Kayo

Tell us about your music?
My name is Filbert Salton and I go by the stage name of Kayo. I’m originally from the beautiful island of St. Lucia and I’ve been involved in music for about 7 years now. I do primarily hip hop music, but my style is influenced by many different elements. I try to incorporate different genres into my material. My style tends to be raw and passionate with a melodic edge to it. I want people to feel exactly what I feel when I make music.
If you could compare your style to a main stream artist right now who would it be?
I’d really consider myself part of the new school movement back to music with lyrics that really mattered. The Drakes, Kid Cudis, J.Coles, etc. I would compare myself to that caliber of artist. My music is meaningful and easily relatable. I want people to feel like they’re getting to know me beyond just an artist when they listen to my work.
Where can people listen to your music or catch you live?
Well fortunately we have a lot of things going on right now that people can look out for. We recently shot a video for my single ‘Endless Summer’ that will be out shortly. We’re also releasing a brand new mixtape with Hali’s own Dj Little Row entitled ‘Just Me & My Music’. The release party for the mixtape will take place on the 8th September at the Mosaic Lounge. I’ll be hosting an Island Boy Tropical Soul event on the 10th, Mikey Factz show on the 11th and the L’image Fashion East Magazine Lauch party on the 12th. This is all, of course, with the help of Island Boy Ent. who is basically operating as my booking agent right now and doing a great job at it. You could find music, media and additional info from me on my website www.caribbeancarter.com and my myspace page, www.myspace.com/kayodagoldenchild. I also urge fans to log on to caribbeancarter.com/blogger which I update regularly with music and multi media. It’s a fast and easy way to sort of get to know me outside of the element of my music. - Faces Magazine

Many have been asked the question, “how do you see St. Lucian music moving forward?” and many answers have been received.
In an exclusive interview with DANTESDESIGNSDDlogo, local rap phenom, Filbert KAYO Salton expressed his views on the matter which coincides with our own views. “You have to pay homage to those persons there before you who set the way for you… It’s all about togetherness.”



A name that is quickly becoming known throughout the music fraternity and the public, young KAYO, sometimes referred to as the golden child, is undoubtedly the epitome of rap perfection in St. Lucia. The young home-grown rapper has surpassed many of his counterparts as he blesses St. Lucia with professionally written and delivered tracks. Working with many producers and other artistes, KAYO has brought the most highly acclaimed genre of music closer to the hearts of St. Lucians.

However, this extremely talented young artiste has credited all the persons he worked with and the “good times” that he has had in the past for his success.

KAYO, alongside many other mainstream artistes recently performed at the annual NCF Telethon in April 2007, to a well receiving crowd of old and young folks alike – an event that was held to assist the less fortunate nationals. He graced the crowd with the same level of delivery that he gives on the studio recorded tracks. KAYO has performed at many concerts and on many stages, from TALFEST to St. Lucia Jazz and recorded songs both with local and regional producers. With a rapping style that many consider to be a fusion of JAY-Z, NAS and 2-PAC, many want to know where this golden child came from.

“I got the name from my cousins during my childhood days and it just kinda stuck to me,” he answered when asked where the name KAYO came from.

DANTESDESIGNS: As we know… tell us about your music, what makes your music unique?
KAYO: “It’s my life. I first started writing to express whatever emotions that I may have had that I couldn’t get to express. I use it to express emotions that I have. So um, basically, when you listen to my music, it tells about my life. That and I guess my style and delivery, it keeps evolving.”

DANTESDESIGNS: Many critics who have listened to your music have identified a level of mastery … how did you get such mastery?
KAYO: “I’ve been writing steadily for about four (4) years now, so it’s almost like as I go along, I sought of master my own mastery.”

With no doubt, this young man is showing the country and the Caribbean that the young people of St. Lucia are starting a musical revolution that is already taking St. Lucia throughout the Caribbean and even to the international scene. KAYO said, “I am very impressed with the quality of music by the local artistes. We are improving and that’s what is important.”

Nonetheless, as we all know, the present infrastructure and resources available to our artistes in Lucia are not enough. Artistes don’t get enough airplay and the atmosphere is not the best. These challenges were not enough to deter this young man. He admits that it is hard work, but determination drives him to do what he does best.


KAYO has collaborated and worked with many other artistes such as SISTERHOOD, SHANE ROSS, TRICH, RONALD BOO HINKSON, SEXY-J, NICOLE DAVID, DANEL FOSTIN, DUPES and many others, and he admires their talents.
In one of the tracks that many St. Lucians are hooked to (Good Times) which featured his close friend Danel, KAYO explored the power of his lyrical poetry as he reminisced the good times of his school days.



He says that he has had many friends who have come and gone, and on the track, he is showing the love and expressing the fact that no matter how many friends you may lose or part ways with temporarily, “your true friends are always besides you, just a phone call away.” He has many other hot tracks namely; Let it Rain remix, Not You it’s Me, Vibe with Me and I Know, amongst others. With a St. Lucian crowd dubbed as the most difficult to please, KAYO said, “Once you please a Lucian crowd, you can please any crowd.” So this young man is set on perfecting his art hear locally before he ventures outside. And for many locals, he has more than satisfied the craving for Hip-hop that many St. Lucians crave.



And with so much controversy about the industry today in terms of the message conveyed, KAYO gladly expounded on what he does: “I am not a gangster rapper, but with all due respect for the people who use that type of music, that’s the lifestyle that they were brought up in and they are doing the exact same thing that I am doing which is putting their life experiences in their music. Mine is different, so I won’t be talking about those things.”

His track “Vibe with Me” is another masterpiece where he pays respect to the great JANY and asks persons to pay a closer look at what is happening in life today, even in South Africa.



A writer who did an article on him described his entry into the music arena:
Upon entering the hip hop arena, he started recording a minor mix tape with another local artist Cory Wildchild Raggie.

The mix tape was entitled The Streets Is Here Vol. 1 and was originally intended to be a showcase of a number of St. Lucian artists. However it ended up being a solo project since no other artist approached him with the caliber of lyrical quality that he was looking for.

The mix tape was never released due to some distributional and legal technicalities which he overlooked when working on the record.


The mix tape was shelved, but there was still a lot of curiosity about who this Kayo kid was since some of the freestyles got leaked into the streets. Later on he was introduced to a producer just as hungry as him through a mutual friend.

Upon meeting, Kayo and producer Jano James got into the studio immediately to again burn up the airwaves with music unmatched locally and unheard of international. Together, they established a music production entity known as Flawless Productions.

Kayo is most recognized for his unsurpassed flow and his lyrics which make you almost see his very emotion; the reality of this cold world through the eyes of a child in a third world country.


Of course, this young man comes from Ciceron, being the youngest of five (5) children to parents; Gilbert and Venetia. To many, he his St. Lucia’s Rap Ambassador, with an age tag of 18 years. Yes! He is only 18 and is on the same level as many artistes of different genres who have been there long before. One thing that keeps him humble and different is that he respects all the other artistes out there doing what they believe in.

KAYO is currently a student at the A’ Level department of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College situated at Morne Fortune. He is doing studies on Sociology and Economics and although admits that sometimes it’s hard to simultaneously handle both school and a music career, he has been able to perfectly balance both as he performs greatly in both.

With so much to say about this young man and so many questions to ask, DANTESDESIGNS brought the questioning to a close with this question:
DANTESDESIGNS: Where do you want to see yourself in the next five (5) years?
KAYO: “Five 5 years from now I wanna see myself on my second album. If I get a deal, St. Lucia will benefit. Many people will benefit, even those that I have collaborations with. With which ever label that I get, I wanna be in the position to negotiate so that I won’t be so much a product of the label, but of St. Lucia.”

This young man here is definitely a perfect example of YOUTHPOWER. - DANTESDESIGNS.NET

We haven’t heard much from him lately, that’s not because he is lazing away but actually he is at school in Canada and still doing music. We caught up with Kayo a few days ago and found out just what he was up to and what he has in store for St. Lucia and the rest of the world.

YO!: Kayo, what’s up in the life man?
Kayo: Hey (laughing out loud) I’m good, great, happy to be home, yet can't wait to head back to continue working

YO!: What have you been working on apart from school?
Kayo: Still been working on the music, never stopped recording, performing or networking. That work ethic has put me in some very favourable positions with some very influential people in the music industry in Canada.

YO!: What new material did u work on up in Canada?
Kayo: Well I’m currently sitting on a brand new full catalog of music that I worked on in Canada. That material is going to be part of another mixtape project due to be released at the end of this summer. Apart from that I've been enjoying a considerable amount of success from Endless Summer and Tonight.

YO!: Tell me more on the new brand of music, what is it?
Kayo: Well actually I want to concentrate more on the music video that I’m here to do for Endless Summer and my plans for the rest of the summer.

YO!: Tell us about your video, where was it shot?
Kayo: Well I’m here in St. Lucia right now to finish shooting the video for Endless Summer. The reason for this song being selected is because I've gained the most mainstream success from it so far in my career. We already shot half of it in Canada during the winter, and we're shooting here in the summer. The video is going to portray the contrast between the cold depressing winter in a foreign country and the lively energetic time in a Caribbean island. We also want to portray what it's like for a Caribbean student moving to a totally different environment from what he's used to. We also plan on keeping close with the intimate theme of love throughout the song. Once this is done, we intend to release the video through the Caribbean and through Canada, re-release Endless Summer in Canada nationwide, including campus and underground radio stations, and release the mixtape project. All this is scheduled to take place at the same time!

YO!: Wow, lots of work, who produced the song?
Kayo: Endless Summer was composed by Jason Lovence and Leebo and produced by Leebo

YO!: When can we expect the video to be done?
Kayo: The casting call for the video shoot takes place on the 13th June at 2 pm on the ramp in Rodney Bay and shooting is scheduled to take place a week after. Once everything goes well the video is going to be ready to be aired before the end of this summer. For further info log on to www.caribbeancarter.com or email at caribbean.carter@gmail.com

YO!: Alright, well that will be all from us now, good luck with the video and your music. - Yo Magazine St Lucia

I just so happened to be in attendance at the SMU Huskies football game earlier this month, and the Disc Jockey responsible for the entertainment that day played a local record named “Endless Summer” by a fellow student named Filbert Salton, or better known around campus as ‘Kayo.” To my surprise almost half of the football crowd started singing along to the track. It was then that I decided that The Journal should have a look at SMU’s local talent.

Chances are, if you’re new to SMU, you probably don’t know that Kayo is a second year student here at Saint Mary’s University who is blessed with a talent for lyrical wordplay. Kayo hails from St. Lucia and would probably explain the underlying melodic reggae tone mixed with hip-hop storytelling that lies within his music. He has become a local celebrity having a fan base throughout Halifax. Even though he is very well known, he still has a humble demeanor that was evident during the photo shoot.

His delivery has a melodic sense that houses all of the different elements used to speak on his past experiences. You might say he sounds like a Wycelf Jean that has been taught by Bob Marley. When asked what he wanted people to get from his music he said, “I want people to understand my experiences and get to know me a little bit better, by being honest it allows people to see what I’m going through and relate.” Since 2004, Kayo has been involved with this genre of music, performing throughout the Caribbean with artist such as I-sasha and opening for big international artist such as Ciara in 2006.

When he performs, it is instantly obvious that he is comfortable with the mic in his hands. He uses his play of words to display his experiences to the crowd. His basic study of the art form can be seen in his delivery. This allows him to invoke a certain emotion that allows people to feel like he is talking directly to them. Kayo has performed all over Halifax, recently being the sole opening act for Beenie Man and even sharing the stage with Classified from Nova Scotia.

Kayo has already released a mixtape last year called the Caribbean Carter, which has received a good approval rating among the Halifax crowd. He also lent a hand in the executive production of the record. For a mixtape that was recorded in only 24 hours it sparked a flame that got Kayo noticed in the entertainment industry. However, Kayo has even higher expectations for the release of his new mixtape titled, ‘Just me and my Music’. The long awaited mixtape, scheduled for mid October, has been in production for an entire year. It is expected to sound more like an album. “I want it to be received as a full package that fully describes my growth. This mixtape means a lot to me and it’s a journal that will allow me to stand out.”

His new video, Endless summer, just off his upcoming mixtape is already causing a buzz throughout the school and local market. Before I viewed the video, my hopes weren’t too high. After all, low budget means low quality. However, I was greatly impressed by how remarkable the footage of the video was. Shot both on the streets of Halifax and back home in St. Lucia, Kayo shows us his growth in Halifax and his lifestyle back home. It is plainly obvious to see that the production company, Visual Domain, contributed great time and effort into the making of the video, not to mention good budgeting and direction. Hopefully, this fraction of talent only represents a portion of what’s to come. Kayo has many plans for the video and is presently in the process of having it aired on MUCH Vibe music video network.

To obtain his first album, the Caribbean Carter, you can download it from different torrents on line, or it can be downloaded from his website www.caribbeancarter.com. He also runs his own blog caribbeancarter.com/blogger where you can check out up to date details on his movements, bookings and future events. He uses his blog so that people can get a chance to know him on a personal level.

Kayo is presently focused on his education, because he is concerned with not over saturating the market. “I still will focus on my music because I see it as therapy and I plan to stay on top of the world” he stated. Kayo can be booked through his agents, Islandboy Entertainment or contacted through email: Caribbean.carter@gmail.com. He encourages people to visit his website and look out for the upcoming mixtape. He is also appreciative of the continued sport of his fans. His parting words for all were, “One Life, One Love, One people, One Music, One.”

- Saint Mary's University Journal