About Walshy Fire
DJ, MC and record producer Walshy Fire.
While performing on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and contributing production to Major Lazer’s albums (“Free the Universe,” “Peace is the Mission,” “Music is the Weapon”), Walshy has used his platform to shed light on rising talents within the Caribbean, helping to launch the careers of rising stars like Chronixx and Koffee.
Walshy also released his first solo album, “ABENG” (licensed to Mad Decent Records/Because Music) – a first-of-its-kind conversation between Africa and the Caribbean, pairing artists from both regions on tracks spanning afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, soca and EDM.
The intention with “ABENG” was to “make Caribbean and Africa have a conversation that is louder, and in the same studio or the same stage, at the same time.” As for how the songs come together Fire notes, “The beats (Afrobeats & Dancehall) can be very similar, any African artist has no problem riding a soca or dancehall riddim.”
As the airhorn sound punctuates the dancehall mix to highlight its impact as a current hit song, the abeng is the sound that echoes the pairing of African and Caribbean artists on these tracks.
Raised between Jamaica and Florida, Fire was a long-time member of Black Chiney, a Miami DJ crew known for innovative, trailblazing mixtapes blending R&B and hip-hop with reggae/dancehall. Diplo, citing Black Chiney as a major influence in forming Major Lazer, tapped Walshy to join him as Major Lazer’s MC and member of the group in 2012.
Walshy Fire co-wrote and produced on “Rapture” by Koffee which took home the Grammy award for Best Reggae Album at the ceremony in February 2020.
-Adapted from Concord Music Publishing
About filmmaker Alicia G. Edwards
Filmmaker Alicia Edwards.
Alicia G. Edwards is a director based in Miami, Florida. Her love of visual storytelling developed in her early career as a news producer for CNN and NBC. In recognition of her contributions, she has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Florida Humanities Council, and a Special Jury Award from Oolite Arts. She earned her BA in International Affairs with a focus in Latin American and Caribbean History from Florida State University. Her MA in Transnational Communication and the Global Media was earned at the Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK.