I too, met Sheldon Benjamin aka $hel $hok in 1993 at my first job in a small music store. This store would produce and sell mixed tapes on TDK D60′s and SA 60′s of various genres of music from Dance Hall to Hip Hop you name it. The resident dee jay would be challenged each month to come up with an exciting intro and mix down and customers eagerly anticipated the next installment of music. I was soon told that $hel $hok was one such dee jay and was brilliant at using a “four track machine“ using sample pieces of music to create a compact intro to the start and “drops” throughout the tape. He worked there before my time, but was one of the first persons who helped that store establish itself as a leading source of retail music. He left to pursue his dreams of producing records and beats.
He came in one day and if you knew the guy, you’d know that he was tall, so he had to bend to get through the door frame. He immediately struck me as a chip on the shoulder, larger than life kinda guy, always sporting a new “ride” but was actually friendly and funny. I was playing some records for some customers at the time and he was bobbing his shiny bald head. You could see from his expression that the gears in his head was already churning probably getting some ideas of his own. He would talk about the Caribbean Sound Basin owned by Robert Amar and that he was working with the Kiskidee Karavan.
I didn’t see him much after that time, but I knew of this work and his talent spoke volumes to many he worked closely with. All these years passed by and I never was aware that he was battling the dreaded cancer until I read about it a blog posted by bandwagonist, and saw the commercials about the LifeLine Concert. I was in even more shock when my husband came yesterday and told me that he died around 3pm. My jaw dropped…gone to soon…
My condolences to his family and friends.
Here’s two of my favourite Artistes from the Kiskidee Karavan produced by Sheldon Benjamin.
$hel $hok…R.I.P
I too, met Sheldon Benjamin aka $hel $hok in 1993 at my first job in a small music store. This store would produce and sell mixed tapes on TDK D60′s and SA 60′s of various genres of music from Dance Hall to Hip Hop you name it. The resident dee jay would be challenged each month to come up with an exciting intro and mix down and customers eagerly anticipated the next installment of music. I was soon told that $hel $hok was one such dee jay and was brilliant at using a “four track machine“ using sample pieces of music to create a compact intro to the start and “drops” throughout the tape. He worked there before my time, but was one of the first persons who helped that store establish itself as a leading source of retail music. He left to pursue his dreams of producing records and beats.
He came in one day and if you knew the guy, you’d know that he was tall, so he had to bend to get through the door frame. He immediately struck me as a chip on the shoulder, larger than life kinda guy, always sporting a new “ride” but was actually friendly and funny. I was playing some records for some customers at the time and he was bobbing his shiny bald head. You could see from his expression that the gears in his head was already churning probably getting some ideas of his own. He would talk about the Caribbean Sound Basin owned by Robert Amar and that he was working with the Kiskidee Karavan.
I didn’t see him much after that time, but I knew of this work and his talent spoke volumes to many he worked closely with. All these years passed by and I never was aware that he was battling the dreaded cancer until I read about it a blog posted by bandwagonist, and saw the commercials about the LifeLine Concert. I was in even more shock when my husband came yesterday and told me that he died around 3pm. My jaw dropped…gone to soon…
My condolences to his family and friends.
Here’s two of my favourite Artistes from the Kiskidee Karavan produced by Sheldon Benjamin.
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~ by wendymediumxl on June 10, 2009.
Posted in Commentary
Tags: $hel $hok, Bandwagonist.com, Caribbean Sound Basin, Dance Hall, Dee Jay, General Grant, Hip Hop, Kiskidee Karavan, Sheldon Benjamin, Supa Chile