Yo, Rvssian! An Interview with Vybz Kartel’s Favorite Producer

Words by Jesse Serwer, Photos by Martei Korley—

More than any other producer, Tarik “Rvssian” Johnston has defined the sound of dancehall in the last half decade. Coming to prominence with productions for Vybz Kartel such as “Go Go Club” and “Straight Jeans and Fitted”, Rvssian— formerly known as Russian with a ‘U,’ he has recently re-branded for SEO purposes—was the Werl’ Boss right-hand man in the booth, as Kartel reached the peak of his career circa 2010.

If it seemed like Rvssian’s influence waned in the wake of Kartel’s 2011 arrest on murder charges, the producer laid that notion to waste in 2013, dropping a string of potent hits with an incarcerated Kartel and launching dancehall’s newest female sensation, J. Capri, through his label, Head Concussion Records.

Though he still works primarily in Kingston, Rvssian now makes his home near Miami. That city’s influence has begun to manifest itself in his music, with echoes of Miami Bass music heard on J. Capri and Konshens’ “Pull Up To The Bumper” and the Latin influence on “Mamacita,” a track pairing some Kartel en espanol with Shakira-esque vocals from Ms. Capri.

Rvssian has been a staple presence on LargeUp since our launch but recently we finally sat down with him to talk shop at his Miami area condo, linking with him again for a photo shoot set against that city’s Wynwood art district.

Read on for Part 1 of the interview.

LargeUp: How did you break into the production business in Jamaica?

Rvssian: I did it kind of myself. I never really knew anybody. One day, I remember it was a rainy day in the summer, I said, Yo, if by December I don’t have a song buzzing then I just got to say screw it with music. ‘Cause I was contemplating going away to school at the time to study something else. And I just went hard for that whole period of about eight months. I got the songs and just went to the streets. I promoted it myself, made people see my face, introduced myself and everybody just respected that. They were like Yo, who’s this likkle uptown light skinned yout’ going to these ghetto parties, going everywhere across Jamaica? People just showed me love, and I just learned the industry pretty much. I mean, that was just it.

LU: Do you think having a name like “Russian” that sounded different helped you get noticed?

Rvssian: Yeah, I think having that name and my look helped me out ’cause there is nobody who looks like me in terms of hardcore dancehall. So I figured the looks and name kind of shocked people, and impressed them.

LU: So you recently changed your name…

Rvssian: I have the same name, it’s pronounced the same way, it’s just instead of a ‘u’ it’s a ‘v.’ That ways it’s easier to find me on the Internet, because it’s more unique. Back in the 18th century they used to use ‘v’s instead of ‘u’s on street signs. As a known example, there is Bvlgari, the brand with the ‘v.’ A lot of fans were complaining that they couldn’t find me on Instagram, Twitter, or my songs. When you type in ‘Russian’ you find a million different people who are actually from Russia the country, so that was a problem. It was almost a re-brand, a recreation so  people embraced it.

LU: You don’t have as much of a signature sound as certain producers where you instantly hear their rhythm and you know it’s them.

Rvssian: Well, I think I do, but at the same time I don’t. It’s hard to explain. Like, a person will notice my riddim or my beat in dancehall because they know that nobody else in dancehall uses these sounds. I go for the most weird sounds. I think my stuff is more weird than anybody else. The drums and the basslines might be authentic but the lead sound stands out. When people hear it, they might not notice my production, they might just assume when they hear something out-of-the-box weird, alright that might be a Rvssian production. I figure that’s how people look at it.

Read on for more of the interview.

LU: How do you build your riddims? Do you say, People are listening to stuff that sounds like this and I want to take it in this next direction, or are you just coming up with things that just sound good?

Rvssian: It depends. Sometimes I find just one little sound in the studio, and play a melody and create something around that. Then you might go somewhere in the world and hear an influence to give your sound a certain vibe. But it’s never ‘oh the people are going with this right now so I’m gonna go with that.’ I think in the whole five years I’ve been in the industry no one can come to me and say that my shit sounds like another person’s.

LU: The Go Go Club, was a breakthrough riddim for you, and a gamechanger. How did you come up with that one?

Rvssian: I built that riddim in probably less than five minutes. Most of my riddims that are more successful have been created [quickly], off of feeling more than thinking. Music is an art so you must just feel it. I was on the phone with a girl at the time, messing around on the piano, and by the time the phone call hung up, I turned up the speaker, like This is the shit. DJ Frass came over and I played it for him and he was like Yo dog, it’s lame you ah lose it? Wha dis? And I sent it to Kartel and tell him it’s the baddest riddim and him call me back and said it was lame, too! So I said to Kartel, you must be high or something, listen to it tomorrow.

So him call back tomorrow and he said, Call di Star and all the media right now. He said Call di man, tell him he’s the baddest DJ in the world. He told me to come to the studio, and he did the song in one take. From the first line, and the way he says my name on the melody of the intro, I knew it was a success. Everything was perfect. Even with the Merital song, “My Money” how that even come about [is] they come up and perform [with me] at Kartel’s birthday party. Nobody knew them,  I came up with the song with them, and it rocked the crowd. So Kartel said put that song on the riddim.

LU: How did you become part of Kartel’s inner circle?

Rvssian: I have my own entity, Head Concussion Records, but I’m not a part of Gaza or anything. It’s just that me and him have a good working chemistry. It’s just like a Lex Luger and Rick Ross or Waka Flocka. They’re not signed, their sound just blends good together, and they have a good chemistry to just work with each other. So, it may look like I’m under his camp but I have my own thing. It’s just that we have a good work thing and we understand each other and respect each other as musicians.

Read on for more of the interview.

LU: Kartel’s working relationships are known for ending in a dramatic fashion… in a really bad way. Yet you’ve stayed working with him for a few years.

Rvssian: I have been one of the guys who have been around Kartel the longest because I understand the business of it… being a business first. I mean, yeah him and I are friends and we do business but you have to know where to separate both [sides] of him, and a lot of people don’t know how to do that. It might mess up their relationship. But I think if everybody wants something to work, you can make it work.

LU: You’ve done vocals on songs with Kartel and other artists. Do you desire to be an artist on your own?

Rvssian: Every day people message me on Twitter, saying ‘Do a mixtape of solo music’ — people [are] asking for it. It’s just about time because I also have a label to run. Also, it’s just me developing even the confidence to go on stage. I just did an island tour in Jamaica for a certain brand and that made me conquer some fears of performing on stage. I’m working on it so people can look out for that in the future.

LU: Kartel is controversial, he has allies, he has enemies. Does that come into play when you are working on creating a rhythm release? Say someone fell out with Kartel, does that create problems for you in releasing music by them?

Rvssian: A lot of the artists that separated themselves with Kartel, after [that] they were so angry about the situation they did something different than before. That’s probably why I wasn’t so interested in what they were coming up with next. I wouldn’t record a song dissing Vybz Kartel because, for one, I don’t record dis songs towards anybody because that’s just a waste of time to me. Also, I wouldn’t [voice a song that] dis him because he is the one who gave me [my] break in music, so there has to be some form of loyalty where that is concerned.

LU: One thing the public doesn’t know about dancehall is: how do you end up choosing an artist for a particular rhythm? Is it just all about timing and who is around at the given time?

Rvssian: Sometime I waan do some some work with some artist and you call them and they might be on tour and you have a deadline for the project and they don’t make it. Sometime you can help out some artist but at the end of the day you can only help so much on one project, because you can’t put 10 new artists on one riddim. It’s going to overshadow the project, yuh know? If you have a riddim with 10 people, you can probably put six hot artists and then four upcoming or four [veterans] to bring back.

Read on for more of the interview.

LU: Do you still plan on working with Kartel?

Rvssian: Yeah, I still plan on working with him. [His legal issues] got nothing to do with me and I do music so…Hopefully he gets over that soon ’cause the people and the industry missing him. Of course I still plan on working with him.

LU: A lot of artists have come up from under him and you’ve worked with some of them- Tommy Lee, Popcaan. Do you have your own relationships with those artists?

Rvssian: I know the Gaza artists through Kartel. I didn’t know them before Kartel. Other artists I know on my own.

LU: Chan Dizzy is one of the artists on your label. Are there other artists that you are developing?

Rvssian: I have a new female artist called J Capri. I have released three singles with her. First was “Whine & Kotch.” Which did pretty well, and is still doing pretty well, with a hefty 10 million views on YouTube. And there is the second single “Pull Up to Mi Bumper,” right behind it at 9.5 million. But those were two collabs. For all who doubted her talent, which was very few people, I released “Reverse It” which has been out a month now, with almost 400,000 hits on YouTube. So the response to her and her music is great! She’s currently on tour. I think she’s actually in Dubai at the moment. Keep an eye on her at www.youtube.com/headconcussionTV.

There’s a space for female artists in dancehall, because there’s not many out there who are consistent, and giving the people what they want.

Read on for more of the interview.

LU: Being that you are between Miami and Jamaica now—how does that change what you do ?

Rvssian: Well I’m always in Jamaica and I’m always in Miami and Atlanta, New York. Lets just say I’m all over the place. I’ll be back in Jamaica next week anyways so, it’s just a week away from the country.

LU: But does it open you up to new things being here where things are less focused on reggae and dancehall?

Rvssian: Yes, it does, but I’m definitely not less focused on dancehall.

LU: What about in terms of sound? Where are you taking your sound?

Rvssian: I’m taking bits and pieces from everywhere I go. I learn new music and styles, so I will drop some slight influence in my tracks to give it a spice.

LU: I understand you’ve been doing some stuff outside of the reggae and dancehall bubble.

Rvssian: I’ve been traveling around the world and around America. I’ve met a lot of known and important people and there’s maybe some bigger stuff in the pipeline for the future in terms of working on the US market. If they want me to produce a hip-hop record, I am a producer so I can produce whatever it is but I am going to always try and blend. If I’m gonna do a song with 2 Chainz tomorrow I’m gonna try and get Kartel on the hook or Mavado to give it that difference. It’s obvious people like that sound judging by previous sounds where Jamaicans were used on the hook.

LU: Are you putting out any production that isn’t dancehall oriented?

Rvssian: I did two records for Ultra, and this guy Honorebel featuring Pitbull. Also I’m working on a mixed Spanish and English album. I’ve got a song with a Spanish artiste called Farruko featuring Sean Paul, “Passion Whine.” But I don’t like to talk about a project before it is out. I don’t want people to look out for it and it never come out and them like Wellllll… Rather I just come out and shock the public, bout that shock factor. We also launched our website, HCRWorld.com, a few months ago.

LU: Outside of music, what are you up to? I know you have some hobbies…

Rvssian: I play paintball on a professional paintball team called the Miami Beatdown.  Also, I ride dirt bikes for fun. At one point—the year before last—I owned like 5 bikes. I’m obsessed with bikes, I’m obsessed with extreme sports overall. Anything extreme; shooting, playing paintball, dirtbikes.. anything over the edge. I mean I played football, which is soccer, but I’m not really a fan of that. Just anything extreme that keeps my adrenaline pumping, ya know? Something crazy—not too crazy, though.

JS: What is professional paintball, is it like professional basketball? How does it work?

Rvssian: Well, there’s leagues. The team that I am now is the professional league for it, but we are not fully ranked yet because the guy that owns the team he just started this as a new business venture. There are thousands of teams, They are trying to get paintball on ESPN.

JS: Are there any spots to play paintball in Jamaica?

Rvssian: Yeah, but it’s illegal to carry the gun… but I waan talk to them and play for a Jamaican team.