Keturah Gamba, Boss Kitty, Incline, 1Muz and Blacka are just a few of the artistes who recently unleashed a ton of vibes in music, to Trinidad and Tobago’s entertainment scene. They’ve all been strategically placed on a project that was designed specifically for this time. It’s also been crafted by a music mastermind, Randal Alexander of PengCo Music Records. 

Alexander and each of these artistes he’s placed on the ‘Riddim Up’ project, have aligned in a more meaningful way than ever before. In 2021, amid the pandemic, and with no sign of revival for the entertainment industry, PengCo Music Records orchestrated a plan that would see some of the best talent reeled in. Alexander penetrated the recording market by encouraging artistes to get into his studio at the most affordable price – $999TTD. That offer, which came complete with industry standard recording and the expert advice of his internal team, brought artistes from all walks of life, to PengCo Music’s studio. “I’ve done almost 300 recordings in the past year. I’ve met a lot of good people, talented people; And in meeting these people, I realized that there’s a disconnect between creating and selling,” said Alexander. 

A business minded individual with tremendous capacity to analyze and dissect situations, the music CEO dove into action. He said he noticed that many artistes would blame everybody but themselves after choosing to release their music, and place links on Facebook without much added, strategic marketing and promotion. Upon realizing the error, he said the opportunity came for him to be a guidance counselor to these artistes.

Alexander says he’s been able to listen to and advise each of the artistes he’s worked with, on the most effective plan of action for their music. “When I began coaching them, many of these artistes began seeing the value in certain things,” he said. He explained that it was at that point that he gathered people with expertise in graphic design, public relations and even videography to bridge the divide between the recording studio and the market that these artistes were targeting. 

The ‘Riddim Up’ project is one of PengCo Music Records’ offerings coming out of the pandemic’s restriction period in Trinidad and Tobago. He said a lot of time and thought has gone into digital streaming as an effective tool for artistes under his umbrella. “I believe the internet and all of its resources is where the future is and as a country, I think it’s very important for us to maintain and broaden our scope on the utilization of it,” said the producer. 

“I believe the internet and all of its resources is where the future is and as a country, I think it’s very important for us to maintain and broaden our scope on the utilization of it.”

Randal Alexander

In a time when the world at large is reeling from the economic instability caused by the pandemic, and the Russia/Ukraine war, Randal Alexander says it will be a slow but gradual return to normalcy for the entertainment sector in T&T. “The entertainment audience isn’t going to take their grocery money to buy a ticket for a show. We must face the reality. Entertainment will only be left for residual income. The cost of living has gone up and people are working on old salaries,” he said, adding that for now, knowledge about digital streaming is feasible for all artistes in the entertainment industry. “The consumption of digital products has taken off and exploded. I think that the shift from live to digital, until live catches up again, is where our focus should be,” he said.