““I just love soca. I’m a producer, I can produce other music, but for myself, I will produce soca.””
Twenty-five year old producer/singer/songwriter Hector "Mr. Legz" Thomas is passionate about soca music, despite the fact that he actually started out as a dancehall artiste. Although he was confident about his talent, he soon realized that being a dancehall artiste in Grenada would not take him far. He then decided to create music that would appeal to Grenadians and thus began his soca career. The decision proved fruitful as his first soca hit "High" earned him a spot in Grenada's Soca Monarch finals where he placed third.
After signing on to a Grenadian record label, Legz decided that he wanted to produce his own music and work with other artistes in the genre. He has since produced music for Destra, Farmer Nappy, Skinny Fabulous, and Problem Child, with whom he appeared on Motto's "Bend Down" remix. Although he has already worked with an impressive list of artistes, Legz hopes to work with the soca king himself, Machel Montano. "One day I'm gonna be able to sit down with Machel and produce a track." Yet his musical style is most compatible with fellow Grenadian Mr. Killa.
The two worked with Arnold "Black Starr" Noel to produce the Jumbie Jab riddim, which features songs by Cloud 5 (known for No Behaviour), Tallpree, Terri Lyons, and The Viking Bunji Garlin. The riddim was supposed to also include two individual tracks from Legz and Mr. Killa, however Legz proposed a collaboration to which his long-time friend eagerly accepted. They abandoned their own songs once they realized "Party Bad" was a better idea. The song has received positive reviews and it is clear that the two intend to continually promote it. When I asked Legz how he planned to perform the song live with Mr. Killa, who is known for his... antics (i.e., lifting up plus-sized women and dancing on his head), he coyly stated "I'm very energetic, too."
Legz is currently traveling around the world promoting himself as a solo artiste. He has recently performed at Carnival Tuesdays in Brooklyn, as well as several shows in Candada. "I love Canada. I do shows in Canada by myself and the place is ram and they give me that love." Being seen is important for any up-and-coming artiste so that people can put a face to the name and also get familiar with his songs. "You can't just sit down and wait for it to come at you, you have to go out there and get it" - true Brooklyn hustler flow.
For more information about his upcoming shows and music releases, follow Mr. Legz on social media at @mrlegzht on Instagram and Twitter. You can also follow his studio page @ytmrecordz.
