Words by Natalie Weiner—
Vybz Kartel asked, What a gwaan, Popcaan? in “Clarks,” the song that basically put the young dancehall singer on the musical map—and now, it’s clear that the answer is big, big things. Popcaan’s been preparing to drop his debut full-length Where We Come From all spring, with dancefloor-ready tracks and cameo-filled videos. Now, ahead of next week’s release, the Unruly Boss has scored his first cover story over at The Fader, written by LargeUp editor Jesse Serwer and shot by photographer-turned-film-director Andrew Dosunmu in Kingston and Saint Thomas, Jamaica.
LargeUp has been on board with Popcaan since the start—in addition to frequent Popskull spotlights on LargeUp, Serwer gave him one of his first interviews in a story on “Clarks” for the (U.K.) Guardian, and then two years later, collaborated with LargeUp Creative Director Martei Korley on the deejay’s first U.S. magazine feature, also in The Fader.
We’ve got some exclusive content of our own coming ahead of the album drop next week—in the meantime, listen to the album’s first two singles, “Everything Nice” and “Love Yuh Bad,” as well as the stellar recent release “V.S.O.P.,” right here. And if you haven’t yet seen it, our “A Day in the Life with Popcaan” webisode is a must watch for Fry Yiy fans, taking you deep into Portmore, Jamaica, and the life of dancehall’s most promising young star. Watch it here: