The Bite Magazine - issue 16

I n the opening scene to the video that sees a deal going down while dance- hall, reggae and Latin singer Cruz Rock sings about a girl whom he has fallen for, I’m still trying to work out the connec- tion between the two. Unless the girl is part of the deal-breakers’ elite and Cruz Rock is fooling around with her behind the bosses’ back but it is not really made clear. The video has some great imagery of high rise buildings and zooms into a window where the artist is sitting in a room dressed in a white shirt and printed trousers with glass in hand watching two girls attempting to look sexy on the bed. The song has a nice dancehall vibe that will definitely get you on the dancefloor or grooving around in your room but for me, the video falls down in places. The opening scene of the video remi- niscent of a modern day mafia-type scenario with the exchange of money for goods would probably make for the start of a reasonably sound action- packed film. The artist whose real name is Frankie Alberto Garcia was born on the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. With a Trinidadian mother and a Puerto Rican father, Cruz Rock’s heritage is a deli- cious mix of Trinidad & Tobago, San Juan, Puerto Rico andViequez. Growing up, he had musical influ- ences from all sides, his father Reynaldo Garcia was a member of a local salsa band, while his mother Reola Garcia, a woman of faith, was always singing gospel songs to him. His sister, Melissa also a great singer, set examples for him when she per- formed at local events, while his brother Reynaldo Junior’s love for reggae helped him absorb the Jamaican culture and dialect. “My brother began listening to reggae music in the ‘90s and introduced it to me at an early age. Being that I looked up to him I drew closer to the reggae music. I listened to Bob Marley, Shabba Ranks, Sizzla, Red Rat, Buju Banton and so many more legends in the Reggae industry.” Cruz Rock later became the number one Break Out Caribbean Artist in L3 Maga- zine and was number one on the Tempo TV Cross Caribbean Countdown as well as winning the best Reggae Album in the Academia Music Awards with his latest album Soul Rebel . The artist is deemed one of the highly anticipated artists and producer to come out of the U.S.Virgin Islands. ‘Lights Camera Action’ is out now on Iyatola Records and available on iTunes. www.cruzrock.com bite new music Lights Camera Action