Trini accent, Carnival inspire Sweet Melody Riddim

Jamaican songwriter, producer and artiste Rohan “Patexx” Rankine’s latest riddim was inspired by the Trinidadian accent, a media release said.

The Sweet Melody riddim was released on digital streaming platforms on May 19.

The five-track project also features four TT artistes: Adana Roberts, Black Loyalty, Isasha and Yung Bredda. Patexx also has a single on the five-track project.

Based in Atlanta, US, Patexx described the project in a release as a “diverse reggae project that is melodic and reminiscent of why many of us fell in love with reggae music.”

He wrote three of the project’s songs: God Bless Youth (Patexx), Rescue Me (Black Loyalty) and Good Draw (Isasha). The release said Patexx was intentional about the project setting a tone of positivity.

It quoted him as saying, “The slower BPM ‘ensures that listeners can take their time to listen to the message in each track and fall in love with them.’”

He first visited TT this year during Carnival and that also inspired the riddim’s creation, it added.

“The melodies in the Trinbagonian accent sounded so beautiful every time I spoke to someone.

“Everyone was always cheerful, and when they spoke, it was as though they were singing; the accent sounded like a sweet melody,” he said.

The release added, “He is pleased that he can encapsulate what he heard and felt through his music. Thus far, the project has been receiving airplay throughout the Caribbean and Ghana, much to the delight of Rankine and all featured on the project.”

Patexx has worked with TT, regional and international artistes such as Bounty Killa, Shaggy, Sting, Dovey, Magnum, Safaree and Patrice Roberts.

In 2017, he received a gold plaque for Mood for Loving with DJ Freddy Moriera and Capital Candy. A gold plaque is awarded for a track that sells more than 500,000 units. It was also certified gold in Europe.

In 2018, he got a Grammy for contributing to the Sting/Shaggy album 44/876, having co-written seven songs, the release said.

“His accolades continued to grow in 2021 when he received a Splice Plaque for 500,000 downloads. Then in 2022, Patexx won the Gospel Song of the Year as songwriter and producer of Jesus Rock with Chozenn,” it added.