Carl Henry Smashes It

Went to the Supermarket last night.

Carl Henry was down there celebrating the launch of his sophomore project I Wish. It features 16 "blazing tracks" (as Henry puts it) of R&B, soul and dancehall. He was brought to the stage by his record label rep, who noted that Henry recently opened for the Black Eyed Peas and "did it up and smashed it hardcore."

Not exactly sure what that means, but I'm assuming that he did well.

For a relatively intimate setup, the acoustics at Supermarket are pretty tight. And Henry has great stage presence, I'll give him that much. The Jamaican-born, Montreal-based singer did his R&B-meets-dancehall reggae thing which was pretty decent and performed cuts off the new project. He's got the little stage banter and crowd pleasing antics down pat.

But it seems like for Canadian urban music artists, only one dude can be at the top at any given time. Carl Henry is angling to be that dude. And it's a case where, if cats don't support him, his failure will be seen as a blow for the viability of future urban acts. It's a cruel world.

But Henry seems to have the drive, charisma and talent to make a go of it. Here's hoping he gets the support he needs...