Problem Child Talks Soca With Chandy in New York: A Julianspromos 2014 Interview
By 2014, Problem Child had already built a strong name across Soca, Vincy Mas and New York’s Caribbean entertainment scene.
Born Shertz James, the Vincentian artist had deep ties to New York while continuing to make music rooted in the energy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Carnival. His career had already produced major Road March success, and his records were moving through Soca markets well beyond Vincy Mas.
That year, Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs sat down with Problem Child in New York for another Julianspromos interview — three years after he had played a key role in the beginning of Chandy’s own Julianspromos journey.
Watch the 2014 Problem Child Interview
The interview was uploaded to the Julianspromos YouTube channel on June 5, 2014 and was hosted by Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs.
Problem Child Was Already a Two-Time Road March Winner
Problem Child entered 2014 with major Carnival accomplishments already behind him.
His breakthrough hit “Party Animal” won the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Road March title in 2007. Two years later, he captured the title again with “Mad House” in 2009. The official Vincy Mas Road March history lists both victories under Problem Child’s name.
That established him well before many of the later songwriting and international Soca successes that would expand his career even further.
By the time Chandy interviewed him in New York in 2014, audiences were already dealing with an artist who had repeatedly proven he could make music built for Carnival roads.
Problem Child’s 2014 Music
Problem Child began 2014 with “Do Work,” his contribution to Precision Productions’ Looseness Riddim.
The five-track Soca project was released on January 14, 2014 and also featured Blaxx, Lil’ Bitts, Teddy Rhymez and Six Four Five.
Later came “Obsession” on the Wiz Records Flair Skirt Riddim, alongside Patrice Roberts’ “Ah Feeling Mehself,” Pupa Leendi’s “Ms. Good Looking” and Ricardo Drue’s “Vagabond.” The project reached digital stores in June 2014.
The timing places the Julianspromos interview right in the middle of another active year for Problem Child, as music continued moving from Trinidad Carnival into the summer Caribbean Carnival season.
A Vincentian Artist With New York Roots
New York was a natural place for the conversation.
Problem Child had spent part of his life in the city and was already closely connected to the Caribbean diaspora there. His career moved easily between St. Vincent, New York and the wider international Soca circuit.
Later during New York Carnival 2014, he would also appear as part of WIADCA’s Caribbean Woodstock: A Celebration of Light at the Brooklyn Museum, where “Obsession” was among the songs being promoted around his appearance.
The 2014 interview therefore captures Problem Child in a city that was already an important part of both his personal and musical story.
Chandy Returns to the Artist Who Helped Start Her Julianspromos Journey
There is another reason this interview matters in the Julianspromos archive.
Problem Child was the artist Chandy interviewed for her Julianspromos debut in 2011.
That first conversation took place at Mango Seed Restaurant in Brooklyn and introduced Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs to the Julianspromos audience as an on-camera correspondent.
Three years later, she was sitting down with Problem Child again.
By then, Chandy’s role had expanded considerably. Her 2014 assignments included artist interviews and event coverage in New York as well as a growing list of Carnival-related projects that would eventually take her into Toronto and Miami.
That makes the 2014 Problem Child conversation more than a standalone interview.
It reconnects two people whose first Julianspromos interview together had already become an important part of the platform’s history.
From the Julianspromos Archives
The Problem Child interview represents the growing depth of the Julianspromos artist archive during the early 2010s.
By 2014, the platform was no longer simply encountering artists once and moving on. Some of those early relationships were becoming recurring stories documented over multiple years.
Problem Child is a good example.
Julianspromos first captured Chandy interviewing him in 2011, at the very beginning of her time with the platform. Three years later, the two were back on camera together in New York as both of their careers continued developing.
For Chandy, the footage shows the progression from a new correspondent conducting her first artist interview to a much more experienced Caribbean media personality.
For Problem Child, it captures another stage in a career that had already produced two Vincy Road March titles but still had many major musical accomplishments ahead.
Together, the 2011 and 2014 interviews give the Julianspromos archive something especially valuable: continuity.
Interview Details
Artist: Problem Child
Real Name: Shertz James
Year: 2014
Location: New York
Julianspromos Host: Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs
Video Upload Date: June 5, 2014
