You may know him as the voice behind Rough and Tough, one of the biggest rude bwoy anthems ever produced, but Robert Ffrench is more than that. He is a multi-talented visionary whose influence and talent are felt through the entire reggae industry.
The savvy Ffrench is a capable entrepreneur, singer and a producer. Ffrench is the man behind classic songs such as Buju Banton's The
Ruler, Courtney Melody's Modern Girl, Beres Hammond's Over You, and Sizzla's Be Strong. Other hit songs in his extensive catalogue include
Luciano's Moving Out of Babylon, Jah Cure's Girlfriend and rapper Heavy D's More Love, among several others. However, as a young teen,
his mother had mapped out a different career path for him when music suddenly jumped into the picture.
At 17, Ffrench was a good student at Kingston College when he fell in love with reggae music, and in spite of resistance from his family, he
firmly set his sights on a career in music.
“I used to live in a tenement yard where most of the greats would hang out. There was Desmond Dekker and the Aces, Freddie McKay, Monty
Morris and several others. I used to see them on the television and yearned to be like them. At the time, I was also working with my
cousin Pat Kelly, who ignited my interest in the business,” he said.
With the help of Karl Wilson he recorded his first single, Car Girl, in 1979. He honed his craft traveling around several sound systems
such as Metro Media, Killamanjaro, and Gemini, developing his unique sound. Then Robert Ffrench’s big break came when he recorded the
ballad , On the Dancefloor in 1982. The song, which was written by his mentor and friend Beres Hammond, established Ffrench as a star in
the reggae world.
“Everybody started feeling good now, my mother felt great because she saw the impact I was making at the time,” he said.
Soon after, he was producing some of reggae's biggest hits and touring Europe, parts of Asia, the United States and the Caribbean. Ffrench
went on to work with top reggae and hip-hop artistes, both on the stage and in the studio.
In 1989, Ffrench further cemented his place in the annals of reggae music with the monster hit, Rough and Tough on the Modern Girl riddim.
After that, he followed that up with another hit, Bun and Cheese, and Ffrench was a bonafide star, one of the major crowd pullers in an era
that include heavyweight names such as Barrington Levy, Tristan Palmer and Sugar Minott. He is known for putting together stellar compilation albums of old favourites and new hits, including Yesterday & Today, which includes Bun and Cheese. He was also the driving force behind the Platinum Reggae album series. Then, in the mid 90s, Ffrench stopped singing for a while and focused more on producing and recording.
“At one time it was just shows behind shows and that pushed me to take a break. I was still involved in the music, but was focusing more on
producing,” he said.
RETURN OF THE MACK
Now, Ffrench is back with a bang. His latest song, a soulful gem of a song called I Do on the Sing Jock Music Ltd. label, is blowing up all
over the airwaves.
“I have been getting a great response to the song so far and there are plans to do a video in the coming weeks so that the song can connect
with that young audience,” he said.
“Everybody is gravitating towards the song, the disc jocks at IRIE and ZIP are showing me a lot of love. My business partner at Sing Jock
Music, Mr. Davis, and I are very pleased with the whole response so far.”
There are also plans in the pipeline for a hip hop or dancehall remix of his seminal hit, Rough and Tough.
“That song still generates a lot of interest but if I remix it, it has to be done right so that it gets justice and it can connect with a
more urban, youthful audience.”
Ffrench is already confirmed to appear at this year’s St. Mary Mi Come From stage show on August 5th in St. Mary and at Champions in Action
on August 15th.
“I am looking forward to these shows,” he said.
Ffrench still has a big following in Europe although there are no plans to do any Summer festivals this year.
“I had been doing some touring with Junior Reid, but I took an early break to return to Jamaica to reconnect with the fans in Jamaica
because once you’re popping in Jamaica, you’re popping all over the world,” he said.
And popping he is. There’s no stopping Robert Ffrench now. Next stop: The world.
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