Professor Nuts traces career to Nicodemus, 1978
published:
Saturday | April 19, 2008
Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Professor Nuts - File
The late gravelly-voiced artiste Nicodemus was well known for a near monotonous style of deejaying, with Suzie Wong being a popular hit.
He was also fond of the dapper 'gangster' style of dressing in suits and felt hats. And, of course, there was his association with Supercat.
On Saturday night, though, an association of a different and, on the face of it, unlikely kind was made public at Mas Camp, Oxford Road, New Kingston, as Professor Nuts traced his career back to Nicodemus.
And to prove it, before he went into the history of his comedic career, lyrics and all, Nuts deejayed like Nicodemus for the large, appreciative audience at 'Giants of the 80s'.
"I am not one of the icons of the '80s. I started out 1978," he said. The Taxi rhythm had been playing as he strolled onstage, smiling, and Nuts said, "1980 that rhythm mek. Establish by a soun' name Wha Dat." Wha Dat was owned and operated by pioneering radio disc jock Barry G.
"Mos' a my tune mek for de riddim."
Comedic style
And he said that there was a giant who had not been mentioned.
"There is a giant name Nicodemus. He was my teacher. Mos' people no know I can deejay like Nicodemus," Nuts said, and proceeded to do just that with a lyric titled Bad Man Love It, presenting the steady style of deejaying until the audience cheered him on. "Played by the champion soun' is all I bring," Nuts said smiling.
He then went into his own comedic style. Nuts said that in his early days, once when he was deejaying at Rockfort in 1983 a set of women tried to run him off the microphone. He replied with an "ugly gal" lyric, concluding that the women "woulda sleep wid me dog if dem see sey him a bull".
Mas Camp erupted, as they did again and again through Nuts' extended performance.
From 1984 he went for Tan So Back and many were chanting along word for word. When Nuts got to the blows delivered to his aggressive girlfriend by a man "about 10 foot 10", it was chorus of "bow! De bredda box har again".
"Coming up de line now," Nuts said, continuing the lesson as he changed from the Taxi to the Answer rhythm, as he hit "nuff man dey yah but woman dey yah". After the initial cheers the audience settled into listening to the lyric, counting off with Nuts as he named the women he carried from Portmore to the 'bull' session in Manchester.
Good stage movement
"Comin' up the line. De man dem love da lyrics ya," he said. And the men did express their appreciation as Nuts started "woman, man bigges' problem".
Nuts used dramatic body language, excellent facial expression and good stage movement to further enhance his witty lyrics, the '80s also yielding Don't, many starting to laugh at the mere mention of the anti-oral sex tune. There were howls when Nuts deejayed about a man who commented about a girl that if he "back up all dat" he "woulda nyam all de fat".
And it was more matters of the mouth to groin kind, as Nuts delivered another lyric in which he said "some a nyam Dawn some a nyam Jacqueline, what a ting, data deh sittin mussi nourishin', if a so me fe get fat me raada tan slim".
He left the stage but was demanded to return, which Nuts did with Inna De Bus and then satisfied persistent requests by going into 'drunken' mode to become Jimmy Bascombe.
Taken from the Weekend Star, Friday April 18, 2008.
