Panic has big dreams
EMERGING singjay Panic is generating a buzz with his latest single, Chase Your Dreams, released two weeks ago on the After13 Music label.
“This song serves as an inspiration to every child, every teenager, and every adult to chase their dreams no matter the odds. I wrote the song because sometimes I feel like I’ve done so much in music and it hasn’t translated into viral success, and sometimes I want to stop, but in my brain, a voice keeps saying: ‘Chase your dreams, yute’. Many times, I am at the end of my rope, so this song is also a reminder to myself as well to continue to chase my own dreams, despite whatever,” he said.
Panic has been working for more than 20 years as a musician.
“The response has been great. Yesterday, I got a video of a little girl singing Chase Your Dreams on Instagram and it just melted me. This little girl is singing my song with such passion and conviction. It was inspiring to see how my music continues to inspire others. That is why I do this,” he said.
He is set to go to Portugal this month as one of the performers at this year’s Womex Music Festival between October 27-31. He will be performing alongside Blvk H3ro.
In the future, Panic hopes to offer musical instruction to youngsters at a studio that he recently established in the Molynes Road area in Kingston.
“As a big reggae music nation, I am surprised at the small number of Jamaicans who can play music. We need more musicians, too many people want to be deejays or singers, we need players of instruments,” Panic, whose real name is Tom Jones, said.
Panic gained a reputation at Calabar High School for his deejaying skills. After leaving school, he linked up with Nemesis sound system.
He migrated to the United States in 1999. He became the resident engineer at the fledgling John Shop Records in the Bronx, New York. He got to work with a who’s who of dancehall, including Buju Banton, Sean Paul, and Vybz Kartel.
He got a big break when he linked up with a Canadian band, Rebel Emergency, and they signed a deal with TVT, which had major acts like Ying Yang, Pitbull, and Nine Inch Nails.
His other songs include Nah Go Change and She is a Rider.