Profiles
Profile:Peter Ram
By pyramidartists.com
Jan 24, 2008, 11:00

Peter "Ram" Wiggins is a household name not only in Barbados but also throughout the Caribbean, New York and London. His career started in the mid-eighties as a DJ, playing at street jams and parties with his cousin Chihuahua Business Man (L'il Rick). He started writing lyrics and decided to try his hand at the mic; the rest, as they say, is history.

Known as “Mr. Freestyle” in Barbados, Peter Ram is no stranger to the stage. His big tune “Rats" placed him in the finals for the Barbados 2001 Party Monarch competition and he knows how to get the crowd excited when he comes on the stage to chant some Reggae with Square One or Biggie Irie. His quick wit and ease with lyrics helped him to write may a tune for artistes form to Soca Queen Alison Hinds such as “Top Class Bubbla,” “Get Ready to Wine,” “Do As Ya Want,” “Confidence” and “Fireworks.” Quite a few of his compositions have been released by VP Records on some of their compilation albums.

For Crop Over 2003 Peter Ram released the huge hit “The Pledge" or (Blue, Yellow and Black) as it is affectionately known. A catchy song dedicated to the people of his hometown Barbados. The song was so popular, that whenever “Ram" took to the stage to perform it, the audience would sing every lyric, especially the school children who have embraced the song as an Anthem for patriotic Barbadians. “The Pledge” was a tremendous success and Ram took it all the way to the Pic-O-De-Crop finals and to the Party Monarch Finals at East Coast Road. This song also earned him the Nation Builder Award for 2003.

Ram has shared the stage with the likes of Beenie Man, Merciless and Elephant Man. At the Digicel launch on Barbados, he appeared with Lil Rick and international reggae sensations Shaggy and Bounty Killer and is a guaranteed opening act for most reggae shows on the island.

Ram expanded his career in 2005 and turned to acting when he appeared in his first feature film “Tek Dem Out". He has also been the face and voice behind Total Sport, a sports brand retail outlet in Barbados for the past 3 years.
 
In July 2006, he released "Woman by My Side" which has caused him to travel extensively across the Caribbean region to neighbouring territories such as Trinidad, Antigua, Tortola, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada and Carriacou.

This track was remixed for Trinidad Carnival 2007, featuring 2006 Power Soca Monarch King, Shurwayne Winchester of the band Traffik, who is also one of the top soca artistes in that country.

The resounding success of this track has commanded much attention in the international market, as it continues to receive excellent reviews on the music charts and consistent airplay.

As a result of the success of the song, Peter Ram shot the music video to the single on location in Barbados by Roland “Remy” Yearwood of Trinidad and Tobago. The video has been added to VH1 Soul’s Island Soul programming and is scheduled initially to receive three (3) spins per week and subsequently will be added to their catalogue. It has also been added to Music Choice TV, a video on demand channel. The video has landed Peter Ram the no. 3 position on MTVN TEMPO’s Cross Caribbean Countdown; the only dedicated network to Caribbean music.

More recently, Peter Ram was invited by TEMPO to render a special guest appearance to perform “Woman By My Side” with Shurwayne Winchester at the Rock the Tempo show at the Lionel Roberts Stadium in St. Thomas, British Virgin Islands. Singing to a capacity crowd of over 10,000 Peter Ram appeared alongside other headline acts such as international recording artistes Shaggy and Maxi Priest and Tessane Chin.

Peter Ram released three new tracks for Crop Over 2007; “Pumpin”; which was produced by Darron Grant of Underground Studios, “Smoke Signal” produced by the Red Boyz and “Snakes”, all of which continues to receive steady rotation on the local and international airwaves.

Crop Over 2007 was another great year for this artiste, who continues to be consistent in earning a position in the Party Monarch Finals and performed at all the major Crop Over events.

Peter Ram is now ranking in the top international soca arena, as "Woman by My Side" remix - a collaboration with Trinidad’s Shurwayne Winchester, was recently judged ‘Best Soca Collaboration’ at the prestigious 5th Annual International Soca Awards, in Queens, New York.

Peter Ram recently remixed his popular Crop Over track “Pumpin” featuring Idonia. “Pumpin” is on the Nirvana rhythm, this pulsating rhythm was produced by Corey Jordan, keyboard player with the band Krosfyah.