This Week We Feature Young Professional Jason A. Frett
He spreads the message of love and unity through his powerful voice and lyrical skills, and this week’s young professional hinted that “greater things” are on the horizon.
Jason Frett, who we all know as Ritical, has gained the respect of musicians throughout the Virgin Islands and USVI.
The singer and songwriter opened up about his days when he was on the verge of self destruction but admitted that his willpower to be somebody took him down a path of redemption. While not going into details, the talented singer said he saw a lot of “negative things” while he was living between the Virgin Islands and St. Thomas. He also lamented on a stage in his life where he lost some of his friends to violence.
“I have seen and done a lot of stuff in my youthful days…a lot of things that I am not proud of, but at age 18 I just transformed and turned to the Rastafarian faith,” Ritical stated.
It was then he knew he wanted to explore his musical talent 100 percent. The first thing he changed was his name.
“In the Rastafarian faith Ritical means spiritual,” the Virgin Islander explained. “When I look at life its worth more spiritually than anything materialistically, and at the end of the day we are not perfect, for me it’s all about love over hate, spiritual over vanity. Ritical represents me!”
The singer/songwriter was born into a musical family especially on his father’s side, therefore it's no surprise he followed in his father’s footsteps. “Music is all I do, from a toddler to right now,” Ritical said with a smile.
According to him, his father was a member of the Bad Ones, which Ritical fondly recalled was one of the number one bands in the Virgin Islands at one time.
In addition to that, the singer played the grand piano at the Francis Lettsome Primary School, and ran the school choir. “I made sure everything ran smoothly and played that piano. I think I was 11 at the time.”
Turning to his passion of Reggae, Ritical said it was a “no brainer”. He believes Reggae is the foundation that relates to life. To him, it’s what keeps him motivated when he places his thoughts on paper.
His first song to be released on radio was “Hail Up Jah” which was done in St. Croix, while "Black Woman” was his first official single.
“It all started for me professionally in 2001 when Japhix decided to launch Real Reggae Volume 1. At that time aspiring artistes used to go to an open mic sessions by the Waterfront.” Since then he has attained success with "Carnival Is About Love", “Love Is The Greatest” and “Wish You The Best.”
Currently, Ritical is working on his first album which is long overdue for the fans, but in the meantime, his first video “Wish You The Best” will be launched in May and the album in June 2012.
Future wise, his manager Adlah 'Foncie' Donastorg, who resides in St. Thomas, is making sure Ritical remains in the spotlight. “He really works hard and right now he is setting up some shows for me. Jamaica is definitely in the plan. We are in talks about doing some stuff with Jah Cure and Pressure.”
From the intellectual way he speaks, no one could ever believe that Ritical dropped out of the then BVI High school in Second Form. Asked what were the circumstances surrounding that scenario, the singer replied, “I guess I was exposed to the outer world at an early age and that intrigued me and I did not have the deep care for education. However, if I could turn back the clock I would have stayed in school.”
Instead, Ritical picked up odd jobs and hanging out for a few years before launching his musical career.
So his advice to young men, who think about dropping out of school, is to think twice before making that step. “Knowledge is power and we are living in a world where most things depend on education. The work force is very tough. Not everyone have a talent to progress in life without education. Stay in school, find your strength and capitalise on it.”
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