On
what he calls a "recognizance
mission," the self-assured
deejay/songwriter seeking to
explore the possibilities his
creativity could spawn gave
the lyrics for "Big Up
All Di Shotta Dem," a song
he’d written, to his friend
Briggy. Briggy passed the words
to his uncle Spragga Benz who
actually voiced them on Steelie
& Clevie’s Street
Sweeper riddim. "I was
trying to see if I could just
end up writing," says Assassin,
who had plans to go to the University
of the West Indies after graduation
to study mass communications
with a focus on journalism.
"I said I would try this
for the summer and see if I
could do this. You hear a lot
of horror stories about the
industry so I was seeing if
I could tolerate it."
Armed
with the support of his family
and friends who always believed
in the skills of the boy who
says he’s been deejaying
since he could talk, Assassin
(b. Jeffrey Campbell on December
22, 1982) found that this "summer
job" was better than any
internship. "I was listening
to the radio and the disk jockey
was saying this song from Spragga
is wicked," Assassin proudly
says. "If I could put something
together for a disk jock to
find it interesting then chances
are I could continue to do it."
And he did. After a meeting
with the Benz, who advised him
that the path of a deejay would
be more lucrative than ghostwriting
("He said it’s nothing
that will keep my lights on."),
Assassin went on the road whenever
he had a study break. Since
graduating his plans for tertiary
school have been paused though
he does plan to go when the
game grants him some spare time.
Hailing
from the Papine, Kintyre, community
where he holds court with his
crew and family to which he’s
the middle child in the succession
of three brothers and five sisters,
Assassin has released a number
of hits on the most popular
riddims alongside veteran artists
Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Spragga
Benz, and Penthouse Label mate
Buju Banton whose own story
Assassin reminds us of. Like
Buju Banton, Assassin’s
major start happened at the
ripe age of 17. He’s one
of the youngest riddim riders—he’s
22—and his pre-album/pre-record
deal singles boast number one
status and more than a few top
five slots on the reggae charts.
Plus, he’s part of the
Penthouse Records roster, the
label that manages the careers
of Buju Banton, Wayne Wonder,
and Tony Rebel.
Assassin’s
definitely competing for the
favor of his contemporaries,
all of whom are, minus a noted
one or two, about ten years
his senior. So far Assassin
has released enough songs to
complete two albums. "Ruffest
& Tuffest," on the
much applauded Diwali riddim
by producer Steven "Lenky"
Marsden, exposed him to an audience
outside of Jamaica. But the
Infiltration, his first album
and Part One of a multi-album
deal he signed with VP/Penthouse
Records slated for release in
the fall of 2005, combines his
hits from late 2004 and early
2005 with 12 exclusive tracks.
His
material is well-balanced. There’s
"Idiot Ting" on the
Renaissance Crew’s Stepz
riddim which chronicles the
life and times of irresponsible
people. "Growing up in
my economic situation and my
social condition you find people
come to school with the name
brand bag and name brand shoes,
but the teacher is sending them
home because the school fee
situation is not together so
that makes you wonder, he says
of the inspiration for the song.”You
can’t see the logic."
"Step Pon Dem," "Girls
Gone Wild" and "As
A Man" his latest chart
topper.