Album Notes

Kirk Davis (aka Little Kirk)

From first note to last, Kirk Davis continually amazes with a seemingly effortless delivery of honey-laden notes. In an era when the ordinary is considered exceptional and the average deemed brilliant, one encounters great difficulty in summoning words to qualify the incredible vocal gifts of this remarkable artiste.

There are those who contend such a richly textured voice should never have lent itself to the singing of Reggae. These misguided purists are driven by the notion his enormous talents would be better served if he devoted his time to the singing of ballads in the vein of Luther Vandross. The fact is Reggae and Rhythm and Blues are both better for having Little Kirk, now Kirk Davis, represent himself through their musical structure.

In his current project, ‘Natural’, Kirk displays a greater range of vocal skill on a variety of tracks. ‘Love You Lord’ is a spiritually moving track; ‘She’s A Go Go’ with Beenie Man is an up tempo dancehall jam, while the title track ‘Natural (Stay Away)’ features a powerful, yet haunting melody. Kirk’s vocals are blended with instrumentals from the Firehouse Crew, Dean Fraser, Paul ‘Titus’ Green and Andrew ‘Grumps’ Thomas. Dancehall, lover’s rock, R&B and gospel influenced tracks combine to deliver an album with an international flavour.

Born and raised in Waterhouse, Kirk entered an area talent contest with brother Moses Davis, a.k.a. Beenie Man, in 1981. Each was adjudged the winner of his respective category and was subsequently invited by Patrick Roberts to join his Shocking Vibes label. They would become mainstays of this illustrious label. Kirk has done a number of covers, a definite credit to the originals. His rendition of Michael Jackson’s ‘Man In The Mirror’ has earned its place among classic musical remakes. He has logged a string of superlative performances; among these stand appearances in Japan, Europe, the United States, Canada, South America, Africa and the Caribbean Islands. Kirk’s live performances invoke all the passion and emotion denoted in his recordings.

1997 found Kirk in quite a productive frame of mind. ‘Ghetto Girl’ on the Cloak & Dagger rhythm, ‘Girls’ on the popular Odour rhythm, ‘Happy’ a cover of Michael Jackson number done on the Buju Banton’s Gargamel label and ‘God A Di Man’ for Tony Rebel’s Flames label are all efforts from Kirk of 1997 vintage. In the late 90’s, Kirk teamed with producer Donovan Germain on ‘Lalabella’ and released several tracks with Shocking Vibes including ‘Agony’ on the Scarface rhythm and ‘Everytime’ on the Joker rhythm, even as he continued his worldwide touring.

1998 saw the release of album ‘I’m Ready’ and an extensive tour of Japan to promote the album. The single ‘I’m Ready’ and ‘Ease The Pain’ became major hits. In 1999 he released the album ‘Too Hot To Handle’. Kirk teamed up with Beenie Man again in 2000 to do the singles ‘Dance 3000’ and ‘Broadway’. In 2005 he released the single ‘One More Chance’ which has been getting a lot of air play for Kirk. He also released the single ‘Loverman’ featuring Sean Paul, a number included on his recently completed album, ‘One More Chance’, released mid February 2007.

Some of Kirk’s songs to listen out for are: ‘Love Me For Me’, ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’, ‘God A Di Man’, ‘If A Neva God’ feat Beenie Man, ‘Free Some Day’ and ‘Love It’. One should also lend an ear to ‘What A Lala’, a number he does with Beenie Man and a clear demonstration Kirk is still firmly anchored in his roots.

If one needs any indication of where Kirk is going, one needs only to listen to the riveting original ballad ‘Natural (Stay Away)’ to know that his destination is in the stars.