kristy.ramnarine@cnc3.co.tt
Bajan soca artiste Rupee’s (Rupert Clarke) Tempted to Touch has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The RIAA has honoured music’s best through its Gold and Platinum Awards Programme for the past 60 years. When an artiste earns a Gold and Platinum certification, they join the ranks of an elite group of beloved musicians.
The 2004 hit track Tempted to Touch was included on Billboard’s 12 Best Dancehall and Reggaeton Choruses of the 21st Century at number five. The song reached number 44 on the UK Singles Chart and number 39 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
“Naturally, getting into music, there are certain goals that you set for yourself,” said Rupee.
“Billboard Charts success: I made it to Hot 100 twice. A Grammy, which is still a little elusive, could happen if not for me, I can contribute via writing. A Gold record or a Platinum record by the RIAA. That recently happened. Tempted to Touch has recently been certified gold. We’re waiting on the plaques to make it official.”
His signing to Atlantic Records was another major accomplishment.
“Another monumental part of my life and something that I am extremely proud to accomplish. That was definitely a blessing,” he said.
“The rollout and schedule they had in terms of pushing the single was a crazy schedule. Of course, people on the outside think it’s a bed of roses, and you have your bed made for you. It’s non-stop hard work; a lot of the shows you are doing are actually for free, but you have to put in the hard work and make sacrifices.
“And of course, after being signed, I couldn’t be as available to Trinidad or Barbados Crop Over as often as I would have been before being signed. At the end of the day, I saw it as me representing the Caribbean as a whole, representing Barbados, and putting the work in to allow others to walk through.”
Born to a Bajan father and a German mother in Germany, Rupee later migrated to Barbados with his parents. Rupee emerged on the local soca scene when he joined the popular Bajan group Coalishun, performing song hits like Ms Thundah and Ice Cream.
During that time he worked as a graphic artiste with McCann Erickson, a job he later gave up to become a full-time entertainer in 2000. The Bajan artiste, who first performed in Trinidad in 1996, knew in order to immerse himself fully in the world of soca he had to be part of Trinidad Carnival.
In the early 2000s, Rupee was one of the headline acts for the popular school tour run by the now defunct urban radio station 98.9 FM which was led by O’Brian Haynes. Week after week Rupee headed to various schools in T&T to perform.
“School tour was absolutely phenomenal and a big part of who I am,” he said. “Those days are forever etched in my memory; we got footage of them. Fans come with folders with clippings and photos from those days, posters I would have signed because back then I would have moved with posters I would have designed for the kids. Those were really special days to me.”
The artiste who performed hit after hit, including Blame it on de Music, also made the experience special for his fans.
“I would have been the one to stay back, interact with the kids, and sign posters for hours with my brother Dexter and team,” he added.
“I have people who would come up to me and say, ‘Rupee, remember when you came to my school back in the day? They are now adults in the parties I am singing at, and they themselves are children who grew up on my music too, whose parents would play.”
The artist credited his fans as the foundation of his identity and work.
“At the end of the day, if fans don’t listen to the music, if they don’t spread it, you don’t exist,” he said. “I am always cognisant of the fact that they are the nucleus of who I am. They allow me to put food on my table; they allow me to feed my family.”
He had the following advice for young and upcoming artistes in the business: “I see some artistes when fans approach them; they are very standoffish, push them away, and reject them. Me, I am never that.The fan does not need to know what kind of day you are having; all the fan needs to know is that they’ve been there for you and you are there for them.
“Now with social media and new levels of ways to interact with the fans, it takes it to another level of understanding. I am eternally grateful. I got fans who have been with me for the entire journey, and social media has opened a whole new realm as well.”
T&T remains very special to the artiste who continuously sings this country’s praises. His grandparents were married in Trinidad, and his dad lived in Trinidad for a period of time.
“Without a doubt, there is a bredrin in Trinidad who looks identical to me,” he said. “No lie. Even to the point where we were in a fete at one time, fans were approaching us, and they could not tell who is who. They were going up to him ‘O God, Rupee boy, we really love his music.’”
He described his visits as an incredible experience, one that involves returning to visit ‘family’.
“Trinidad Carnival naturally is the mecca; this is a place where promoters come from all over the world,” he said.
“Media, people throughout the region, people from across the globe—it’s definitely a focal point as it relates to an artiste being present. It’s the place you want to be to get the exposure, to get the mileage; if you want to be in that circuit that encompasses all the major fetes around, Trinidad is the place to be.”
In December 2024, Rupee once again returned, this time for the launch of his single My Kinda Gyal on the Pineapple Riddim done by Dwayne Bravo’s 47 Productions in collaboration with Monk Music.
“Dexter (Thomas) sent me the Riddim and immediately I fell in love with it,” he said.
“I must have written about three songs on it. It was hard for us to decide which one we wanted to go with. We eventually chose My Kinda Gyal. The feedback has been overwhelming; the riddim has been doing fantastic, and the launch is on par with some of the biggest label launches I have seen in my career. Bravo, Monk, the team went all out.”
When he is not performing, the entertainer spends his time in Barbados with his two children, Chloe, 18, and Reece, 13. “That’s my world; everything revolves around them,” he said. “They are the reason I do what I do. Being home for the family is a major part of it. In terms of releasing stress.
“Physically you are always in and out of the island. I make an effort to be at home as often as possible and leave as close as I can to the gig. Trinidad Carnival is one of the harder runs because you are away for an extended period of time.”
An active gamer (Xbox and FIFA), Rupee boasted that he is now in Division 2 while inviting fellow gamers to seek him out.
