Retired music journalist specializing in Jamaican music, reggae afrobeat and afrofunk

Alwyn Christopher "Corkit" Harriman aka Mr. Grenada was born in Florida, St. Johns and raised in Morne Fendue, a small area around St. Patricks. He spends most of his time in another area close to Morne Fendue call, Rosehill.  He refers to Rosehill as his 'Liming Area' and the people, 'his people'.  Mr. Grenada always had a love & passion for music, partying and seeing people dance and have a good time.  Growing up he was known simply as "Corkit", few knew his real name.
 
 
Corkit got his inspiration from listening to artists like Lover, Cass and Cuck Gengyi back in the days in Florida, St Johns, where he also spent time growing up.  Inspector is his favorite Soca artist and also has been a musical inspiration. At 11 yrs old, Corkit started singing in school to show off his talents.  If you ask him how he got the name "Mr. Grenada" he would simply say, "father god gave me that name, he told me to choose this name".  As simple as it sounds, he also says the music he makes is deeply inspired by many things he sees and connect with in the land.  For an example, the beaches, the mountains and the people.  His occupation is repairing the roads on the country-side in Grenada, so as he goes along, he gets a lot of inspiration. 
 
 
 

In the 80s and early 90s, he followed the late great DJ Charlie, his mentor. He got more musical inspiration being around DJ Charlie than any other person in his life.  Mr. Grenada had a great opportunity to listen to a large variety of Calypsonians from other regions, including Trinidad, Barbados, etc as well as other genre of music he wouldn’t have been exposed to. DJ Charlie was a very established DJ in Grenada in those days and had access to all types of music.  He said, "DJ. Charlie, lived about 2 minutes down the road from me, so I was in his place all the time, just soaking up all that music.  I used to go out with him, me and him and them boys and them to all the parties, I learned a lot about music being around him, and I learned to appreciate quality music"
 
 
Mr. Grenada also traveled & spent a couple of years in England in the mid 90s, where he also obtained some musical inspiration.  His signature saying in his music is "Bling Bling". The first songs he ever wrote were called, "push wood in the fire Corkit" and "Don't touch the crown", unfortunately, these songs were never recorded. Maybe sometime in the future, they will be recorded & released, so stay tuned!
 
 
Early 2012, Mr. Grenada began penning a few releases for the Carnival season and wanted to make his presence felt.  He said, "I started writing songs like, 'Ganja & Tobacco', and 'Throw the water', I know it was going to be hard to get the people's ear, since I was unknown and it was my very first year, but the few people that did hear the music, loved it".  He got some radio play with his songs, "Ganja & Tobacco" and "Throw to water".  He also had a very nice one dedicated to the ladies, "Let me be the one", he said, "Let me be the one was a big big tune, but again, I was unknown, and it didn't get into the ears of the people.  But I got some spins on the radio and my songs heated up the local scene, so that was a positive".  You can listen to all those songs in the Audio/video section of the site.  2012 has proven to be a learning experience, and he has dedicated the rest of 2012 in perfecting his craft and coming a lot stronger the following years. 
 
 
"The music is something I am very passionate about, I take it seriously, and next yr and the following yrs, I am coming very strong, more disciplined with more experience, one year is all I needed.  I am determined to give something to make the people think about.  I would like to be a force, make an impact, be a name that my fans and peers respect and appreciate.  Having a few hundred people hear my music (which is the hard part), not only in Grenada, but the rest of the World is what I aim for; I would like to be internationally known.  I realize I am a big underdog, but I am ready to make some quality music, and do special things that goes against the norm and take the music to another Level.  I want people to think of me more than a typical Soca artist, in time", said, Mr. Grenada.

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