‘Chocolate Boy’ trending on social media

New Jersey-based, Guyanese-born music producer Paul Andrew Abrams, also known as “Drewgad,” who grew up listening to soca music, is excitedly bursting at the seams, given his success in the dancehall/reggae space.

“Chocolate Boy,” an R&B-inspired dancehall single that Drewgad co-produced with Ridwaan Razak from Georgetown, Guyana, features the vocals of Guyanese-born Nesta and Nigy Boy. The song is trending on social media.

“Chocolate Boy” has amassed over 250,000 views on Facebook and over 100,000 views on Instagram, Jamaican-born, New York-based entertainment publicist Anthony Turner told Caribbean Life on Monday.

Turner said the single’s “sexy music video” was officially released on Nov. 17 and has 112,000 views on YouTube.

“Nesta’s mother was one of my vocal teachers when I was growing up in Guyana, and we used to go to the same church,” Drewgad told Caribbean Life.

“We’re family friends. She is a talented singer. I knew this song would blow up in Guyana and wherever fans love good music,” he added, stating that “Chocolate Boy” gave him some challenge to get the right sound.

“I mixed the song about eight times, going back and forth with the team,” Drewgad continued. “I would leave my 9-5 job every morning and put in a little work in the studio until I got the right sound the team was aiming for.”

Nesta, whose real name is Ernesta Nelson, said she initially recorded the song was seven years ago.

“It was written by Gavin and myself in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and was then rewritten this year by Nigy Boy, Gordon Andres, and myself,” she said.

“It was Paul’s (Drewgad) idea to remake the beat and reproduce the entire song to make it sound more palatable for music fans in 2024,” she added. “We had to go back to Ridwaan, who remade the beat, and Nigy Boy killed it.

“Paul is working on so many amazing projects. I’m happy to have worked with him on this song,” Nesta continued. “He’s making a huge impact in the reggae dancehall space by recording so many dancehall/reggae songs, including 99 % of Nigy Boy’s music. I wish him all the best.”

Turner said Paul’s discography is “quite impressive, having worked on Jeezum (Skillebeng and Nigy Boy) and other big hits like ‘Continent,’ ‘Judgment,‘ ‘Nomad,‘ ‘Karma,‘ ‘Get Wild,‘ ‘Active‘ and Lover not a Fighter‘ by Nigy.”

Speaking about Reggae/dancehall music in his birth country, Drewgad shared that the genre is huge there.

“Of late, I noticed a tremendous shift in the Guyanese music industry,“ he said. “The youths are getting more active and creative.

“Mafi (Trevor George) is a prime example, as he’s been getting a lot of international plays and support for his trending songs like ‘I Love Freaks‘ and ‘Chip Off,'” he added. “Now, we have Nesta’s ‘Chocolate Boy‘ that I’ve had the privilege to work on.”