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Well-known selector and musical artiste Ikel Marvlus from the popular Team Shella group was warmly welcomed home as his team made its debut juggling at ABC's Barbz in Bikini and the popular Dolly Sundayz events last weekend.

"It's my first time home since 2021 and the experience was welcoming. People greeted me with love and expressed how they missed me as a selector and as a bredrin. The audience really enjoyed themselves. I had the ladies in a choir, shouting out my name and the gangsters do a whole heap a money pull-up. Masicka, Shenseea and Romeich were there promoting their new single, Hit and Run and every time mi play it a baay money pull-up," Ikel told THE WEEKEND STAR following what he described as his "status adjustment" in the US.

Team Shella, which also comprises mixer Flabba Dabba, DJ Squeak, DJ Bigz and DJ Briggie has been one of the most recognised sound systems since its founding in 2014.

Ikel highlighted that the musical landscape he knew three years ago has evolved but he will remain true to his "unique style of selecting".

"The younger generation do a lot of things differently and I'm not trying to be a part of that, I'm just doing me and what I do best because I'm a mentor to a lot of youths; they look up to me and want to be like me. I created a lot of these selecting styles you see nowadays, like doing a freestyle introduction of flyer [information] in events and creating lyrics while selecting on the spot, introduce songs like I owned them. It's a thing that people know me for," he said.

As to how he plans to keep up with the current pace of music, the selector replied, "A TikTok cause the uptempo beat of these current songs because when dem [artistes] a premiere di song dem pon TikTok dem speed dem up, suh everybody a expect seh a dah same speed deh dem ago get when dem come inna di party. If the selector nah play pon dah speed deh, is like dem naah enjoy demself. Wi just affi work with the crowd as selectors when you're in that space with patrons. Any genre or pace di music at wi can match dat," shared Ikel, whose given name is Charles Wilson.

He said his inspiration as a sound system selector came after continuously traversing to school on the popular "Coaster bus" system and listening to the popular mixes featuring veteran selectors Tony Matterhorn and Stone Love.

Ikel, who started selecting at age 17 on small sounds in his Rockfort, Kingston, community, said he got his big break in 2007 on a sound in Canada called Nytro. He stated that one of his greatest accomplishments is becoming international, "because right now I live out of a suitcase by travelling from city to city and there was a time when I felt like I wasn't reaching nowhere".

Ikel, who is also a recording artiste, is known for his collaborative hits such as Middle East with Harry Toddler, Chasin Money with Ishawna, Wul Di Claffy Dem with Alkaline and Suh Different with Nigerian singer Patoranking.