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OAR@STATHSNE.com
Office Of Alumni Relations
917.880.8314
Public Relations:
908.884.0455
STATHS Alumni Association
North East Chapter
Post Office Box 130141
Springfield Gardens
New York 11413-0141
OAR@STATHSNE.com
Office Of Alumni Relations
917.880.8314
Public Relations:
908.884.0455
STATHS Alumni Association
North East Chapter
Post Office Box 130141
Springfield Gardens
New York 11413-0141
| Directories |
| Notable Alumni |
| Bryden "Becenta" Wilkins Class of '96 - Reggae Artist |
Ambition never ends with the first hit song. The pursuit of excellence
is the driving force behind reggae artist Bescenta, who is a rare
combination of intensity, quiet confidence and humility. He is a man
who has the courage of his convictions, and who is sticking
steadfastly to his mission of universal peace and love in the world.
Born Bryden Bescenta Craig Wilkins on April 12, 1975, he grew up in
the Salisbury Plain area, close to Stony Hill in St. Andrew. He
attended Almond Hill All Age, then Oberlin High, before graduating
from St. Andrew Technical High School (S.T.A.T.H.S) in Kingston.
to support himself, even did odd jobs like painting houses.
|"I can even wire a house, and install lights if it come to the test. I
am a pretty good electrician," he said. "However, it has always been
about the music, while I was in high school, I was hunting for the
truth in music, but when I got out in the real world, I knew I had to
make a living, so Ididn'tt watch the type of work I was doing, as
long as when weekend come, mi ting put together," he said.
However, eventually, the influence of music began to exert itself in
his life, and he began to record his first songs with Peter 'Sweetness'
Nembhard on Auntie Boom Records. At that time, he had formed a
group called Cornerstone with two other men where he sang the lead
vocals. Together, they did a couple of projects but these failed to
generate much publicity or record sales.
Eventually, in 2001, Bescenta met with producer 'Computer' Paul
Henton, and they formed a successful partnership."He saw the
talent and wanted to work with me as a solo act...the other men in
the group allowed me to leave, and I began to do singles for him,
and during that time, I recorded 'World Is in Trouble' in 2004, and I
entered it in the festival song contest," he said.
Now, the 'World Is in Trouble' is a song carved in reggae oak: solid.
With Bescenta's rich vocals and lyrical stylings, the song became an
anthem for residents of the island's tough inner city areas, and its
end-of-days theme became a stirring call for action and change to
arrest the killings and violence that afflict Bescenta's homeland. The
song enjoyed a lot of airplay during the Summer of 2004 during the
annual Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Popular
Song contest, and eventually finished second overall.
"It was not about winning, the money or the forward, it was the
message of love and non-violence that I was trying to convey to the
people, and I really wanted them to hear me, so I went with a
current, an energy, and it worked, because the people dem love it,
a video was done, the children saw it, and the song just tek the
road," he said.
The song stayed at the pole position on the Roots FM chart, and
won a free music video, and created a big buzz on Bescenta,
catapulting him into the limelight in no uncertain terms, and he has
not looked back since.
"I never saw 'World Is in Trouble' as a festival song, and I was still
at Computer Paul waiting on the next move. I had recorded the
song on Alozade's 'Binghi Trod' rhythm, and Ray 'X-ray' Stephens
from Vertex heard the song, was impressed and called me. I met
him, and reason on some musical topics, and we just hit it off," he
said.
is the driving force behind reggae artist Bescenta, who is a rare
combination of intensity, quiet confidence and humility. He is a man
who has the courage of his convictions, and who is sticking
steadfastly to his mission of universal peace and love in the world.
Born Bryden Bescenta Craig Wilkins on April 12, 1975, he grew up in
the Salisbury Plain area, close to Stony Hill in St. Andrew. He
attended Almond Hill All Age, then Oberlin High, before graduating
from St. Andrew Technical High School (S.T.A.T.H.S) in Kingston.
to support himself, even did odd jobs like painting houses.
|"I can even wire a house, and install lights if it come to the test. I
am a pretty good electrician," he said. "However, it has always been
about the music, while I was in high school, I was hunting for the
truth in music, but when I got out in the real world, I knew I had to
make a living, so Ididn'tt watch the type of work I was doing, as
long as when weekend come, mi ting put together," he said.
However, eventually, the influence of music began to exert itself in
his life, and he began to record his first songs with Peter 'Sweetness'
Nembhard on Auntie Boom Records. At that time, he had formed a
group called Cornerstone with two other men where he sang the lead
vocals. Together, they did a couple of projects but these failed to
generate much publicity or record sales.
Eventually, in 2001, Bescenta met with producer 'Computer' Paul
Henton, and they formed a successful partnership."He saw the
talent and wanted to work with me as a solo act...the other men in
the group allowed me to leave, and I began to do singles for him,
and during that time, I recorded 'World Is in Trouble' in 2004, and I
entered it in the festival song contest," he said.
Now, the 'World Is in Trouble' is a song carved in reggae oak: solid.
With Bescenta's rich vocals and lyrical stylings, the song became an
anthem for residents of the island's tough inner city areas, and its
end-of-days theme became a stirring call for action and change to
arrest the killings and violence that afflict Bescenta's homeland. The
song enjoyed a lot of airplay during the Summer of 2004 during the
annual Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Popular
Song contest, and eventually finished second overall.
"It was not about winning, the money or the forward, it was the
message of love and non-violence that I was trying to convey to the
people, and I really wanted them to hear me, so I went with a
current, an energy, and it worked, because the people dem love it,
a video was done, the children saw it, and the song just tek the
road," he said.
The song stayed at the pole position on the Roots FM chart, and
won a free music video, and created a big buzz on Bescenta,
catapulting him into the limelight in no uncertain terms, and he has
not looked back since.
"I never saw 'World Is in Trouble' as a festival song, and I was still
at Computer Paul waiting on the next move. I had recorded the
song on Alozade's 'Binghi Trod' rhythm, and Ray 'X-ray' Stephens
from Vertex heard the song, was impressed and called me. I met
him, and reason on some musical topics, and we just hit it off," he
said.
A s s o c I a t I o n
