Killa

Laudat, three friends, three K

Killa is a keyboardist and producer from Dominica. He describes himself as band leader of TK International, the name Triple Kay goes by today. His home village is Laudat. In the late 1990s, with two friends, he starts the band: their three first names begin with K, hence Triple K.

At the start he drums on anything within reach, then picks the keyboard: his mother buys him a keyboard, which he sets on an ironing board.

Nine albums in thirteen years, and the shift into bouyon

The first album, "Big Ting", comes out in 2000. Then follow "Fanatik" in 2003, "Sewo" in 2004, "All Out" in 2006, "Pressure" in 2007, "Colours" in 2008, "Allo" in 2009, "Hush Your Mouth" in 2011 and "Bubblin" in 2012. Nine studio albums in thirteen years, before the band moves to a yearly singles cycle.

Benji first shows up as a guest, mic in hand, at the band's gigs, before settling in: in 2005 he becomes the frontline vocalist. The repertoire then shifts from cadence-lypso, compas and zouk to bouyon. Killa describes a turn that came almost by accident: he could not play like Cornell, his bouyon mentor, and his own take ended up catching on. The single "Sewo" takes Song of the Year 2005.

Road March, Golden Drum, and a co-founder still on the keys

The podiums follow: Dominica Road March with "Lock De Gate" in 2015, then "Roll Dat Boom Boom" in 2017. In 2019, "Heat" wins the world's very first People's Bouyon Road March. In 2022 the band receives the Commonwealth of Dominica Meritorious Service Award and the Golden Drum Award.

On 22 January 2025, Cranberry TV launches "The Rhythms of Triple Kay. 25 Years of Bouyon Beats", a six-episode docuseries on the journey of the band and its founders.

On the official 2026 line-up, Killa is still lead keys and producer, the band's site states he produces all their music, alongside Jeoffrey "JJ Yout" Joseph on back keys, Jason "Froggy" Joseph on drums, Ordel "Zoubs" Hamilton on guitars, James "J-West" Rodney on road management and Daniel "Brush Head" Phillip on bass and engineering. For the 2026 season he co-writes and produces the single "Caution" and stays on production for the "Bandmas" carnival medley.

In an interview (Love Bouyon Talks), Killa qualifies that credit, though: he says he does not program most of the band's rhythms himself. He buys them from rhythm makers, receives them in parts, keeps what he likes and adds his own "sauce" before the band takes them on.

He also reveres Cornell "Fingers" Phillip, WCK's sonic architect, whose playing he says he studied for years. "one of the best ever to do it". And it is he who, in an interview, throws a public call-out: the track by Bunji Garlin, Machel Montano and Skinny Fabulous, which we identify as "Famalay" (the video's automatic transcript writes "Family"), is in his words 100% bouyon, on a rhythm by Dominican producer Dada Lawrence ("Dad Lawrence" in the transcript), whose lack of credit he deplores. "Only after I said that did people start watching Dominica."

He remains on the line-up of a band that celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2025.