SS-Could you tell us a little bit about yourself - your education, interests and past work experiences?

JCP: I live in NY right now. I left Haiti in the 1990s. At first, I used to travel back and forth for school in Haiti between Montreal and also NY for 3 years in regards to the music business. I was in a band with my cousin in Montreal, “Black Parents” and due to the strenuous nature of traveling to Montreal for rehearsals I later stopped.

SS-Do you play any musical instruments?

JCP: I play guitar, bass, drums, percussions and a little piano and I do try to incorporate these skills on my albums. Music is in my family. It is like a genetic thing. It is in my blood. Had I not been born within the Parents family, I probably would not be as involved in the music scene but growing up music was all I knew and grew up with. Nowadays I also dabble in painting, mostly abstract paintings and a few realist paintings. I will take my time one day to finish all the pieces and then plan for a show. I don’t feel like selling anything right now as I don’t want to put any values on this work of mine at the moment.

SS-What type of work is involved in your musical career?

JCP: My music includes a blend of Hip Hop and Reggae. The 1ST ALBUM entitled “My Creole Chapter” was Konpa. It had a couple of #1 singles based on which website one looked at.  Last year a couple of the songs were on the top 10 list on HaitiNetRadio (HNR) with the hottest single, “Tashoo” being on there for a couple of weeks. Different websites had a different #1.  I did Konpa initially due to my heritage. Konpa is in me, a part of me. However with the struggle and lack of financial support and minimal financial rewards within this genre unless one is a promoter, one will not be able to survive. I choose to leave the Konpa genre for now and will be incorporating more Hip Hop, R&B and Reggae flavors in my recent work.
                                        
SS-Did you tour with the first album?

JCP: I performed in the independent festival this past January as a solo artist. I was part of a concert at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Medgar Evers, Pace University, UMASS etc. I once traveled for a performance in Haiti and did a show at SOB. All of this work was around the first album.

SS-Who did you, work with or are you working with on your albums?

JCP: Alan Cave produced the first album through his company, AC Records. I am currently working with a different company now as I will not be doing Konpa on the next album. On the next album you will see a blend of 3 genres, R&B, Soul, Hip Hop and some Reggae. Konpa will be very limited.  I will be promoting the album via the internet and the like. I am still in search of a distributor for my next album.

SS-What stage are you right now with the upcoming record?

JCP: I am still in the studio doing arrangements. My next single should be out next month. The rest of the songs have already been recorded. This project is going to be hopefully with a big distribution label for bigger exposure. I will be promoting the album via the internet also.

SS- Do you have any guests joining you on this project?
                         
JCP: Some guest artists will be featured on it like Fatman Scoop.

SS-What led you to become a musical artist? What motivates you day in and day out to do this?

JCP: I do this for the love of music and eventually someday I will get paid.

SS-What would you say makes you uniquely qualified for the music industry?

JCP: I tend to do my own original things. I hear music differently when I am producing it and I always try to bring a different vibe to what I do and stay away from copying others’ sounds. You would not hear a Carimi or T-Vice vibe on my records and I do a lot of experimental stuff to be unique.

SS-What is a typical day at work like?

JCP: I live every day one day at a time. Lately I write my songs on the spot when I go into the studio. My producer will give me a beat and then “boom” I will write something for the beat and together it becomes our project. I like to do my free styling so when I do a bigger project I could be ready to do it like that, on the spot.

SS-Would you like to offer any advice to people wanting to go into this business?

JCP: You should go for your dreams. Do not listen to others and eventually if you persevere you will find something out of this, just go for your dreams. Right now the emcees in Konpa are corrupted. You find popularity but no financial rewards out of this. You look at the old guys who are struggling despite their musical success and some of the new guys are headed that way which is not good so you have to do this because you believe in it.

SS-What are the central messages you will bring in your songs?

JCP: I deal with anything that sends out positive messages to my listeners.

SS- Would you deal with political issues?
                                     
JCP: On my first album, “La ri a cho” I did. I dealt with issues that I noticed in Haiti when I was growing up and are still seen until now, how people are wasting away and things like that, our government not focusing on our children and things like that. On my next album which is basically in English, there will be two songs in Creole, “C’est assez” and a Carnival song. They all include lots of positive messages with a few love songs thrown in the mix… I try to balance this project out so everybody could go through it and find something that speaks to them.

SS-what difficulties do you face now?

JCP: I am going to approach the game in a different way. The music scene has changed. I think an artist can do more nowadays then before through the internet where you can get exposure particularly international exposure where an artist can push himself instead of relying on record producers. Everything is in God’s hands, I am taking the chance and this time we will make things happen in a different way.
                                                                                           
SS-What does the future hold for you - any exciting plans, developments?

JCP: No one can predict the future. I am doing the second album and all else depends on the Lord. I know what I have to do but the future is not really in my hands as he is the one in control of everything. Everything depends on him.

Thank you Mr. Jhon Clark Parent for taking time out for participating in this interview and answering our questions