Mr. Easy played and studied hard in the Big Apple, thereby gaining a wealth of experiences in a relatively short space of time. He cites Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Gladys Knight as well as Erik B and Rakim among his major musical influences. As a youth his dream was to conquer the crowd at New York City's famous Apollo Theatre while nearly every solo singer that ventured onto that stage was booed off. Mr. Easy was more than successful. Easy recounts how Sidney Mills, the keyboard player from Steel Pulse, helped him to write "Just Be A Lady" and how he sang out for all he was worth. The crowd went wild, they didn't boo they clapped and cheered. Easy received congratulations and encouragement from people like Patti LaBelle and Quincy Jones. The result of this early success was a record deal with Motown Records and the release of Mr. Easy's first album.
Extensive touring of the United States, Japan and the Caribbean followed with fellow Jamaican artists such as; Beres Hammond, Shinehead, Red Fox and Shaggy. It was while he was working on his never to be released second album for Warner Brothers with Mickey Bennett that he met Dave Kelly and a long-term alliance was formed. At that time there seemed to be a need to win over a homeland audience that is like none other in the world. For a Jamaican, you could have conquered the globe, but if you've never had a major hit in the homeland – you just haven't truly made it.
Easy feels that the experiences of performing and recording in New York combined with maintaining a working base in Jamaica has enabled a crystallization of ideas to take place where he can let his creativity shine. Since dedicating himself to years of recording with top producers like Dave Kelly, the melodic quality of Mr. Easy's voice has been in much demand. Songs like; "Mi Haffi Stop" on the Showtime riddim, "Man Ah Say A Who" on the Rae Rae riddim, "Funny Man" on the Joyride riddim, "Freaky Lady" on the Juice Riddim, "Herbs Haffi Bun" on the Intercourse riddim, "After All" on the Thunder riddim, "Haters" on the Orgasm riddim, "Oil Up" on the Triology riddim featuring General Degree all helped to solidify Mr. Easy as one of the top 15 artists to voice.
Mr. Easy's smooth flow allowed him to take a new musical direction with songs like; "Up And Down" featuring Sean Paul on the Two Hard label and "Freaky Kind Of Lady" produced by Richard Browne on the 'Call Me Shams' label. As well as "I'll Always Be There", a lovers rock tune on the Rockaway riddim and "Heavenly" produced by Beres Hammond for the Harmony House Label. For a brief period of time Easy focused on Lovers Rock releases that allowed him to expand as an artist and vocally.
In order to maintain a positive focus from time to time, Mr. Easy gets out of Kingston City by taking a drive out to 'Peter Tosh' country in Westmoreland where he cools out by the river. He says that many of his songs are written in settings that are calm and natural, as he likes to get away from the noise and brashness that is often associated with city living. He feels that living in Jamaica has enabled him to tap into a revitalizing energy source that will enable him to make that quantum leap into a positive future. Easy states that, "the songs I write will endure forever, even when I am not here." Every generation needs its classics as they form a legacy for future generations. In addition, often times he sits down with long time musical brethren Red Fox (a phenomenal Dancehall deejay) to add an edge to much of his material as the two have co-written a number of songs including the exciting tune "Sweet Love" on the upbeat Juicy rhythm produced by Mr. Doo, responsible for Jr. Reid's huge hit "Riker's Island".
When Mr. Easy recorded the song "Drive Me Crazy" with one of Jamaica's super producers; Tony "CD" Kelly on the timeless Buy Out rhythm; the stage was set for another hit! The song has since been a favorite from this fast pace pulsating rhythm and still receives airplay in clubs, on Caribbean based radio shows and in many mixshows segments on US radio. It was featured on VP Records' Strictly The Best Volume 30 and it was the number #32 most requested song on WESU in 2003. That's not it; this song garnished over 4,000 spins at US mixshow radio without any sort of radio support by a record label. Always recording with Tony Kelly keeps Easy on the curve of top-notch releases such as "It's Alright" from the Grindin and "It's Crazy" off the new Katana rhythm.
Easy has also recorded a variety of material with top notch producers like; Troyton Rami of Black Shadow Records delivering solid tunes like "Silent Killers" (Surprise rhythm), "Grudge You" (Ching Chong rhythm) and Party Time (Blink rhythm). Richie D, another talented Dancehall producer has provided songs like Easy's "Party" (Tiajuana rhythm). He's also done some recordings with the South Rakkas Crew with "Pull Up" (Red Alert rhythm) and "It's Your Body" (Bionic Ras rhythm) and "Break Of Day" (Chinquiz rhythm). Mr. Easy was sought to re-record a new version of "Drive Me Crazy" with Atlantic Record's Soca recording artist; Kevin Lyttle. This new version secured a place within the movie After The Sunset and is also featured in the soundtrack. The resurgence of this song and three other recordings receiving mainstream radio airplay in the US, resulted in Easy's dual nominations at the 24th Annual Reggae & World Music Awards in the categories of: Most Promising Entertainer and Most Improved Entertainer.
Mr. Easy's still recording consistently to deliver catchy songs, often relationship or reality oriented that allow people to quickly grasp hold of and sing along. With a wide assortment of new material just dropping the street such as "Break His Heart" from producer Christopher Birch (Military rhythm), "Bounce That" from accomplished producer Vada Nobles (responsible for contributions to Lauryn Hill's last album), "Falling" by Don Corleon (Seasons rhythm), Bingo from talented duo Steely & Clevie (Capital P rhythm), "Tek Wey Yourself" from the fresh production team/musicians/artists Leftside & Esco, "Dark Clouds" by Bay-C (of the group TOK) and "Spending G's" (Whipe Out rhythm) from Danger Zone productions. 2006 is about striving beyond and Easy is reaching for the highest heights with new videos coming for the songs "Strangest Thing", "Bingo" and "Tek Wey Yourself". Further, Mr. Easy has teamed up with producer Eloy Daron to create their own imprint in Jamaica: E-2 Muzik with their first release being Easy's "Strangest Thing" from the Butterfly rhythm.
(Bio courtesy of RudeGal Entertainment)
No Mercy
mr easy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
them youth yah head hot
dem just ah gwan bad
when it ah go stop
bad bwoy and police
clap it up on the street
crime on the rize
nuh ghetto youths
turn recent decease
mommy hold her head
another R.I.P
no jobs
no money
no house
no keys
block all my hopes
what is there to achieve
bare promises
youths dem dont believe
mummy wah money
youth haffi get feed
them nah nuh mercy
dem ah bust inna di streets
look how di ting get deep
squaddy inna plain clothes
nah go down the road
cah gun shot ah fire
whole heap
them nah nuh mercy
di youths reach them peak
so now dem ah turn up di heat
no money inna clothes
but clip overload
dem nuh responds fi who wah see it
yes
ah anything
ah anything
ah dat dem say
dem still have up di tings
and ah dash dem away
well ah money over crime
yes ah cash dem seh
look out fi di youths dem we say
so many things unuh talk about
yet still the youths dem still nuh get sort out
so many things unuh mention
yet still the youths nuh get no attention
them nah nuh mercy
dem ah bust inna di streets
look how di ting get deep
squaddy inna plain clothes
nah go down the road
cah gun shot ah fire
whole heap
them nah nuh mercy
di youths reach them peak
so now dem ah turn up di heat
no money inna clothes
but clip overload
dem nuh responds fi who wah see it
The lyrics of Mr. Easy's song "No Mercy" tell a narrative of the struggles of urban youths who are caught in a cycle of violence, poverty, and hopelessness. The first verse sets this tone with the description of hot-headed youth who are "just ah gwan bad," causing trouble and leading to more violence. The bad bwoys and police clash on the streets, crime is on the rise, and violence never ceases. The singer paints a bleak picture of the aftermath of this violence, with grieving mothers holding their heads in sorrow and the youths left with no opportunities or hope.
The second verse expands on this sense of despair by highlighting the lack of opportunities for the youth. There are no jobs, no money, and no houses, which blocks their hopes, leaving them with nothing to achieve. The youths are filled with doubt and mistrust in the promises made, and they are hungry, and they just want to be fed. The chorus captures this hopelessness perfectly with the repeated phrase "them nah nuh mercy." The youths feel like they are being abandoned by society, left to their own devices, resulting in more violence and crime.
The song's themes of violence, poverty, and hopelessness mirror the harsh realities of life in certain urban communities, where young people are often trapped in a cycle of violence and poverty. The song's message is a plea for society to pay attention to the plight of these youth and provide them with opportunities for a better life.
Line by Line Meaning
Hold on frost
Be patient
them youth yah head hot
The young generation is frustrated
dem just ah gwan bad
They are behaving badly
when it ah go stop
When will it end
bad bwoy and police
Criminals and law enforcement
clap it up on the street
There is violence on the streets
crime on the rize
Crime is increasing
violence nah cease
Violence is not stopping
nuh ghetto youths
Young people from the ghetto
turn recent decease
Are becoming recent casualties (of violence)
mommy hold her head
Mothers are grieving
another R.I.P
Another person has died
no jobs
There are no jobs
no money
There is no money
no house
There is no home
no keys
There is no solution
block all my hopes
My hopes are blocked
what is there to achieve
What is there to attain
bare promises
There are only empty promises
youths dem dont believe
The youth do not trust
mummy wah money
Mothers need money
youth haffi get feed
Youth need to be taken care of
them nah nuh mercy
They are merciless
dem ah bust inna di streets
They are causing chaos on the streets
look how di ting get deep
Things are getting worse
squaddy inna plain clothes
Plain-clothes police officers
nah go down the road
Are not doing anything about it
cah gun shot ah fire
Gunshots are being fired
whole heap
A lot
di youths reach them peak
The youth have reached their limit
so now dem ah turn up di heat
They are getting more aggressive
no money inna clothes
Their style does not make up for their lack of money
but clip overload
They have too many guns
dem nuh responds fi who wah see it
They do not care about who sees
yes ah anything
They will do anything
ah anything
Anything is possible
ah dat dem say
That's what they claim
dem still have up di tings
They still have their weapons
and ah dash dem away
And they use them recklessly
well ah money over crime
Money is more important than crime
yes ah cash dem seh
They say that money is everything
look out fi di youths dem we say
We must look out for the youth
so many things unuh talk about
So many things are discussed
yet still the youths dem still nuh get sort out
Yet the youth are not being helped
so many things unuh mention
So many things are mentioned
yet still the youths nuh get no attention
Yet the youth are ignored.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Ian Dyer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind