Sarkastik Ambassador dedicates Channels EP to wife: It's all for her

SINGER/SONGWRITER Jerel "Sarkastik Ambassador" Ramsey spent two years carefully crafting and curating a musical project that gradually transformed into a tribute and love letter to his wife.

Exploring themes like romance, trust, patience and self-love, his new five-track EP, Channels, is now available on streaming platforms.

Newsday spoke to Ramsey in a phone interview on August 28.

He told Newsday the project "follows the story of (him) going through what (he) needed to go through in life."

It was officially released on August 16.

It starts off with his debut single off the EP which was released in 2022 titled Release Me. On this track, he addresses an "inward struggle" of accepting a new version of himself.

It was written by him, Leroy Kelly-Simmons and Asfa Charles, and produced by Aaron “Track7” Peters.

When it was first released, Ramsey had told Newsday, "Even though I'm not there (in that headspace) right now, it's easy to remember how things were that time and at that time. I felt like things there needed to be a change in my life, and I also felt like there was a struggle between me coming to terms with a change in my life and coming to terms with needing to make that change...So that's where that came from."

Now, explaining the chronology of the project, he updated that information saying, "I was releasing myself from things that didn't serve me. Anything that didn't needed to change."

It then moves on to Siren, which he co-wrote with Jeanelle Frontin, and was produced by Dechode Mode (Kevin Licorish and Frontin). Additional vocals were done by Dyna Edyne.

Ramsey said this track speaks of him longing for something different and for someone new to be part of his life.

"...Which ended up being my wife.

"I didn't know it at the time, but I just knew there was somebody out there for me."

He sings, "Feels like you're pulling me all into you/Tell me what you're longing for...You must be timeless/You feel like a whole new day."

Up next is Missing Piece/Found Your Love where he enters the rap arena and expresses his gratitude for finding the love of his life. This track was also produced by Peters.

Ramsey raps, "I was in a cycle/Had to burn and learn but the lessons were vital...Waiting on my turn/Wishing with my eyes closed."

He told Newsday, "She (his wife) is the missing piece in my life that I've been waiting for, and the other half of the song explains that it was her love that I had been yearning for all this time."

The next track, Brand New, was co-written by Jannix Felix Joseph and produced by Peters.

Ramsey said this explores the feelings he experienced while being in a relationship with her and cherishing the beauty of their connection.

He directly sings to her, "Your love's a habit, I gotta have it."

On top of a bouncy, dance beat, he further sings, "I don't think that you know exactly what you do to me/Everything I could dream manifested in reality...You got me feeling so brand new."

Loving her, he said is ecstatic and magical.

And finally, Proximity features local music duo Freetown Collective (Muhammad Muwakil and Lou Lyons). The duo, as well as Joseph were also writers on the Peters-produced track.

Ramsey said it serves as confirmation and acceptance that he found "the one" and the person he wishes to keep in his life forever.

"It's a forever love song. It's the feeling that you know this is your person."

He sings, "Keep me close like never before...All of my life, I've been waiting here for you...Know that you a queen and I got a crown for you/Tell me your wishes and what you waan fi do/I'll be your genie and I can make them come true."

Ramsey said he works with Freetown Collective, so creating this track was a seamless process that only took a couple hours.

The tracks are all dedicated to his wife Sádé Budhlall, who he married in 2020.

Budhlall, an Indian classical Odissi dancer, was featured in the Newsday WMN magazine on August 18.

He said they initially met around 2014 while studying at COSTAATT (College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of TT).

"We were in biology class together and then we had a group project together. That's as far as our relationship went then and we didn't see each other again for a while after that," he said while laughing.

But in 2016, he said, he noticed a mutual friend posted a photo with Budhlall, so he took the opportunity to follow her on social media.

"At that time, on Twitter, I had an automatic DM (direct message) that sent everyone a link to my music. So we had laughed and had a conversation about that.

"Then in 2017, she messaged saying, 'I know I know you from somewhere, inno,' and she had only just realised the connection."

He said he was studying in the US at the time, but when came to TT for vacation, they "had the best summer ever" together.

"And that's the feeling and memory I tried to bring back in this EP."

He said she has been there "every step of the way" in creating the EP, even when certain songs were just an idea, beat or audio recording on a cellphone.

"One thing I learnt from being with her is that we have community.

"A lot of my friends do art, photography and other things and I would be scared to ask them for help and she brought that out of me."

This, he said, helped the project greatly.

On what he wants people to feel when they listen to this track, he said, "I want them to feel what ever their version of love is. I want everyone to walk away with a favourite.

Budhlall told Newsday that there are times where she feels she does not have the words to explain what their relationship means to her.

"It's so engrossed in unconditional love...We are really just two human beings who are so in love with each other.

"It's very symbiotic and I feel like we share the same cosmic blueprint, down to our values and the way we express our love and see the world."

She said having the project dedicated to her felt like "looking and seeing your own journey reflecting back at you, and you kind of relive it over and over again.

"But I also think the project represents more than a love story. For me I was able to see Jerel’s own journey from the dark night of soul to self acceptance and enlightenment, and that’s what I really appreciate about the project.

Her favourite track is Missing Piece/Found Your Love.

Asked if she had anything to say to him, she said, "This is your moment. This is your purpose. You got this, always, and I love you always."