Singer and songwriter Osei "Osei the Seventh" David is always thinking many moves ahead – a habit that is a reflection of one of his favourite sayings, "Chess, not checkers."
"I don't play chess, but I understand how they think. Any move I make, I say, 'Is chess, not checkers.' When I am working it is detailed."
It is this knack for planning and his eye for detail, combined with his relentless nature that has led to his pop single, Café Deluxe, receiving half a million streams and being featured in the life simulation video game, The Sims 4.
Café Deluxe, an upbeat pop song about a man in a café pouring out his struggles to a coffee cup, was released on February 17, 2021 and David told Newsday it got more than ten million plays on Tik Tok and surpassed half a million streams on Spotify. It also has more than 180,000 views on YouTube.
[caption id="attachment_907746" align="alignnone" width="750"] An image from the life simulation game The Sims 4: Cottage Living. -[/caption]
"I started to develop new fans and people became interested. And I was able to achieve a base of goals for the long-term."
His label contacted the team at video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA), known for sports games like FIFA and NBA Live as well as Battlefield, Need for Speed and Star Wars titles, about his single.
"EA really loved me and my sound."
They expressed interest in featuring Café Deluxe The Sims 4, specifically the latest expansion pack, Cottage Living. David said the developers included a handful of songs for players to listen to in-game while driving with the radio on, and Café Deluxe was selected as one of them.
"I felt a sense of great accomplishment."
The 23-year-old singer and songwriter told Newsday his musical ability and competitive spirit can be traced back to his childhood.
Originally from San Juan, David said he was an accomplished sportsman, winning national titles in basketball (Super 10 Under-15 championships) and shot-put (Under-15). He also won awards in swimming, played football for years with his secondary school, St George's College, Barataria, and spent a short time in the National Super League.
[caption id="attachment_907744" align="alignnone" width="750"] The image on the YouTube audio single, Café Deluxe, by Osei the Seventh, which is being featured in The Sims 4. -[/caption]
He said this competitive nature drove him to sign up for a calypso competition at his primary school, St Joseph Boys' RC. He wrote a song, sang it and placed third in the competition. In form three he gravitated to theatre arts and one of his teachers advised that if he worked on becoming an all-around performer he could try to get into the New York Film Academy. While at this point he did not consider himself a singer, he began entering competitions.
In 2012 he entered Junior Soca Monarch (JSM) for the first time, but did not make it past the preliminary stage. Though he was not very interested in that competition, his competiti
