Mel Cooke, STAR Writer

Mad Cobra - File

When Ewart Brown was attending Tivoli High School, his fascination with art led to him drawing Commander Cobra from GI Joe over and over again. And that led to a teacher referring to him as 'Cobra', a name that stuck even though he did not like it at first.

It is a name that has spread far and wide from Barbican, where he is from, and St Mary where he spent six years, through a string of hits that led to a contract with Colombia Records in the early 1990s.

An engaging live performer, this month Cobra releases Helter Skelter, a 21-track set which he describes as a 'street album'.

Throughout this week, in theSTAR launch, we get into Mad Cobra's engaging mind, learning more about his history in the music business and multiple aspects of his life. After all, before he made his name as a deejay he was a member of a crack dance team, he is an athlete, an assistant racehorse trainer and will soon be a student again. And he has a lot to say about clashing.

The STAR: Is St Mary you come from?

Cobra: Mmm mmm. Kingston. Barbican. But mi spend six years in St Mary.

S: So how you start deejaying now?

C: Well, the music start out like I used to love to do rapping, Beastie Boys, Doug E. Fresh and rey. Used to love that. And used to mimic at the time Buru Banton, Supercat, Professor Nuts, Lt Stitchie, Admiral Bailey, Chakademus, you name it, all of those veterans. I used to sit down and catch a song, word for word. Man start sey why yu don' start do music? All sometime mi deejay some tings till mi start write couple material.

S: From what age you start doing that?

C: Tender age. Fourteen, 15 at Tivoli. Bout '86, '87. So mi start write some material now, an mi start deejay it back now. An people a sey 'no, is a man song!'. An mi sey 'no! a my song'. People a sey 'no' an mi sey 'boss, a my song'. Dem time you have tape, so we go so bung bang an get a little set, start do some demo, start sen' out some little tape an' so forth. Didn't get any real break from it. Now in '88 I did my first recording, jus a lef' school (Tivoli), up at creative sounds. A song named Respect Woman was the first song I ever did. The reviews were good, because I believe the writer for an article said 'this young deejay delivers, has a style, has a storytelling style, him deliver well and will be a force to be reckoned with in the future'. Never forget.

S: Yeah. Encourage you.

C: Yeah. So me deh deh now and Gilbert come now, Gilbert come '88. The economy did slow down certain way, so no producer nah spen' pon no young artiste. Still a schoolboy, so mi sey yu know wha, go over HEART, do mi architectural drawing rey rey. Then '89, still following up the thing, That is when I met Buju Banton and Beenie Man too. Dem time Beenie Man deh roun' Shocking Vibes, Patrick Roberts, Little Kirk, Little Lenny, the whole works. Then now 1990, that's when mi start follow up the studio like seriously.

S: You out of school now.

C: Yeah. Decide me a go touch it wicked now. Then '91 now, Capleton come out with B - Red. An' you know de whole a we a par as young deejay an Capleton bus now, so yu know every man rey rey rey. Then after Capleton, 1991, that is when I did the first song that people say yeah! That is Yush. And from Yush, Gundelero. After Gundelero, Tek Him. After Tek Him, Mate a Rebel an' no lookin' back after that.