by ERIN MACLEOD

At reggae shows, there are always a whole wack of opening acts. These folks have the unenviable task of trying to appeal to a crowd that wants to hear big tunes from either headliners or soundsystems. Montreal’s Mikey Dangerous, however, has been up to the challenge and hyped many a crowd, getting them ready for acts ranging from Supercat to Ce’cile. His mixed CD was a staple in my house for quite some time last year, and he’s dedicated to bigging up the Montreal scene. The man took time out for the Mirror as he prepares to bust di place this coming weekend.

Mirror: How do you set yourself apart?

Mikey Dangerous: I try to be more exciting, try to interact with the people a lot so they know it’s not just singing, I’m performing for you. They came to see me put my stuff out there so they can feel it just as much as I feel it.

M: What tunes and artists inspire you?

MD: A lot of times, I get compared to Beenie Man. Sometime you hear a little bit of him inside what I do. I love what he does when it comes to melody. He is a melodious deejay/chanter. I love lots of artists—Buju Banton, Bounty Killer—and you can’t forget Bob Marley! I just try all the styles, not just chant straight, but try to get my melodies and my lyrics right, so I’m not just a one-dimensional artist.

M: How do you build your material?

MD: I always try to think like my mind is in Jamaica and not Canada. Here, they want to learn about our culture and who we are. So you don’t have to speak English as clear so they can understand it. You can say it the way you say it and they can figure it out and understand it. [The language] is a border we really need to crack in the reggae industry because we don’t really have the TV medium.

M: In Jamaica, they have four different video stations. Do you think that TV would really help reggae?

MD: If you check in this time, people who are buying are the younger kids. What they stick to all the time is BET, MTV and MuchMusic. Look what it did for Sean Paul. They see him and hear him so much that they have the time to hear and understand what he is saying. Dancehall is so fast—the next beat, the next beat, the next beat. The people in North America keep with the same stuff that we’ve already finished with and moved along from.

M: Like Welcome to Jamrock.

MD: It became popular here when it had already been out for a year. Even though I am here in Canada, I try to keep up to the time.

M: How about the Montreal reggae scene?

MD: There is a lot of challenges for artists here. People love it, but we don’t have that push to let people know. Unlike Toronto, we don’t have the radio and a large Jamaican community. n

With Lady Licious, Lady P, Sampaloo, Kali, C-Koo Slim, Megado and more at la Sala Rossa on Friday, Dec. 16, 10:30 p.m., $8+

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