HowWow Records and Production LLC recording artiste Myster Smashing is counting on the success with the upbeat reggae-dancehall single ‘Last Try’.
“I tried a lot of things over the years, try whole heap of ways to make my family survive. Over the years, mi do security work for years, photography, party promotion and you you try your best to do music,” the artiste, whose real name is Alvin R. Wallen, said smiling.
“But all you get is a fight, no one ever offers a kind word, is basically you against the world. So I wrote this song to express my pain as my last shot, my ‘Last Try’ because giving up is not an option, so this ah the next last try till the next last try.”
The single was officially released on the HowWow Records and Production LLC imprint in August 14, 2020. The track is distributed by Zojak Worldwide and is available on all digital platforms.
The official video was recently released on Youtube.
“The response is more than great, it’s phenomenal. The audio track is getting a buzz locally and internationally. Even this morning, somebody text me and said they liked the song cause they saw the video on the Zojak Worldwide site and mi ah get ah great feedback. They love the concept of the video as well,” he said.
‘Last Try’ is the first major project between the artiste and his label since he was signed in September 2020.
He grew up in Frazer’s Content a community on the outskirts of Spanish Town, in St. Catherine, Jamaica. Smashing’s love for the arts began at an early age. He noticed he had a connection with the arts when he was in primary school. After graduating from Jonathan Grant high school in 2003, Wallen went on to learn Carpentry at Heart Trust/ NTA in Old Harbour.
However, the dream of becoming an entertainer dominated his days. While at HEART, he met Fire K Venom a disc jock who introduced him to numerous small recording studios in Old Harbour, Spanish Town and other areas in St. Catherine. He adopted the stage name Hector Frass and soon after he started performing at school concerts and community shows in and outside of St. Catherine.
In 2008 after doing his first professional recording, a song titled “Schoolers” captured the attention of Craig “Amaziyah The Great” Kirkland a close friend, who did his first official music video. The artiste later did a demo called “Daggering Time” on Sky Dagger Riddim which gave him a major buzz in the streets.
“That song gave me a big push in the streets, it got over 65,000 streams online,” he said.
On the strength of this single, he made appearances at major events such as Reggae Fever, Aries Jam which featured top acts like Romain Virgo, Charly Black, and Chris Martin. He also performed at Red Pon Live Up with Mavado, Red Pon Experience with Beenie Man, Westmoreland Curry Fest, among other events across Jamaica.
As he became more adept at creating music, Wallen changed his stage name to Smashing and started a small home studio where he began producing music for his label, Smashing Muzikk Entertainment.
In 2018, Smashing’s career was put on pause due to medical complications. After recovering, he was introduced to Roderick Fray of HowWow Records and Production LLC based in America by a friend called Soya Foundation from his community in Spanish Town. Fray then decided to take on the task of managing the artiste’s music career.
“Right now, the sky is the limit, I am looking for great things in 2020 and beyond, mi nah give up,” he said.
You can follow the artiste on Instagram: @myster_smashing, or Facebook: Myster Smashing
