X2
Chronicle Pepperpot December 29, 2013
IX
:A double blast of entertainment firestorm
ONE can only imagine the wonders that occur in the cosmic realm when two dynamic forces come together. And when two superbly talented Guyanese musicians fused their vocal talents and entertainment finesse to form the inimitable ‘X2’, the results were inevitably astounding, much to the delight of their adoring fanbase, which has since been experiencing exponential growth. When Adrian Dutchin and Jomo Primo came together as one under the name ‘X2’, Guyanese witnessed the dawn of riveting Guyanese music, with a refreshing new style and charisma. People often ask, “Why the name X2?” Simply put, “Times Two” is twice everything! And Adrian Dutchin and Jumo Primo bring new meaning to the phrase, “What you see is what you get”. Both performers come from a school that says the ladies come first, and their focus is on pleasing their thronging hordes of members of the ‘fairer sex’. Adrian, born September 4, 1981, and Jumo, born July 25, 1976, came together through being signed to Kross Kolor Records in an association that has borne fruit in extraordinary ways. Adrian started out as one of the lead singers of the now defunct R&B group, ‘Seven’, and was instrumental in giving the group its unique sound, which he has successfully managed to maintain and embody as a solo performer. Jumo garnered his skills from being a member of several bands, both locally and in the Caribbean. His most notable signing was with the Jamaican powerhouse band, ‘Byron Lee and the Dragonaires’, now called ‘Byronlee’s Dragonaires’, with which he toured more than thirty countries per year. Adrian has collaborated with performers such as ‘Osca B’ and Roger George of ‘Xtatic’, and both artistes have worked closely with producer, Burchmore Simon and arranger Mark Walcott, both of the Riddim-a-ton Krew attached to Kross Kolor Records. Jumo’s hobbies are: Riding fast bikes and meeting people. He, like Adrian, is an accomplished songwriter, and both have written all the songs on their first albums, “Storm” and “No Limits” respectively. Adrian enjoys writing, reading and listening to music. The duo’s first single, ‘Krazy’, took the Guyanese public by storm. The first public performance of the song got a standing ovation at the National Sports Hall, here in Guyana, and left the audience calling for more. The video for the song was directed by longstanding video producer,
X2 entertainers, Adrian Dutchin and Jumo Primo Bonny Alves. On Saturday, October 9, 2004, Guyana enjoyed the first syndicated launch of a music video on seven television channels, and the response was overwhelming. In May, 2006, ‘X2’ had its biggest performance at the Crystal Palace Stadium in England, when Guyana celebrated its 40th Independence anniversary, and X2 performed for over 10,000 fans. The duo has had a number of hits in Suriname, Costa Rica, St. Lucia, Barbados, the Cayman Islands and Antigua. Their music is played extensively in the USA, Barbados, England, Suriname, and throughout Latin America. ‘X2’ has an extremely large fanbase in the Guyanese Diaspora in the Caribbean and further afield. The pair has performed in Barbados, the USA, Canada, England, St. Lucia, and Antigua. Adrian had performed with the Krossfyah band for two years; and for Crop Over 2007, under Krossfyah, he released the single entitled, ‘Impossible’, which received rave reviews across the Caribbean and in North America. Adrian has been a nominee for the Best New Soca Artiste at the 2007 soca music awards. ‘X2’, Adrian and Jumo won a total of six awards at the first ever Guyana Music Awards held in November 2008. Their awards include Song of the Year, Artiste of the Year, and Best Soca Single of the Year for the song ‘Tick Tack’. They both have a soft side for Soca, but possess tremendous potential in other areas of music. The duo released its first album, ‘Krossroads’, in 2009. It features songs of the crossover genre, and shows how versatile the duo can be. Together, these young men are an irresistible force to be reckoned with. Individually, Jumo is the reigning Groovy and Carib Soca king of Guyana (2010-2011 and 20122013), and Adrian is the current reigning Road March king – a title he has won six times, and has also won the Carib Soca Monarch competition three times, taking the 2nd runner-up position in 2012. Adrian and Jumo are a rare find for Kross Kolor Records, and both of these young men display the right attitude to enable registration of an indelible mark in the annals of entertainment, not only in Guyana, but worldwide. For this duo, the sky is inevitably the limit.