Paying homage to creatives in Trinidad and Tobago’s culture is something that one major promotional outfit holds fast to. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Randy Glasgow Productions, through their Chutneyland 2020 event, paid tribute to leading East Indian choreographer and dancer, Nigel Salickram. As the RGP team prepares for 2023, three of the chutney music industry’s finest music producers will be honored. 

“It is tremendously important for those who dedicate their lives to making others happy through music, culture and the arts, to understand that we appreciate them,” said Glasgow. He believes music producers like Zaheer ‘Big Rich’ Khan of the Pungalunks factory, Rishi Mahato of Maha Productions and Rishi Gayadeen, are deserving of sincere recognition. “We will pay tribute to these gentlemen who, year in, year out, contribute the music we need to make our events within our carnival, a major success. Without them, what would our festival be?” he quizzed. 

Big Rich is a consummate example of true success in the business. With no formal training in music, the Princess Town native who later moved to Couva, went from creating Indian dub cassette mixes to touring as a result, then to landing a job on radio, and finally to becoming a music producer. He’s made an indelible mark on the industry, creating some of chutney music’s biggest hits, among them ‘Radica’ sung by Kenneth Salick, Hunter’s ‘Jep Sting Naina,’ and Ravi B’s ‘Ah Drinker.’

Rishi Mahato of Maha Productions has been in the business for many years, and he too has worked with some of the Caribbean music industry’s most credited entertainers, among them Machel Montano, SuperBueFay Ann Lyons, Iwer George, Nishard M and even dancehall artistes, Konshens and Tommy Lee. Mahatoo won several regional titles in the last ten years. 

The third producer to be honored is Rishi Gayadeen. He has proudly created and recorded music for world renowned artistes in the Soca, Chutney Soca, traditional Chutney, Parang, Soca Parang, and Dancehall genres. His musical knowledge dates back to his childhood, having been inducted into his father’s band, The Guyatones, from the age of 12. At 22-years-old, he became the band’s leader. Rishi Gayadeen is known to be a multi-talented musician, capable of performingperfectly at any given moment, for any artiste, in any genre of music.

For Randy Glasgow, the decision to honor these three musical minds, was an easy one. “Their worth to our industry is immeasurable and we must treat them as such,” said Glasgow. 

On Saturday, February 11^th, the Brian Lara Cricket Academy will host the 2023 edition of Chutneyland, and on stage, three of chutney music’s greatest producers will be honored. “This will be one of the biggest events in Carnival. We guarantee it! What better stage to honor the greats than among their fans and supporters of the music? We can’t wait!,” said Glasgow.