They are feeling his vibe and as he expertly switches between genres, successfully keeping everyone happy, one cannot help but admire his exuberance and the deftness with which he switches from track to track.
He is also a poet this night, composing eloquent verses in seconds which he uses to seduce the women in the audience. The much older women blush uncontrollably and his irreverence reduces them to school girl giggles. Later, he joins in unexpectedly as a female 'wordstress' chants. He harmonises with her which brings her eyebrows up and the house down. He is a man of many talents, the majority of which will not be revealed this night. Now two weeks later, he is behind the lens of a high tech movie camera issuing directions, pausing only to make sure that every scene shot is perfect. Just like the actors in his movies, this man takes on a variety of roles which include writer, poet, director, filmmaker, disc jockey and many others.
His given name is Utah Taylor (CEO of Nitro Records and Film) and one of The Bahamas' finest. His self-confidence in his ability to perform at a high level is well-known by all who have had a chance to work with him. He demonstrates this when the star of his latest movie expresses a view that belies his professionalism. He gently yet firmly puts her in her place; the actress's body language expresses her repentance. Utah is such that even when his anger is justified, he maintains his cool, the mark of a true professional. He attended college in the United States, where he became proficient in sound engineering, computer technology and electronics. He also studied music at The Baptist College here in Nassau and plays the piano, base guitar, drums, trombone
and trumpet. Though these days, he says he mainly builds tracks in his studio.
Although he has many talents, Utah is first and foremost a producer of audio and visual media. "I do not only shoot, I direct, I specialise in lighting and sound; I am a perfectionist and even though I have persons who perform these tasks, I go out of my way to ensure that they are done properly. I never give the camera to anyone," he says. His work in the filming industry commenced in the 90s, when he and his brother decided to shoot a movie. "We decided to do a gangster flick, where we used regular everyday items as props which shows how far we have come from then. These days, his high technical equipment rival that of any international filmmaker's. He stresses that the score (background music) and sound tracks for his movies are all originals, which are in their entirety, prepared by himself or artists from his label. He also does the makeup for the actors/actresses as well as a variety of other things needed for his movies to be successful.
Utah says his Movie 'I Hate You' came about because of his experiences with domestic abuse, which he encounters frequently as a supervisor in the business office in the public hospital system. "Many women come in battered and drop the charges, only to reappear later and some of them are dead when they come in," he adds. The film did well at The Bahamas Film Festival, where it earned Nathalie Wood – the star – a best actress award and the actor who plays her abusive counterpart, Joey Jam, a best actor nod. Utah is currently working on two short movies and a feature-length film. The first two are 'Seven Days to True Love' and 'On the Run.' The other is a feature film called 'Curse of the War Gods' which is being backed by International sponsors from Tallahassee and Tampa. Over his long career, he has also done countless music videos, including 'The University of Hard Knocks' with Stefan 'The Syntyst' Moss; 'Long Line' with Count Bernadino, Nita and Joey Jam; 'Brand New World' with Vision and 'Still On Top Of My Game' by 3 Dizzle from Freeport.
He also works along with Cable Bahamas, edits for The Ministry of Education and The Minister's Book Club and many others.
Music was at one time Utah's first love. He says he got into movies because when he would shoot music videos, there was always some acting involved. "I've been in the music business for some 13-odd years. I started a group called 'Doughboys.' First our name was 'Self Defence' because at that time, they were saying that all the youth were lost." He says that at that time, there was nothing positive being said about the youth and that this is what inspired the name Self Defence, as they were trying to defend the youth against all the negative things being said through their music.
By: Nadine Thomas-Brown, The Nassau Guardian
