General Kaution To Perform At ‘Catch A Fire’
[Written by Patrick Bean]
“Caution is the eldest child of wisdom.” – Victor Hugo.
The aforementioned quote suggests that being cautious is essential for wisdom, as it involves assessing risks and potential dangers.
Similarly, the scripture found in Ephesians 5:15 advises man to “walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise”. And few would understand the value of these teachings more so than General Kaution — real name Koeshon Smith — who is set to perform at this year’s Catch A Fire concert featuring Busy Signal on May 31 at the National Sports Centre.
Not only because he was raised under the teachings of Rastafari, but also due to necessity.
Diagnosed at birth as having Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect featuring four different heart problems, Kaution was given little chance of surviving deep into adulthood, with a maximum life expectancy of 26 suggested if he lived within certain lifestyle parameters.
What doctors failed to compute was the indominable spirit and resilience inbued upon this child of the ghetto, where struggle is the order, danger a constant companion.
Now 28, Kaution has endured three open heart surgeries, yet refuses to allow his illness to hinder, and this grittiness shines through in his music.
“I get chronic pain, chronic back spasms, but I don’t allow that to hold me back,” said Kaution, who started out as a dancer, earning the nickname ‘Ravers’. “I’ve never been one to let my health condition cause me to waste away.
“I understand my limits, that I can only do so many energetic things in any day.
“There are certain medications — pills — I have to take every day. It’s easy for me to navigate now because I’ve been going through it all my life.
“Coming up, it was hard, but now I’m used to it.”
“They gave me a life expectancy of 26, but I believe in myself and told myself, ‘I’m not going to die’.
“I put my life experiences relative to the health issues I have in my music and use it as a positive.”
Born and raised in and around Friswell’s Hill and Middletown, places that suffer neither weakness nor fools, Kaution has emerged as a conscientious voice, speaking to the coarse reality of many of his peers, his lyrics abrasive at times, yet always authentic.
“My music style is kind of gritty” said Kaution, the son of veteran reggae singer Koewyn [Culture] Smith. “My music portrays what we’re going through in my part, in my environment.
“I didn’t necessarily start making music for the whole of Bermuda to like.
“When I make my songs, people from certain areas, people from certain backgrounds, listen to it and automatically know what I’m talking about or can relate to what I’m talking about.
“In most of my songs that I’ve put out, I use what happens in Bermuda as the basis for what I’m singing about.
“I can tell exactly the time when I wrote a song, because I sing about what happened all that day and the effect it had on me.
“I use the Island and what we go through as my writing fuel.”
The stage name General Kaution came bout due to many of his father’s Jamaican friends mispronunciation of his first name, with ‘General’ added to give ranking to the tiel.
He initially came to local prominence upon the release of the single ‘Hard Work and Dedication’, a duo with friend and professional boxer Nicky Bascome.
His first production as a solo artist revealed ‘I’m a Hustla Baby’, and other early releases cast in similarly bold, raw style included ‘Street Life’ and the self-titled ‘General Kaution’, while ‘Quiet Storm’ stood as a love song.
“There’ evil all around, so don’t think that evil will spare you. So one has to always be conscious and aware of what you are doing and what one allows into your mind,” he said.
“Like they say down yard, ‘Know what you a do.’ If you go pick up one gun or one knife, know that if you shoot, you’re going to do 30 years.”
Many of Kaution’s summers as a youth were spent in Jamaica with his father, soaking up the culture of Rastafarianism and conscious reggae.
Today he bounces between Bermuda, England and Jamaica, performing and recording as well as promoting and selling items from his personal clothing line ‘All Visions Allowed’ or AVA.
Armed with at least 10 new songs that have been just released, as well as a bunch of unreleased songs Kaution promised to deliver a performance to remember when he takes the stage at Catch a Fire.
“It should be a moving experience for the fans,” said Kaution. “I’m going to try and do it in three phases: play my classics, go into the new music that a lot of people aren’t privy and then end it with a bang.
“I’ll probably bring out one or two artists with me to showcase, and I always bring my daddy out with me.”
Catch A Fire takes place May 31, 2025 at NSC North Field. Advance tickets are priced at $85 — $100 at the gate — and can be purchased via PTIX www.ptix.bm.
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