Back in 1989, when I was at MTV Europe, Papa Dee had been labeled as the next break-out artist from Sweden. His early career was full of promise, from execs who were determined to make him the next big thing in Europe and the States. But although he didn’t reach the international career heights of Shaggy, whom Clive Davis saw him as, he still maintained a long and successful career in Sweden, and the maturity to choose the music he wanted to do.
This is a very human story. Born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and a Ghanaian father who left when he was very young, music became the compensation for his father’s departure. He’s had success, experienced the highs and lows of fame, and even been falsely accused of grave assault. Yet music, whether pop, dancehall, reggae, soul, or funk, has clearly been a motivator, and compensator, and provided a backbone to his life.
I liked Papa Dee back in 1989, and listening through his catalog of music for this interview was an immense pleasure, and it was great to see that he’d lost none of his humor, humility, and charm from over 20 years ago.
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