Murphy Productions About To Brukweh

Gospel Globe has had the opportunity of featuring various artistes but never before a producer. Miami based producer Stephen Murphy has had many open doors and in this exclusive, shares with us his experiences, accomplishments and latest projects. 

Gospel Globe: Tell us your name and where you’re located

Stephen Murphy: My name is Stephen Murphy and I’m currently located in Miami Florida

Gospel Globe: I saw in your bio that you were originally from Jamaica and your parents were involved in music, how was that for you?

Stephen Murphy: Yes I was. I have a musical background. Not just my mum and dad but my siblings, cousins, uncles etc, so I basically grew up around all different types of music

Gospel Globe: Currently do you only produce Dancehall?

Stephen Murphy: No, I don’t. Most of the artistes that I do work with, it’s geared towards that genre. I can do anything in music in general.

Gospel Globe: Have you ever found yourself blending different types of music?

Stephen Murphy: I try to make my stuff cross. I’ll have Danechall with the Hip Hop flavor, strictly hardcore dancehall and then there’s that with Soca. It’s basically trying to create something new.

Gospel Globe: Who have you worked with in the past beside Emrand Henry?

Stephen Murphy: I’ve worked with a long list. Dwayne Walters, St Matthew, Ordinary, and the list goes on! I’m working with upcoming artistes Reality, Karyann Diamond, Troy Genius.., and they’re all local.

Gospel Globe: You mentioned Troy Genius who’s the brother to Red Rat, and he’s currently absolutely sold out to Christ. Please share some of your experiences working with him.

Stephen Murphy: It’s a great honor and a real joy. It’s not only production that we work together on. I am a musician and I’m his drummer. We’ve been on shows, we’ve travelled to Jamaica. We’ve played in shows like ‘Fun in the Son’ etc. It’s a great pleasure because he has shown me a lot of stuff, within the production aspect to get that real and clean quality. So I’m really honored and grateful for that.

Gospel Globe: How would describe the current state of Gospel in the Caribbean and be honest…

Stephen Murphy: Ummm Gospel has taken its turn to the Dancehall honestly. It was a fight and it has been for years. It’s more acceptable now and that’s good as there are a lot of younger people that listen to Vybz Cartel and what not that lead them away. So if we as Christian producers and artistes can really get it to a better quality, I’m not saying to compete with them, then I think that we would have younger people in church activities that go on. Of course not knocking down the traditional style, ‘cause Grace Thrillers and all of the other’s music will never die. In terms of capturing the younger generation we have to use the right bait to hook them in. And the ‘choir thing’, it’s not going to work. That time has passed already.

Gospel Globe: Do you look forward to working with Trini artistes?

Stephen Murphy: Definitely! I don’t limit myself to Jamaicans because working with Emrand Henry, that was another good venture and it was fun. Really if I have to work with an African I will! (we both laugh) I really love to collaborate with different people.

Gospel Globe: I’ve always heard from various artistes and producers the problems that they face with one another. From a producer’s aspect what do you think are the factors that are needed to cultivate a good relationship between artiste and producer?

Stephen Murphy: Freeness! Sometimes…(thinks hard about what he’s going to say). You may have producers that may work otherwise and like myself I do music full time so it’s not a situation where the lights are running off of water...

I think that producers can give a break in terms of pricing etc but in general the business aspect needs to be stronger. If you’re doing an album I really think that the artiste should bring something to the table. At the end of the day it takes something to produce the track, mix and master it and then you have the light bill to face.

Gospel Globe: Beside music production is there anything else that you are involved in?

Stephen Murphy: Well I play drums in church and the sound engineering because I do it in the studio, so bring it out of there, and into the church.

Gospel Globe: Where do you fellowship?

Stephen Murphy: Miami Seven Day Baptist Church

Gospel Globe: You’re working on a new project correct? Tell us a little more about that

Stephen Murphy: This project is called ‘Brukweh Riddim’. It’s a riddim that I produced and I have about twelve artistes on it. I have myself,  Troy Genius, Reality, Karyann Diamond, Ordinary, Emrand Henry just to name a few. It’s really impacting the radio waves heavily in Jamaica and the UK. It’s in heavy rotation right now. It was inspired after incidents in Jamaica. It has been a hard time for Jamaica for families that lost a lot of family and friends. It’s a part of life but in all things we still have to try to give God praise and ‘break away (brukweh)’ from the things that would basically leads us down a path that causes the killing and destruction.

Gospel Globe: Do you have a radio station?

Stephen Murphy: I do have play on one. It’s not a Gospel station but I do Gospel on there and it’s Carijamz on Saturday nights. I’ve been busy moving about here and there but when I’m in town I do get to play on the radio but I’m mainly a producer!

Gospel Globe: With all this said, do you have any advice for upcoming producers?

Stephen Murphy: Yea! This is in general to producers and artistes, whatever you wanna be! Just always put God first! Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God and all shall be added. Don’t run down the fame, money or the cars, because we are just here for a little time and the riches are in Him. Just be humble and God will take you places that you would never imagine that you would be.  Never compromise! That’s what I did. It seems as though that sometimes it’s hard, but when you make a sacrifice for God he will surely bless you in the future.

Written by :

Esther James

 

Features - People