Guyana has, for many years, produced many talented people. Many of them have even been recognised both locally a
nd internationally.
Among those who have gained this level of recognition is Alwin Nurse. Nurse is a recording artiste with a keen inclination for the Reggae/ Dancehall genre. Many may not recognise him by his given name, but a mere mention of the name ‘Negus’ have seen many clamouring to be entertained, and with good reason too.
Although he was born and raised in right here in Guyana, Negus has been making an astronomical name for himself in Canada, a country he has adopted in order to expand his tuneful ability.
It is not at all surprising that he, from a very young age, gravitated to the world of music. This is in light of the fact that he was born to a father with a long history in the entertainment industry. His father, Kenneth Nurse, aka Small Man, was the manager of a popular music band called the Mingles Sound Machine.
Like his father, Negus, although a mere boy, took to the music industry and has not swayed in any way from this natural forte.
He grew up in Middle Road, Albouystown, Georgetown, and attended the St. Pius Primary School. By the time he was seven years old, he was living between Trinidad and Guyana because of family circumstances. About a decade ago, however, he took up residence in Canada, and he has been evolving by leaps and bounds as a musical professional ever since.
Among Negus’ most popular tracks, which can be found all over the internet, are: Believe in Yourself, Rat Race, Love You Forever, Act Crazy and many more. In fact, Negus has more than 50 songs to his name. Some of these were even produced right here in Guyana during some of his visits back to his homeland.
Although his many energetic tunes were sufficient to elevate him to a higher plateau, it might have been his collaboration with several Jamaican artistes that really gave him the nudge in the right direction.
Back in the day, Negus performed alongside notable Jamaican artistes including: Beenie Man, Buju Banton and Red Rat. He even collaborated with yet another Jamaican artiste, Konshens, to produce a provocative dancehall track ‘Dah whine deh’ in 2013.
Although grateful for the recognition that came with the collaborations, Negus said that it came with the realisation that many were under the impression that he too was a Jamaican artiste. “Many didn’t know who I was… They thought I was a Jamaican artiste too because I was performing with people like Konshens… I got many write-ups because of that hype,” Negus related.
But he intends to remain true to the land of his birth even as he evolves on the international scene. Because of his international exposure, the 35-year-old has increasingly been making a name for himself.
Recently, he was making the final arrangements to produce a video for his latest single – ‘Nuzzle-Up’, and already, it has started to gain positive reaction. In fact, an increasing number of people have been gravitating to his many tunes.
He has been receiving much more airplay and push from Jamaica and a number of other Caribbean Islands and Canada too. “People outside of Guyana have been uploading my music to the internet and they [my songs] are always on the internet… Many of my songs are on YouTube, just Google search me. You will even see write-ups about me,” said Negus.
But it is his desire that his music will have no boundaries in his homeland. “I would like people who have the capabilities to push the local artistes to step-up, instead of channelling other artistes. They should promote local artistes so that they can gain the recognition they deserve,” Negus said. This is in light of the fact that he has not failed to represent Guyana overseas. Negus emphasised that he is not only passionate about his music, but he has remained patriotic to his homeland over the years.
Negus is not only limited to recording tracks, as he possesses an exceptional talent to write impressive lyrics drawn from current affairs, his imagination or even from movies. “I focus on everything… If I wake up tomorrow morning and the world is in chaos, I can write about what I see. I will write based on my feelings and emotions… I am constantly creating stuff and I have a variety of music based on the experiences and thoughts I have,” said the talented artiste who currently owns the Street Platinum label out of Toronto, Canada.
The father of one has remained so in-tuned musically that he has been able to create some astounding beats for himself and others too. He also has the ability to do graphic designs and video editing, all of which are crucial to the music industry. “I have worked on songs for some Jamaican Artistes, and right now I am working on a song for Natural Black and Timeka Marshall,” Negus revealed.
When he is not busy producing his music, Negus finds the time to engage in other artistic creations in his tattoo parlour.
