Gapix poised for success - Wolmer’s sixth-former creating waves with song ‘Peng Ting’

En route from downtown Kingston to Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, a Coaster driver casually skips through a mixtape, first landing on Teejay's ' My Type', which plays for less than a minute. He then skips to Shenseea's ' Temptation Overdrive'. The song reaches the chorus before the driver skips to an unfamiliar voice, which rests on pulsating beats laced in hip hop, dancehall and a dab of Afrobeat.

This, he plays to the end.

The song is Peng Ting, and it tells the tale of a young man in pursuit of a sought-after damsel. But the smooth vocalist is confident in his ability to woo her.

The artiste is Gapix, an upper-sixth-form student at Wolmer's Boys' School. The single is climbing over 200,000 views on Youtube, quite the feat for the act who started recording music last year.

"A lot of people catching on to it and like it. I've performed at so many, schools like Immaculate High School, and Andrew's Girls (St Andrew High School for Girls), and they all know the lyrics," the 18-year-old told THE WEEKEND STAR.

"I think it has gained this kind of traction because of the sound and flows it has. Some people like the beat, so props to Shakespeare for that."

Shakespeare is a fellow student and producer at his Gapix Productions label, which was formed last year.

Given name Tareque Robinson, Gapix was on the path to becoming a computer engineer before he decided to fully engage his musical interests. His affinity for music traces back to childhood at Hydel Preparatory School.

"I started out by just posting snippets and freestyles with my friends on social media, and they always gave me good feedback. People encouraged me to go after it, and I decided to make my profile public and start promoting my music."

He said that his parents are supportive of his musical endeavours.

His first release, Pull Up, was self-produced and made way for singles like Style, Olympics, Bare Vibes and Pain. Despite his popularity in just a few months, Gapix insists that maintaining a balance between academics and music is critical.

"Making music is spontaneous; it's not like I sit there all day making music," he said. "I ensure I do the schoolwork first and have everything in check so when I do get the inspiration to write a song, I can fully get into it."

The Spanish Town native is treading a path other musicians like Stephen 'DI Genius' McGregor, QQ, Eva Hype and Little Lenny trod, starting careers while in high school. The latter was expelled from Kingston College at 17 years old after his 1989 hit song, Gun Inna Baggy, ruffled some feathers.

Eva Hype is a distant memory. But Gapix said his youth puts him at an advantage as he knows what his colleagues want to hear.

"I know what I like, and I know what the people I deal with like, so I know what to put out there and the sound to go for," he started.

"Good music has longevity, and the difference between me and everyone else is consistent hits. I don't make a good song today and then the next song I make tomorrow is trash; it's just consistent quality and constantly improving the craft."

His short-term plans include working on visuals to accompany his tracks, but he shared aspirations often echoed by his contemporaries.

"I would like dancehall music to have its right place in the mainstream music of the world. The dancehall sound is really running the pop mainstream right now, but it's mostly Americans behind those songs. I want more local acts to get more attention for the sound and for dancehall to become a part of the mainstream market."