like dem alone fi song dancing song or, dancing song mek fi dem alone, an den dem fight against anybody who dem feel like.”
Delomar later chimed in saying, “wah tell yuh seh anuh him alone neither enuh, wi have a contract sign wah seh mi nuh like yuh an you nuh like wi, cuz elephant feel like seh a him alone fi sing dancing song and him an ding dong a friend, dem guh di same obeah school.”
It definitely seems that there is some bad blood there and they didn’t hold back in criticizing the ” Fling Yuh Shoulder” deejay. Claiming the artiste only represents his dancers and takes the limelight off all the other dancers who are just as pivotal in the dancehall space. “Yuh know how much shoes the man dem done a night time” hinting that the other dance groups deserve an opportunity to expose their dance moves to the world, versus keeping the limelight in one circle.
If what they claim is true it must be said the state of the music must be assessed as such behaviors lead to the destruction of the biggest movements and also robs the fans of the right to choose.
RDX are definitely on the right track with their music and intend on continuing their decade long run in the business. They mentioned their new song “Jaw” released by black sheep music which they expect to pick up going into the Christmas season. Look out for dancehall’s best duo going into 2020, as they seek to impose their music on the world.
