Mad Lion | |
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Birth name | Oswald Priest |
Born | London, England |
Origin | Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
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Formerly of | Boogie Down Productions |
Oswald Priest, better known as Mad Lion, is a dancehall, ragga musician and rapper. [1] He frequently collaborates with fellow hip hop artist KRS-One. His awards include the 1994 Source Award as Reggae Artist of the Year, and the 1995 Source Award as Reggae Hip-Hop Artist of the Year.
Priest is Jamaican and was born in London. [1] Shortly after moving to Brooklyn, New York, he met reggae performer Super Cat at Super Power Records. At Super Cat's suggestion, he adopted his professional name, an acronym for Musical Assassin Delivering Lyrical Intelligence Over Nations. [1] He blended reggae and hip-hop, and went on to work with KRS-One throughout the 1990s. [1] His addition of hip hop rhythms to Shabba Ranks' "Jam" gave him some early success. His début single "Shoot to Kill" was successful in New York and he reached a wider audience with "Take It Easy", which was one of 18 tracks on his début album in 1994, titled Real Ting. [1] [2] He contributed to Salt-N-Pepa's 1997 album Brand New . In 1997 he topped the US reggae chart with "Carpenter". [1]
He also appeared in the music video for the Flava in Ya Ear remix by Craig Mack feat. Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes.
Mad Lion's other collaborative projects consist of working with Puerto Rican producers DJ Playero, DJ Tony Touch, DJ Nico Canada, and other reggaeton artists who were flourishing around 1996. Mad Lion was featured on a track in which he did a duet with the Puerto Rican Hip Hop artist Mexicano 777 on the track titled "Guerreros" which was a Dancehall fused Hip-Hop track that was featured on the "Boricua Guerrero: First Combat" album produced by DJ Playero & DJ Nico Canada. Mad Lion also collaborated with Puerto Rican Reggaeton artist Rey Pirin on the track titled "Guerrillero Borincano" which was a gritty Hip-Hop. Mad Lion was joined by Jahdan & the Black Hearted Skavengerz who did a solo on a Reggaeton riddim titled "Many Many More", & the duo Curly Valentino & Demos Demarco made an appearance on the Hip-Hop track titled "Razor Sharp" with Mexicano 777. Mad Lion soon lent his rapping skills to that of the DJ Tony Touch & DJ Nico Canada produced mixtape titled "Guatauba", where he laid down a freestyle on a Reggaeton riddim. Again, Mad Lion was joined by other Jamaican Dancehall artists such as Mad Cobra, who did a freestyle on a Hip-Hop riddim, & The Black Hearted Skavengerz appeared doing a freestyle on a Reggaeton riddim.
In Jamaican dancehall music, a riddim is the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the riddim plus the voicing sung by the deejay. A given riddim, if popular, may be used in dozens—or even hundreds—of songs, not only in recordings but also in live performances.
The Music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources of Puerto Rico have primarily included African, Taino Indigenous, and European influences. Puerto Rican music culture today comprises a wide and rich variety of genres, ranging from essentially native genres such as bomba, jíbaro, seis, danza, and plena to more recent hybrid genres such as salsa, Latin trap and reggaeton. Broadly conceived, the realm of "Puerto Rican music" should naturally comprise the music culture of the millions of people of Puerto Rican descent who have lived in the United States, especially in New York City. Their music, from salsa to the boleros of Rafael Hernández, cannot be separated from the music culture of Puerto Rico itself.
Reggaeton is a modern style of popular and electronic music that originated in Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puerto Rican musicians. It has evolved from dancehall, with elements of hip hop, Latin American, and Caribbean music. Vocals include toasting/rapping and singing, typically in Spanish.
Tegui Calderón Rosario is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He began his musical career in 1996 and was supported by the famous Puerto Rican rapper Eddie Dee, who invited him on his second studio album, El Terrorista de la Lírica, released in 2000. Calderón reached international success in 2003 with his first album, El Abayarde, which sold 300,000 copies worldwide and was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. His importance in reggaeton music led him to participate in Eddie Dee's 12 Discípulos album in 2004. He released three more studio albums between 2006 and 2015, varying in styles, focusing more in hip hop and African music rather than reggaeton in The Underdog/El Subestimado (2006) and El Abayarde Contraataca (2007). His fourth studio album, El Que Sabe, Sabe, released in 2015, won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Music Album.
Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon OD, better known by his stage name Shabba Ranks, is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home country as a dancehall artist, he gained popularity in North America with his studio album Just Reality in 1990. He released other studio albums, including As Raw as Ever and X-tra Naked, which both won a Grammy Award as Best Reggae Album in 1992 and 1993, respectively. He is notoriously popular for "Mr. Loverman" and "Ting-A-Ling", which were globally acclaimed and deemed his signature songs.
The Stalag riddim is a popular reggae riddim, which came to prominence in the 1980s. It was originally written and recorded as "Stalag 17" by Ansel Collins and released by Winston Riley's Techniques record label in 1973. The riddim has been used on hundreds of derivative records.
Bachatón is a fusion genre of reggaeton from Panama and Puerto Rico as well as bachata from the Dominican Republic. Bachaton combines bachata melodies and reggaeton style beats, lyrics, rapping, and disc jockeying. The word "bachatón" is a portmanteau of "bachata" and "reggaeton". "Bachatón" was coined and widely accepted in 2005. It is a subgenre of reggaeton and bachata.
No Mercy is the debut studio album by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee and was released in April 1995 by independent labels White Lion Records and BM Records. Daddy Yankee made the album alongside reggaeton pioneer DJ Playero. This album had rhythms of hip hop, reggae and dancehall. During this time, Daddy Yankee was known as "Winchesta 30-30" or "Winchesta Yankee". After his completion of No Mercy, he began to sell his cassettes in various stores and clubs, and performing for free in high school dances and private parties. After his mild success of No Mercy, many producers and artists began to work with him, taking then the name "Daddy Yankee".
Maicol & Manuel were a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo. They have their origins in the first wave of reggaeton artists as early as 1991. The duo have released countless songs on many various artists compilations. They worked with DJ Eric Industry and DJ Negro. In addition they have recorded and released albums such as Yakaleo and El Desquite.
Diva is the third studio album by Puerto Rican reggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen. It was released on August 23, 2003 and independently distributed by Real Music Group after being dropped from Sony Discos. The recording followed her two previous studio albums which were commercially unsuccessful and a hiatus from her musical career beginning in 1999. It featured collaborations with Latin hip hop artists including Mexicano 777, Bimbo and K-7 while the album's production was handled by a variety of musical producers; Luny Tunes, DJ Nelson, Noriega, and Iván Joy were enlisted, while DJ Adam produced a majority of the tracks. Lyrically, the album explored female empowerment, infidelity, heartbreak and love with "a veritable compendium of her artistic passion, femininity, and culture". The musical styles of the recording alternate between reggaetón and hip-hop while Queen experiments with R&B, dancehall, and pop balladry.
The Best of Ivy Queen is the first greatest hits compilation by the reggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen released on December 20, 2005, on Universal Music Latin and Perfect Image Records. Disc one contains studio tracks from her third and fourth studio albums, Diva (2003) and Real (2004), while disc two consists of music videos from her discography beginning in 1995 up to 2005 with the release of her fifth studio album, Flashback. Diva was released on August 23, 2003, and independently distributed by Real Music Group. The album follows her two previous studio album which were both commercially unsuccessful. With collaborations with Latin hip hop artists including Mexicano 777 and K-7, the album's production was by a variety of music producers, including Luny Tunes, DJ Nelson and Noriega, while DJ Adam produced a majority of the tracks.
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Pedro Gerardo Torruellas Brito, better known as Playero DJ, DJ Playero, Playe, Play, is a Puerto Rican DJ who was a key figure in the dissemination of reggaeton during its formative period in the 1990s in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Israel Perales Ortiz, better known by his stage name Mexicano 777, was a Puerto Rican rapper who gained fame across Latin America, and in the United States. Mexicano 777 was from Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, and was considered to be one of the pioneers of Latin hip hop and reggaeton.
"Take It Easy" is a hip hop and reggae fusion song, recorded by hip-hop/dancehall artist Mad Lion from his debut studio album, Real Ting (1994). The song contains a sample of "When A Man In Love" by Yami Bolo and "Return of the Boom Bap" from collaborator KRS-One from his 1993 debut album of the same name.