By Telesha Ramnarine

IN achieving international acclaim, Michael ‘Sparkey’ Drakes has enjoyed nothing but a successful career in entertainment since he started singing in church at the tender age of eight. Perhaps it was the skills nurtured here that later landed him a place in the Band Corps and Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) Frontline Band.

Born in Bartica and raised at Ithaca, Berbice, Sparkey migrated in 1997 to Antigua and Barbuda and later again, in 2013, to Toronto, Canada, where he now resides. He is the owner of the popular band, 2+Entertainment, which performs at numerous venues in Ontario.

Having just concluded a visit to Guyana where he worked on his latest single ‘She Want Me’ with Bunny Alves and Charmaine Blackman, also recording a video in the process, Sparkey told Buzz that joining the entertainment field came naturally to him.

“I was born; gifted to do this. I live and breathe music,” he expressed, as he recalled how his musical abilities were quickly recognised when he joined the GDF after his secondary school days.

Here, he played the bugle, trumpet, steel pan and even vocalized. He also performed with a number of bands in Guyana like the Sheriff Band, GT Music Machine, and Yoruba Singers, to name a few. It was while at Yoruba Singers Band that he recorded a song called “Wake Up Guyana” which was aired on many radio stations and programmes for many years.

With his genres being Soca, Dancehall/Reggae, and at the behest of the Tonik Band, Sparkey migrated to Antigua and Barbuda as a lead vocalist. It’s there that he focused more on writing and recording his own songs.

Having written and recorded an album, ‘Back to Basics’, Sparkey was featured on many albums with other artists like Claudette CP Peters.

He wrote and recorded 11 of the 12 songs on the ‘Vision 2000 album’ and has also written and recorded over 20 singles. He also wrote songs for other artistes like Pat Raugette of the Virgin Islands, while some of his more known records include Ah De Vibes, Caught Up and Zion Gate.

Sparkey has travelled and performed in countries like Japan, Nigeria, Ghana, Columbia, Panama, US, UK, Australia, and many Caribbean destinations.

“I toured with renown artistes such as Kevin Little (where I replaced Spragga Benz), Ja Rule and Wayne Wonder,” he fondly recalled.

Presently, his band provides DJ, karaoke and live musical services even as he continues to write and record songs.

Sparkey would love to participate in any initiative aimed at developing and improving Guyana’s entertainment industry.

“There are so much potential and musical gifts in Guyana. Bringing more structure and training will see Guyana’s music reach much further than it has,” he shared.

Sparkey was nominated three times and won the following two awards: Best International World Male Artiste and Best International World Album, as well as Best International World Song by Toronto Exclusive Magazine.
Further, he was named one of the top 20 independent artistes online by Internet Radio Magazine, and Best Reggae/Dancehall Artiste by Underground Music Awards.