Archive for the ‘Jamaican Artiste Biography’ Category

Anthony Douglas Williams, a.k.a Hyh Volume was born in the parish of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica on December 4, 1983. He was the first of a family of four sisters and five brothers. Although he was born in St. Elizabeth, he grew up with his grandmother in Hayes Newton, Clarendon where he started singing at Hayes All Age School at a tender age. In 1998 Volume C started Garvey Maceo High School and this was where the love for music took over. His natural love for music has evolved in his creative writings and energetic performances of his songs. He drew his influences from artistes such as Beres Hammond and Bob Marley. This cemented his passion even more.

Anthony competed in talent shows such as Tastee Talent Search in 2001. He made it to the Semi-finals with some of his high school friends that were together as a group, which was called “Three Two Crew”. After this Anthony decided to start a solo career in the music industry by expressing himself with no limitations. In 2004 he recorded his first commercial single entitled “Burning Up” in collaboration with “Smokey Hype”. Read the rest of this entry »

There is an old adage that says, “Like father, like son,” and when the father is an iconic sports figure with whom the son shares some similar physical attributes, there is sometimes great expectation that the son will walk in the footsteps of the father. However, while Hernando “Nando” Griffiths has had a strong affinity for riding from his youth, he has never harbored any dreams of duplicating the success of his father – many-times Jamaican champion jockey and a Guinness World Record holder, Winston “Fanna” Griffiths – at the race track. For while Fanna became a Jamaican legend for his exploits at riding horses, Nando appears odds-on to emulate his father’s success, but at riding riddims.

Nando is a young, up and coming artiste who is already a hit with the ladies with his good looks who has undertaken the firm decision to go main stream hence the sudden surge of promotional activities on the local entertainment scenes. Nando has put three singles in rotation namely; Look At All These Girls, Rude, Say You Wanna and Get Better. On Look at All these Girls — which features production from hot young British-based producer Deewaan (Lockdown and Tiki Wine), NY-based James “JimmyGee” Gately (Nasio Fontaine’s Living in the Positive), and veteran reggae musician-producer Barry O’Hare (Burning Spear’s Grammy-award winning Calling Rastafari ) — Nando stays true to his core reggae roots on tracks such as Say What You Wanna and Get Better, but also branches off into the pop realm on Look at All These Girls and the soca-reggaeton hybrid Rude, giving a glimpse of his vast potential to transcend any limits that one may place on him.

It is precisely Nando’s unbounded potential that has O’Hare, who has been working extensively with Shaggy in recent years, so impressed that he has committed to work on at least seven potential tracks for Nando’s debut album. Currently Nando’s track, Rude seems to ignite much excitement among the ladies of course and is a collaboration with fellow artist and friend Paashot, the song is basically a fun song inspired by Ms. Triniti’s and Kartel, Lock Down track, the lyrics, playfully describes Triniti as rude.

Kedon Whyte, more popularly known as Hitmaker hails from Kingston Jamaica, where he started his dj career at the age of 16. His style, lyrics and flows can be identified with the likes of the new era dj’s such as Aidonia, Busy Signal, Vybz Kartel, Movado and many more artists who are often described as the sons of Bounty Killa, the generation educated with lyrics of the warlord..

When not in the studio or busy with music, Hitmaker is either hustling to get through day by day, or writing more songs. He puts in a lot of work in the music an he is still working hard to do a lot more. He has recently finished his pro tools studio and he is also a qualified studio engineer. He has worked with a lot of well known “top”acts in the reggae/dancehall industry.

He grew up in the Hughenden area of St. Andrew where he attended Clan Clarthy Primary school before moving on to Donald Quarrie High school. He did a one year crash course on the performing arts at the Exced Community College. After leaving college, he recorded ‘Cock Up Is a Ten’ for the UIM/Digital One label for Richard Roache. However, it was not until he did ‘Pray For Dem’ in March on his own Hitmaker Muzik Label that producers and radio disc jocks began to sit up and pay attention. Read the rest of this entry »

Sylford walker, one of Jamaica’s hidden treasures of the 70′s was born in the parish of St. Thomas in a district called Pen Line Castle. He was the first of four siblings.

He grew up in Wakes Field Trinity Vill, St. Thomas, where he attended the Trinity Vill Primary School. Growing up in the country was not by any means easy, Sylford faced rough times but he always found ways to get by. While attending school Sylford had discovered his passion for music. He would perform at concerts where the crowds would go wild. It was at that moment he was convinced that he was born to sing. Wanting more out of life, at the age of 11 Sylford ran away from home to Kingston where he thought that life would be better. That was not the case .

Sylford had no family to turn to, he had no where to sleep and resulted into sleeping on card board boxes in coronation market with rats and roaches running all over him. He could hardly find food at times. After growing up and learning the ways of the streets, Sylford got his first job working as an assistant plumber fixing sewage pipes without receiving any pay for his labor.

It came to a point where Sylford could not take the pressure of working and without getting any pay so, he went on to pushing hand carts just to get some money to survive. However that still did not help much and he then went on to selling newspaper and that too didn’t keep much food in his stomach or a roof over his head. Never giving up Sylford went on to selling ganja on Law Street and Ioban Street. Sylford eventually started smoking herb and indulging in the street life. One night while hanging out on the unforgiving streets of Kingston, Jamaica smoking his herb, life in general and the police caught up with Sylford and he was incarcerated. It wasn’t till then when he was inspired to write is first song and also came to accept the Rastafarian teachings. Read the rest of this entry »

“Star from mi bawn”…loosely translated, means he believes he was a star from birth, is how this handsome Leo better known as Pierrepressure describes his foray into the music business.

Raised in the cool hills of Mandeville Manchester on the Island of Jamaica; ‘pressure, as called by friends, discovered at an early age that he had a gift for constructing melodies. Though he enjoyed Reggae and Dancehall, as a child he gravitated towards the sounds of R&B and Soul music coming out of America.

He readily tells of how special Sunday nights were for him because of a radio program that played songs from artists he now lists as having influenced how he puts together his own music. The likes of El debarge, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, and Babyface to name a few, along with such current acts as Jill Scott, Nas and Kanye West has heavily influenced how he constructs his melodies and lyrics from an R&B/hip hop stand point. Read the rest of this entry »

The music fraternity in Jamaica has always been turning out artistes year after year but only few have been able to stand the test of what the music industry demands of them, and too, very few have been able to actually deliver what they said they would. This, however, cannot be said of DIA, who is a devoted musician and always promises to deliver and does just that. he has emerged within a time when the older generation of musicians have become disappointed with the calibre of music that is being produced by young artistes and is about to lift the level of consciousness within the music. Fresh, new and creative ideas combined with positive light bearing messages of Rastafari-peace, love and unity, are just what the doctor ordered and he is filling that prescription.

Describing himself as a “Musical Warrior”, DIA aka Music Addict works assiduously, carefully putting his attention in creating new songs, sounds and vibration for the upliftment and entertainment of the ears and eyes of the many fans he has and wishes to capture. What makes Music Addict so striking is his undaunting expression of his love for music and the way he gives of himself musically. His voice for one, gives him an unmatched advantage, that is, unlike many artist who find it ever so difficult to sing and deejay at the same time, he is the kind of artist who has honed his own talent and is therefore quite able to manipulate his voice. This unmistakable sound of his voice allows him to do just about anything, creating his own unique style of music that is accompanied by his new burst of energy within the music fraternity. Read the rest of this entry »

Kingston Jamaica: Its easy for an up and coming Deejay to get overshadowed with the abundance of talents in what has become a highly competitive Dancehall industry but 26 year-old Fabian Wilson more popularly known as Boom Steppa has no plans of getting caught in that trap. A most peculiar name Steppa was given to him by a friend because of how he walks with a rhythm to which he later added the Boom to describe the type of explosive tracks he planned on bring to the mainstream market.

At six (6) feet Boom Steppa towers over not only the average man but also his lyrical contenders with sharp well written songs not to mention flows full of melody and clarity. Born and raised in the St. Catherine community of Central Village, Steppa grew up like any normal youth enjoying his childhood days but when he turned 15 his focus began to change and music soon became his calling. Starting out writing simple hooks Steppa spent his days teaching himself the techniques of song-writing and later began to share his creative lyrics with his brother who at the time was a trying artiste. As his content grew and his mind adapted to that of a recording artist Steppa had developed a style of his own and before he would finish high school was a budding deejay. Read the rest of this entry »

The roots harmony vocals trio the Abyssinians was formed in 1968 by founding members Donald Manning, Bernard Collins and Linford Manning. It was in 1969 with their release “Satta Massagana” recorded on Coxson Dodd’s Studio One label—a Rastafarian hymn based on the Ethiopian Amharic language, that launched them into the ranks of Reggae music greats. “Satta Massagana” became one of reggae’s most popular songs; becoming an anthem that was heard on the radios, in the dancehalls and in the churches of Jamaica. It was also covered by many other International artists’ including Third World. What followed were a string of hits of which included “Declaration of Rights,” “Yi Mas Gan.” and “Let My Days Be Long”. Early albums were a collection of singles recorded throughout the 1970’s on their own label—Clinch, of which included “Forward On To Zion” (1976) and “ARISE” (1978).

The group separated in 1980, during the separation group co-founder Donald Manning performed internationally under the name The Abyssinians with his brother Carlton Manning (of Carlton & The Shoes) and singer David Morrison. In Jamaica, Bernard Collins performed on stage with longtime associate George Henry.. In 1989, Donald, Bernard and Linford joined together again to record over the next three years. These sessions resulted as the originally released album, “$19.95 + TAX” in 1995 with a very limited number of CD’s printed. Artists Only! Records realized the importance of this album and in 1998 re-titled and re-released this album as “REUNION”. “REUNION” now stands strong as one of The Abyssinians greatest albums.
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Leroy Sibbles (born January 29, 1949) is a reggae musician from Jamaica. He was the lead singer for The Heptones in the 1960s and 1970s.

In addition to his work with The Heptones, Sibbles was a session bassist and arranger at Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s Jamaica Recording and Publishing Studio and the associated Studio One label during the prolific late 1960s.

The Heptones

Sibbles and Heptones’ co-founders Barry Llewellyn and Earl Morgan met in the mid 1960s, around the time Sibbles’ first group auditioned for Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle studio. Reid declined the opportunity to record that group. Llewllyn and Morgan recruited Sibbles and formed the Heptones, and Ken Lack of Caltone accepted the trio for a session.

The trio’s initial recordings for Ken Lack were “School Girls” and “Gun Man Coming to Town.” Though the songs didn’t achieve hit status, the latter composition made the playlists at Radio Jamaica Rediffusion (RJR).
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Born in Aenon Town, Clarendon, to parents Martin and Yvonne Richards who always had a desire for their daughter would be a musical artiste. Kaydonica is a determined, goal oriented, self motivated individual who aims high and chooses wisely. She continues to draw strength from her parents who were actively involved in playing musical instruments such as the piano and guitar at church.

Being the eldest of three girls, she was the first to join the choirs at Church and at School. By age ten, Kaydonica started to write poems and songs. Life’s road took her to Manchester where she attended Holmwood Technical High School. She became a member of the choir and in her final year entered the school’s annual pageant, where she received an award for best talent in playing the keyboard and singing her own song titled “In This World Today”.

During her years of College she became even more focused and mature. Her passion to live her dream grew stronger and she was encouraged by family and friends to continue, because of the obvious gift that she had been blessed with. That she did and began her journey by spending time at studios to record her own songs such as “Instruments Of Love”, “Locked Up In A Cell” and “On U Around U”; with the hope that a demo CD would be the key to fulfilling her dreams. Read the rest of this entry »