Ricardo Drue seems like the new soca "hottie" on the block. But this 31-year-old has been doing his thing for quite a while now. The son of television personality Nicola Barriteau–he started out his singing career early in his homeland of Antigua where he was a lead vocalist in an all-boy band which is now defunct.
His love for soca music has now made him a household name and an adopted and loved son of T&T soil. Last year he demonstrated he meant business when he placed second with his monster hit Vagabond at the 2015 International Soca Monarch finals. This year he is back in the finals and well, I guess one will have to wait to see if he will bring it again come Fantastic Friday at the Hasely Crawford stadium.
The T&T Guardian caught up with the busy entertainer who spent a little time helping us to understand the man behind Ricardo Drue.
You came from a group called Crossovah where you sang a blend of genres. But then on your solo career path, you seem to have leaned more towards soca music, so much so that you have taken the Road March title twice–back to back in your birth land. Why soca music and not any of the other genres?
Ok, even when you look back at the group, you would recognise that I was the one considered the soca element in it. I mean I have always loved soca music and it is practically what I grew up on. People like Bunji Garlin, Ronnie Mc Intosh, Burning Flames...they were all my inspiration.
What are your offerings this year?
I have four songs out this Carnival season but I have really just been pushing three. They are Bet, Day One, Winner and Professional, which is one of my more popular tracks this year.
Do you write your own songs?
I do, but I also accept songs that are written for me. This season I co-wrote mainly three songs but Bet was more influenced by songwriters Kit Israel and Emmanuel Rudder.
You are a father of four. How do you balance with all this traveling and still being there for your kids? How do you make up for lost time?
Patience! Lots of it. Along with planning. I try to stay connected to them via Skype and I call as much as I could when I am on the road and I go home any chance I can get. My kids also have a very good mother who is also very patient and strong and she helps them to understand what's going on and why I can't be there when I want to be.
How do you feel about your chances this year at Soca Monarch?
I believe I have a very good chance. I did not choose to do Professional which is certainly a popular song. I am going to compete with Bet because it is more suitable to the criteria of the competition.
You represent the new generation of soca. It took us a very long time before we could see a soca artiste collect an international award. Bunji and Machel finally did, having been recipients of the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Soul Train Award. But there is still very far to go before copping a Grammy. How do you think you and the other youth of soca can lift the image of this island music and get it closer to a more internationally-recognised stage?
No disrespect to anybody. This generation of soca is more representative and connected to the urban market. We have a better understanding of the urban market and with social media it has made it much easier for us to connect with the international world. I mean take for instance in one day of uploading the song Bet, it received 200,000 reviews. That could not happen ten years ago because that space was not provided for artistes to do that. So I don't think that the forerunners did not do their best. I believe they would have been at a disadvantage having been without the level of social media we have now at our fingertips.
What do you do to stay grounded?
I talk to my grandma everyday. She always reminds me to stay humble and not to get ahead of myself otherwise she would slap some sense into me. And my grandma is no kicks–she will find me on a stage in the middle of performing and hit me that slap if she needed to! (laughs)
Are you married/single or just socalicious?
I am not single, but I am very singly socalicious.
Will you ever return to singing other genres?
I never stopped. But soca music is just my priority.
You recently issued a statement on drinking and driving. Is this your way of telling your fans though you sing about being a professional drinker, you do not endorse drinking irresponsibly?
Precisely! A professional drinker won't drink and drive.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
I see myself as an entrepreneur not only in music but in other areas. Hopefully I can mentor other youths who can follow in my footsteps and do better than me. But most importantly, I want to make sure I stay committed to making sure the culture and the art form continues to grow and that the Drue Nation brand is not just a household name in T&T and Antigua but across the globe.