The Star (Jamaica)

Xsomo gets Kartel endorsemen­t with ‘Teacha Convo’

- SADE GARDNER Staff Reporter

Should manifestat­ion ever need an ambassador, dancehall artiste Xsomo would be the perfect fit.

The 20-year-old had hoped to get the attention of Vybz Kartel through his song Teacha Convo, and has received that and then some.

The Shab Don-produced track debuted last Friday with an Instagram endorsemen­t from the ‘Worl’ Boss’ himself.

“One of the greatest blessings ever is to have Vybz Kartel acknowledg­e you,” Xsomo told

THE WEEKEND STAR. “I knew it was going to get some attention. Working with Shab Don, you’re like, right there beside Vybz Kartel because they are brothers. The plan was to actually get his attention through the Teacha

Convo and in that way it would build up a theme for the perfect collaborat­ion, so I’m hoping that is in the making.”

Teacha Convo is Xsomo’s imaginary meeting with the incarcerat­ed deejay on a firstname basis. The music video has received more than 100,000 views and remains high on YouTube’s trending list for music in the region. While people are hooked on the storyline and its delivery, Xsomo stressed that the Kartel encounter never happened.

“It’s just a vivid image that came to mind and I put it into a song and made it sound believable,” he shared. “There’s not a song that Xsomo does that isn’t a good song, so I was always confident in the ability of the song and what it will do. I am in love with the song and I am in love with what the people are saying about it.”

Xsomo, given name Kavayne Watkis, always knew he’d be making music. He recalled writing a song for Parents’ Day when he was in grade three and recording his first song when he was 14. Raised by both parents in Mount Rosser, St Catherine, he was further motivated to pursue his goal to better his family’s quality of life.

“Anyone with a talent is given that by the Most High to use it as their optimum way of getting out of poverty, so music was always my dream occupation to get us out of tribulatio­n and poverty,” he said. Xsomo started using social media as a selfpromot­ional tool and

went viral through a freestyle clash in 2019 while attending Charlemont High School in St Catherine. His popularity grew with ‘refixes’ of Stylo G’s Dumpling and Vybz Kartel’s Scorched Earth. Airplay came when he started working with Alkyda Music Records on tracks like Cold Heart and Top Notch, and soon enough, Shab Don heard his Scorched

Earth refix and the rest is history. In five years, Xsomo said that he hopes to be among the top 10 main artistes that people are expecting music from regularly like Vybz Kartel, Alkaline, Skillibeng or Chronic Law.

 ?? ?? Vybz Kartel
Vybz Kartel
 ?? ?? Xsomo
Xsomo

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