AARON FRESH's break seemed the work of Providence. The 17-year-old singer and his Trinidadian mom had been visiting talent agencies and soliciting other kinds of help - falling prey to scam artists along the way - as they sought opportunities for him to realize his dream of being a performer. But it was a chance encounter that did the trick.

"I was practising for a school talent show with my friend," Aaron - real name Aaron Hinton - explains in a phone interview. "We were in his bedroom rehearsing, and the window was open." The two were belting out a track by 1990s R&B duo KC and Jojo when the man who would become Aaron's producer passed by on the way to his car.

"He heard us singing through the window," says Aaron. "So he came and he said, 'You should come to the studio once in a while.' Fortunately, he knew Ray Brown, which is Nick Cannon's business partner, and they set up a meeting."

Rapper-actor Nick Cannon has been in the business since he was a teen himself and is now giving other young people the same chance he had. After hearing the cherub-faced Aaron sing, Cannon took the teen under his wing and signed Aaron to his label, NCredible Entertainment. Aaron's debut album, Fresh N Up, is due out this summer, but a couple of teen-targeted singles — "Spending All My Time" and "Dirty Girl" — have been feeding a blooming fan base.

Aaron is following on the heels of a recent string of artists of Caribbean descent who have made unlikely ascents into the American pop universe, including Trinidadian-American Nicki Minaj, Barbadian-American Rihanna and Jamaican-American Sean Kingston.

But Aaron believes he's doing a better job of melding the two cultures that have made him who he is. Born in Chicago, he spent age 8 to 14 in Trinidad. His accent vacillates between the Trinidadian, the American and a blend of the two. He speaks enthusiastically about his Trinidadian heritage and promises of Fresh N Up:

"As soon as you press play, you're going to feel like, 'Wow, I'm in Trinidad right now, but I'm really in America!' People from America could relate to this kind of music, too. They get a piece of the Trinidadian and they also get a piece of what they're used to."

He's been rubbing shoulders with pop superstars Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber, but he sounds most excited about a phone call from a Trinidadian hero - soca star Machel Montano.
One of his producers stunned him by putting Montano on the phone when he and Aaron spoke recently.

"He gave me a call and then he was like, 'Yo, I have a friend I want you to talk to,'" Aaron recalls. "And then Machel come on the phone, I was like, 'Yay!' It was definitely a great experience."

Aaron was even further psyched by Montano's suggestion that the two could collaborate in the future.

It's the legacy of Montano and other Caribbean artists that gives Caribbean-American pop performers an edge, says Aaron.

"We have more energy. We have more stage presence," he says. "I remember watching Soca Monarch with all them guys - Machel and Bunji and Faye Ann. They just jumping up and jumping up. Always being happy. I think we have that advantage."

Aaron insists he's not a star yet, but there are signs that he's getting there. He was surprised by the crowd response during a recent performance at the famed Roseland Ballroom in New York.

"It was just amazing to see everybody singing my songs," he says. "I just start to do the melody, and people were like, 'Spending all my time loving you, all my time loving you.' I was like, 'What! That's insane!' And then, you know, to sign autographs and stuff and to see that I have fans - that's a blessing."

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (5)

Subscribe to this comment's feed