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David Chen is born of UK/Jamaican/Chinese heritage. He is considered to be the musical brightness of BEN TV. By using heritage and culture, Mr Chen is networking the world to the Caribbean. With over eighteen years as a musical presenter, it is no wonder David Chen is one of the top hosts for Bright Entertainment Network Breakfast Show.
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Jamaican born United Kingdom television broadcaster
David Chen the brain child of Voicing for Jamaica a medium through which
Afro-Caribbean and Jamaican heritage is being exposed, has been making significant progress in the United Kingdom.
Chen has been residing between the UK and Jamaica for over 17 years and promotes a strong influence of the African and Caribbean heritage through the media worldwide.
Chen was born in
Kingston Jamaica to a Chinese father and Jamaica mother from St Thomas. He grew up in Kingston where he spent his teenage school life at Kingston College. He said the zest to succeed is based on the teaching at Kingston College. ‘…you were taught that you can do it - you can achieve all your goals and to never believe that you will fail, as the brave may fall but never yield," he told the Sunday Gleaner.
After graduating from Kingston College Chen migrated to England, where he joined his mother, primarily to assist with the upbringing of his two brothers - which he believe played a major role in his life as he had to be focused.
"I was meant to be an accountant," he said. Chen added that with the high cost of education in the UK and his mother being the main breadwinner, he decided that he had to be self sufficient. As a result Chen ventured into Travel and Tourism 1989, to prove a point made by his geography teacher at Kingston College that despite failing geography in CXC he could use that failure to propel his ambition. Against such desire Travel and Tourism became the stepping stone in his career, he told the Sunday Gleaner
Chinese Patois
Chen’s first job in the UK was with a travel company doing telesales. ‘It was a challenge, being a Jamaican; with a strong Jamaican accent he wondered how his clients would understand him. For him the Jamaican Patios was more appreciated than he expected. ‘ I realised that back then in the UK - being a Jamaican Chinese - was also something extremely unique as people were fascinated to know that I was from Jamaica; again, when you explain that in Jamaica there were many difference races and cultures people got carried away and became more appreciative of the unique style of the patois and the person making such presentation’ he explained.
‘I remember telling a group of people that the first time I heard the word racism was at the age of 18 and that was when I came to the UK; they couldn't believe, that was a turning point in my life as back home in Jamaica life was totally different, in other words, in my time growing up in Jamaica, manners, discipline and respect was all I knew and I saw no colour’, he stressed.
For chen his early years in Britain was one in which he says, ‘Racism was in your face, regardless of who you are - it was just the way how you deal with it - and my way was to be humble and play the fool’.
Influence
Chen grew up on the notion and popular Jamaican saying that, ‘one one cocoa full basket ‘, using my toys as a means of earning. He told the Sunday Gleaner, ‘As a youngster in school I used to charge others to use my game-boy, I charged twenty CENT per game and from that I could afford a pants length to make a pair of trousers.
Chen said he used to odd jobs with Gordon Butch Stewart's ATL on Half Way Tree Road in Kingston where he was not paid, but learnt a lot of business skills. ‘I then realised that the same ideas can be used to make a business flourish and I implemented those same ideas when I started to work in the UK.’ ‘The principles were based on a positive mental attitude and accessing the right resources to achieve; most importantly - don't get caught up in the hype and being extremely humble about what one is doing,’ he advised.
Recently he returned to Jamaica for an eight month stint. ‘The vision was that I will return to Britain stronger, regardless of the challenges.’ ‘… travelling to Jamaica energises the soul and put you in a totally different frame of mind; for me, it was there that the idea of appreciating and promoting Jamaica more emerged and with this feeling Voicing for Jamaica was in full focus’.
During his stay in Jamaica, Chen was based in St Thomas where he started
Positive Community Supporting programmes, going into schools, hospitals and rural communities reasoning with the youths and trying to empower them. He said at times the experiences were negatives, but the challenges taught him that regardless of the outcomes the aim was to assist in putting St Thomas on the international scene positively.
‘I started a number of voluntary projects concentrating on travel and entertainment while maintaining the overall plan of Voicing for Jamaica.’ ‘With the idea of “Working Together To Make It Better” - Positive Community Supporting and business associates in Jamaica I created PON TV
www.myspace.com/worldpontv which can also be seen at www.davidchen.co.uk. The programmes have propelled many careers of unsigned musicians, which have also gained them the opportunity to tour internationally.
On his return to London Chen was approached by
BEN Television, who offered him a position as the main Caribbean Presenter presenting their flagship programme
THE BREAKFAST SHOW aired live across the UK, Europe and Africa 3 mornings per week - from 1000am - 1200noon – Chen also hosts other programmes with the most popular Caribbean features being David Chen "Raw and Uncut" and The Caribbean Connection.
Chen also supports the communities through his websites– He says the overall aim is to highlight the culture of Jamaica and the Caribbean people world-wide under the theme, "Education Comes Through Rhythms and Reasoning – Together WE call it EDU-Tainment’.
Chen’s future plan is to continue being a messenger to all, staying focussed, self motivated, persistent, consistent, hungry to achieve, and overall to continue Voicing for Jamaica.
He is currently working on a book -
"A Gun Cannot Pick itself Up - SO Why Should YOU" - A message to all the peace keepers. His advice to youths in the society is, "Like everything in life - what ever you do - is what you believe in, strive for the best as the best can be achieved."
Chen’s programmes are accessible at
www.myspace.com/caribbeandavidchen or
www.davidchen.co.uk
Contact David on 07951 646 515 / 07904 299 472
You can watch
David on BEN TV channel 148 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 10.00am-12.00 noon when he hosts his Caribbean Breakfast Show.
