The soca singer on Bob Marley, Mya and Abu Dhabi fans ahead of his performance on Friday, February 5 at the Saadiyat Beach Club.

Kevin Lyttle, who shot to the top of the charts with his single Turn Me On, will be performing in Abu Dhabi on Friday, February 5 as part of a Bob Marley birthday bash at Saadiyat Beach Club.

What’s On spoke to the soca artist ahead of his performance to find out more.

Are you a big Bob Marley fan? Yes I am. Actually I did a show in the West Indies recently and performed one of his songs to close the show and it went down pretty awesome. I’m also good friends with some of his kids.

What are your top three Marley songs? No Woman No Cry, Three Little Birds [he breaks out in song to give his rendition] and the emancipation song, Redemption.

Why do you think Marley was so iconic? Well, I think it was the message. On top of him being a great artist and having a unique sound and bringing something different to the world, his message in the music was something very powerful and it spoke to the time that they were living in.

What was it like to work with Shaggy on Feel So Good? It was a very good experience. He has always been a cool cat and a mentor to me because he has been around before me. I was a fan before I became a peer.

And Mya on Bum Bum? Mya is awesome. She is a very humble person, getting to know her is a pleasure. She is very classy and down to earth, very easy to talk to.

And with Flo Rida on Anywhere? Flo is one of the quietest guys you’ll ever meet. But Flo gets the job done. It took him like about a week to lay down the verse on the song we did because he wanted to make it sure it is right. He went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth for a week before the final take on the vocals and the writing of the song.

What can people expect during your performance? Expect a very dynamic show. I’m going to perform a lot of my hits of course and I will insert some Bob Marley in there, probably close the show with his song, because it’s all about Bob Marley and his birthday. I’ll make it very interesting.

It’s hard to believe your hit single Turn Me On was released 15 years ago. Are you doing anything to celebrate? I’m working on a fifteen-year anniversary record with remixes and re-recordings of the song to be out later this year.

What do you want to tell your fans here in Abu Dhabi? The fans always give me such a good feeling, the love that I get in the Middle East is one that is very unique. When you’re an English speaking person and you go to a country where they speak a different language and they rave about your work and your artistic expression, and in some cases they don’t know the exact words, but they get the feeling of what you are trying to send out there – it is an incredible thing.

February 5
Saadiyat Beach Club, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, 4pm, Dhs130 or Dhs150 at the door. Tel: (02) 6563500. Taxi: Saadiyat Beach Club. saadiyatbeachclub.ae.