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Ken Marlon Charles (born 5 January 1971), shortened to KMC, is a soca musician from Trinidad. He is known for songs like "Soul on Fire", "Soca Bashment", and "Bashment to Carnival". He is signed to the US-based record label Sequence Records. KMC has over sixteen years of experience in the music industry. He has made a name for himself as a solo artist, songwriter, producer, and frontman of the band Red, White & Black (now defunct).[2]
KMC is one of nine children. He was born and raised in the village of Rio Claro, Trinidad, moving later to Chaguanas.[citation needed]
Career
As a child, KMC frequently listened to local bands in his village, often observing them in informal settings. He began experimenting with the drums at around age seven and later taught himself to play melodic instruments. According to KMC, he did not receive formal musical training and learnt to play by ear rather than through music reading.[citation needed]
KMC began his musical career as a dancehall artist, releasing sixteen recordings before shifting toward soca in 1998. That year, he produced several soca tracks, including "Kaya", "Bashment to Carnival", and "Soca Bashment".[citation needed]
Over the course of his career, he has independently released more than ten soca albums and compilations, including Voodoo, Drunk Man, Concubine, Party Alliance, Thunderbirds, X-Out, Stinging Nettle, and Tear Drop Riddims. He has also produced songs for various Soca performers, including Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin, Maximus Dan, Destra Garcia, Denise Belfon, and Jungle. His catalog includes tracks such as “Doh Want to Know”, “Carnival Rags”, “Rough Wine”, “First Experience”, “Flopping Up”, “Cyah X Me Out”, and “Animal”. [citation needed]
In April 2005, KMC was signed to the American music label Sequence Records. His debut album on the label was entitled Soul on Fire after the album's first single. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 84 and has sold approximately 285,000 copies worldwide.[citation needed]
The single "Soul on Fire" was the first track released from the album in June 2005. The song's remix featured Jamaican dance-hall star Beenie Man and American disc jockey Fat Man Scoop. The music video for "Soul on Fire" was filmed in Tobago and featured the Tobagonian-born Trinidadian model Teri Bovell.[citation needed]
In October 2005, KMC joined Beenie Man on his US "King of the Dancehall" tour.[citation needed]
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