Known as ‘The General’ by the huge fan base built up over years of solid performances in Barbados, the region and around the world, Edwin Yearwood is one of Barbados’ most recognised and most energetic soca performers.  As a solo artist and as lead singer of the band Krosfyah, he has made a heavy impact on the international music scene with hits like Sak Passe, Road Jam, Wet Me, Pump Me Up, Sugar Cane and Weekend.

His accolades speak of his talents.  In 1995, Edwin shook up the music scene and won all three major Crop Over titles (Calypso Monarch, Party Monarch and Tune of the Crop Monarch).  In ’96 and ’04, he recaptured the Party Monarch title, and in ’97, he again took home the Tune of the Crop title.  In 1998, he captured the World Soca Monarch title.

After penning a much publicised deal with VP Records, he is also the island’s most recently signed international artiste. And with two spanking new videos (Sak Passe and Weekend) receiving heavy rotation on Tempo, Edwin continues to move his music forward.

CiRCUIT has a brief chat with the artist with the dual-coloured hair.

What made you come up with the idea for the hairstyle?
I always wanted to be different.  What it does is give you that level of attention. If they don’t remember you by name, they remember the guy that has the blond hair.  

So it’s not just an artistic thing, it’s also a business move…
Yeah, it’s more of a business move than an artistic thing.  As an artist, what comes with the territory of this job is that you tend to have a bit more freedom than most other career opportunities.

How does Edwin the individual differ from Edwin the artiste?
Everyone close to me tells me I have split personalities.  The Edwin offstage is almost an introvert  - very shy, likes to be alone… onstage it’s a completely different thing.

What is the one thing you enjoy most about the business?
Being able to write songs from a personal standpoint and being able to go almost anywhere in the world and see thousands of people singing along to that song that I created from within. 

What’s the worst thing about the business?
The disrespect that people have for entertainers.  For years, people would ask me ‘what are you planning to do with your life?’  You are disrespected in a lot of ways.  I remember taking documents to a lending agency when I wanted to build a house.  The documents showed that we were more than able to take care of ourselves and take care of a good set of property for a long time.  The person that was supposed to give the loan, she sat down in front of me, looked through the documents and was really impressed. And then she said “I’m not giving you a loan”, and her reason was “because you are an entertainer”.  She had no other reason. It was very embarrassing at the time, but it gave me a lot of strength also.  I was able to do what I wanted to do on my own without borrowing the money.  It is very, very tough as an entertainer still today.

What does the VP deal mean for Krosfyah?
I think it means to Krosfyah what it means to me.  We had a long negotiation with VP records because they offered a standard contract for an artist, not for an artist and a band.  It was never my intention to leave Krosfyah to pursue a solo career…I saw it as something that I should do to experiment to see if it was beneficial to Krosfyah as well.  When you have to tour and you are on a stage, you don’t want to perform to a band that is now getting used to your music.

It’s a very deep philosophical question I’m going to ask you now, so if you need time to think about it… m&ms or skittles?
(Laughing) m&ms.

Are you involved in any sports?
I’m heavily into soccer and cricket but mostly soccer.

What about video games?
When it comes to video games I’m into everything.  X-Box, right back down to the first Nintendos.

Vegetarian or meat lover?
Vegetarian. I eat a little fish.

What do you think about the current musical environment in Barbados?
I think it’s awesome. I think it’s an exciting time for Barbados.  A lot of the artists involved are extremely serious about what they are doing and are willing to take the risks and sacrifices. There is so much talent in Barbados.  The different genres of music that people are getting involved in… as long as they keep their own little stamp to it, I think it’s going to have a market out there waiting for it.