Ting-a-ling-a-ling, school bell a ring! Or maybe it’s just someone trying to get Full Blown on the telephone. As we head into the summer, or what T&T has recently coined JAVA (July–August vacation), the local sibling duo have given fans a taste of dancehall style in their latest single No Stress, while paying homage to a veteran in the genre.
The groovy yet energy-packed tune was released on May 22 along with a music video that was filmed in Jamaica. The two brothers, Kevon and Kory Hart, wrote and produced it, and it includes an interpolation of dancehall icon Shabba Ranks’ 1992 hit Ting-A-Ling. It was mixed and mastered by Brooklyn Decent.
They sing, “Ting-a-ling-a-ling, dancehall swing, pretty gyal get up in a latest riddim. She just wanna dance, she don’t want nobody. She don’t want love, seh she want company.” They later add, “She don’t need no stress.”
In under two weeks, the music video already surpassed 54,000 views, with many listeners praising the idea in the comments.
The singers told Guardian Media the song’s first demo was actually recorded in early 2023. “Like most of our songs, it came about from us just freely creating with no real aim other than making good music,” Kory said.
On exploring dancehall, they said their style is not specific to any one genre. While they’re most known for soca, they see themselves as “contributors to the Caribbean sound.” “So soca, chutney, dancehall, reggae, bouyon—nothing is off the table. As a matter of fact, we love to keep the audience guessing.”
Like many of the comments under the video alluded to, they both said Ting-A-Ling is a classic, feel-good song that reminds them of when they were carefree. It was released at a time when parties were colourful, lively and more focused on dancing and having fun.
“That’s the energy we wanted to channel and it felt so natural when we started singing the lyrics in studio that we just went with it,” Kevon said. “Then once the demo was recorded, it was almost impossible to remove it or hear anything else in its place. That is the magic that holds the song together.”
They emphasised, though, that even with interpolating or sampling older, classic tunes, the end product must always be unmistakably Full Blown. They also recently interpolated Crazy’s hit Cold Sweat in their song Respectfully Yours.
Kory explained, “We are all inspired and influenced every day by different things that we have seen, heard or experienced… We always put our spin on it. It must have our sauce. That’s where true originality lies, in being yourself.”
The exact picture they painted of how parties used to be in a certain era was on full display in their music video. It was shot over the span of three days and they said it all went smoothly. Ideally, they wanted “authentic, dancehall flavour” and that’s exactly what they got—from the outfits, the dance moves, the colours and the scenery.
“But this project wasn’t about one specific genre or one country, it was about one Caribbean. We wanted to showcase our vibe as Caribbean people. We are fun loving, and we party like we don’t have a care in the world. No stress!” Kevon added.
It’s one of their favourite projects to date and they said the feedback so far has been great. They have seen many comments about their consistency in writing, production and performing, in addition to their versatility.
They believe this track marks an important step in their musical journey as they have been eager to show their creative range to the world.
Asked how soon they’d get to perform this one in front of a live audience, Kory quipped, “Soon. Kevon just has to brush up on his dance moves first!” The music video is available on YouTube, so feel free to watch it yourself to decide if that’s true. The song is also on all digital music streaming platforms.
