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Setlist: Got It Right Here / Smoke Marijuhana / Mash Dem Down / Simplicity / Why Should I / Praise Ye Jah / Guide Over Us / Love Is Devine / Woman I Need You / Lately I've Been Thinking / You Deserve It |
SIZZLA KALONJI.
Sizzla Kalonji is one of the most prolific leaders of the conscious Reggae dancehall movement. Emerging in the mid 90s, he helped lead dancehall back to the musical and spiritual influence of roots reggae and heavily Rastafarian subject matter. Born Miguel Collins on April 17, 1976 in St Mary, he was raised in the community of August Town by devout Rastafarian parents. The 1980s witnessed a dancehall explosion, and with the music came the lifestyle. Sizzla watched carefully, collecting his lyrical ammunition. He began his career in the music industry in his early teenage years. After honing his vocal skills, he landed a gig with the Caveman Hi-Fi sound system, where he first made a name for himself as a performer. He cut his first single for the small Zagalou label in 1995, and soon moved on to Fattis "Exterminator" Burrell. Extensive touring with fellow roots and culture artist Luciano followed, earning Sizzla critical acclaim. Working with Fattis marked an important turning point for Sizzla. From the outset their relationship was one of mutual respect and inspiration. A run of successful singles led to the release of Sizzla's debut album, 'Burning Up'. The alliance again proved fruitful a year later with the follow-up, 'Praise Ye Jah'. Securing his position as a top conscious reggae artist, he set about cultivating his role as a spiritual messenger. Sizzla's combination of Rasta principles and up-to-the-minute dancehall rhythms made his hard line approach more palatable. A brilliant and passionate performer, Sizzla broke boundaries, appealing to those looking for something new, music with depth. His major breakthrough came with the release in 1997 of the now classic album, 'Black Woman and Child'. Bearing all the hallmarks of Bobby 'Digital' Dixon's dancehall-influenced production, the impact on both the reggae and mainstream markets was phenomenal. The evocative title track, issued as a single, rapidly achieved anthemic status. Along with universal praise came Sizzla's first nomination for Best International Reggae Artist of the Year at the 1998 MOBO Awards and a place in various magazines' top 100 albums of the year. Sizzla scored several more hits during 1997, including ‘Like Mountain’, ‘Babylon Cowboy,’ ‘Kings Of The Earth,’ and the Luciano duet ‘Build A Better World.’ This hot streak kicked off an enormously productive recording binge that has lasted for years. He has an ability to fuse passionate lyrical styling with deceptively simple riddims that take in range of genres from staccato dancehall and gentle roots reggae to surprisingly commercial R&B and soul arrangements. Somewhat controversial, Sizzla Kalonji has maintained to the views of the Bobo Ashanti Rastafarians, particularly his aggressive condemnations of slavery, inhumane acts, and Western Oppressors. Overall his music is generally positive, advocating faith, compassion for poor black youth, and respect for women. He remains something of an enigma to the public at large, rarely granting interviews. Nonetheless, he still ranks as arguably the most popular conscious reggae artist of his time. A versatile singjay-style vocalist with a gruff, gravelly tone, he is capable of both rapid fire chatting, powerful, melodic singing, and his best backing riddims are among the strongest in contemporary dancehall. Sizzla Kalonji has released over 45 impressive solo albums and over fifteen combination albums, crossing different genres of Reggae. The number of mix tapes on the street are countless. He also started his own company Kalonji Records; this set the mark of his growth not only as a great reggae artist but also a record label executive and businessman. In a joint venture with Kalonji Records, his album ‘The Overstanding’ was released in November 2006. It is his third album released through Kalonji Records; as well as ‘Black History’ and ‘Life’. Sizzla Kalonji continues to release music through his career showcasing the level of talent that exudes through his creativity. In addition to his musical breakthroughs, Sizzla continues to build different business opportunities to empower himself and the community by creating an environment for young people to grow and develop skills. Currently, some of his new business initiatives include a signature Sizzla shoe distributed by Pro-Keds; a Sizzla clothing line, an outlet for communities to tell their stories and be creative through Black Magazine, Rasta TV, and a recording studio; plus a sound system to spread the music using Tafari Sounds. As Sizzla Kalonji continues to build and grow, the community builds and grows but most importantly, he is creating opportunities for young people who sometimes don’t have opportunities the same way he was given an opportunity. TEFLON. For one to identify with a name meaning persistent, solid and strong, one must certainly bear some resemblance to the namesake. Shaneal Watson, aka 'Teflon' which means 'Teach E Forever Love All Over the Nation', and 'Unstoppable', knows all about being steadfast and persistent. He believes in having a strong and a positive meditation and surrounding one's self with positivity. A musical aspirant since age eleven, 23 year-old Teflon has come a far way from hanging outside studio doors to having his very own music heavily rotated on the radio. The multi-talented conga drum, keyboard and flute playing St. Mary native spent most of his days harboured outside the Double Lions Studios, St. Mary watching and idolizing engineers like Fire Trees and Hopeton until he got a 'big buss' of his own. Stints with Big Don; Sonic Sounds and multiple unreleased tunes done with Double Lion Studios and Tallus International in Ocho Rios eventually paved the way for the premier single "Bless Me Jah". Courtney McIntosh, a producer at In Touch Records took an interest in the conscious crooner and partnered up with Teflon to birth the tune "Love Your Life". With the ball set in motion to launch Teflon's career, the artiste switched to Purple Skunk Label and the music kept coming. Highly influenced by the likes of Sizzla Kalongi, Bob Marley, Capleton, Buju Banton, Cocoa Tea, and Beres Hammond, Teflon only produced conscious, uplifting music. Teflon grew up in christian home where both parents were Baptist. However, he later discovered that the Rastafarian faith was his true calling. Teflon, guided by Wayne Morris aka DJ Wayne from IRIE FM, cites that inspiration for his positive music/message comes from his 'reverence, daily livity and meditation'. Tunes like "Feel the Vibes", "Jah Jah Love" and "Yard of Love" all promoted peace, harmony and 'good livity'. In July 2003, Teflon got the break that all upcoming artistes crave - an opportunity to perform on a major stage show. Teflon's 'Jah Send' was 'Fully Loaded' and from that performance came bookings for Pepsi Teen Splash, Fuel, West Kingston Jamboree and International Reggae Day Celebrations. With several projects underway and growing fan base, Teflon kept putting out more tunes: 'Get Up'; 'Humbleness'; 'Live It Up Right' and soon opportunities with other labels like Arrows and eventually the popular Tads International Records arose. Teflon has since decided to commence his own label Yard A Love and has successfully achieved many goals as an independent artist. |