Cash. Moola. Guap. Cheese. Bread. Whatever you call it, money speaks a language the streets understand, and dancehall deejay Quick Cook is cashing in on that universal obsession with his bubbling single, “New Money.”
The colourful entertainer, whose given name is Damion Lumley, says the Bread Organisation-produced track has been gathering serious momentum in Kingston’s street dances, while its accompanying video has racked up more than 20,000 YouTube views.
But Quick Cook doesn’t need analytics to tell him the record is connecting. He can hear it in the streets.
“Everybody wants ‘New Money’. Everybody want the moola, the boobie, the bread, the cheese, the Jesus, the guap, the schtupid. If yu nuh have money, gwaan home, nobody nu waah see yu,” he declared.
Outrageous? Certainly.
But that’s vintage Quick Cook.
The deejay has built much of his reputation on an endless supply of spontaneous street slang and hilariously unconventional expressions. With “New Money,” he has found the perfect subject for that verbal madness: everybody’s favourite pursuit.
The bread.
“The song is a fixture in every dance inna the Corporate Area,” Quick Cook said. “Everywhere mi go, people ah shout ‘bread’ and ‘new money’.”
Released through his own Bread Organisation label, the single has become a favourite at street dances including Uptown Mondays, Boasy Tuesdays and Leggo Di Street Wednesdays, and is shaping up as arguably one of the strongest records of his career.
Now Cook wants to take the recipe overseas.
He is booked for Halloween Trick a Treat on October 31 alongside ZJ Liquid and DJ Mylo at the Rapid Rave event in Florida, giving him an opportunity to test “New Money” on an American dancehall crowd.
But while Cook is chasing bread in front of the microphone, he has also been quietly building the bakery behind it.
Over the past two years, he has expanded into production through Bread Organisation, working with established names including Ding Dong, Bugle, Serani, I-Octane and Frisco Kid on the Money Ah Di Target rhythm project. He has also produced reggae material for acts including Money Don Red.
The move is about more than producing records. Quick Cook wants greater control over his musical destiny.
His career has already delivered some wonderfully unpredictable moments.
In 2012, a spectacularly unsuccessful dance routine earned him unexpected international exposure when footage appeared on MTV’s Ridiculousness. He later became instantly recognisable to another generation of dancehall fans through his memorable intro on Popcaan’s “Party Shot.”
Now Cook doesn’t want to be remembered merely as the hilarious voice attached to somebody else’s moment.
He wants his own hit.
And “New Money” may be his best shot yet.
After all, Quick Cook has the label, the slang and the street buzz.
Now there is only one thing left to do.
Quick, quick, quick, quick—get to the bread!
