![]() |
Mr. Vegas | |
---|---|
![]() Mr. Vegas, live at Ruhr Reggae Summer 2010 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Clifford Smith |
Born | Kingston, Jamaica | 29 December 1974
Genres | Dancehall, reggae |
Years active | 1997–present |
Labels | Greensleeves, VP, Jet Star, Universal, MV Music |
Website | mr-vegas |
Clifford Smith (born 29 December 1974), better known as Mr. Vegas, is a Jamaican dancehall singjay.
Clifford Smith was born in Kingston in 1974. [1] He found fame in 1998 with hits such as "Yu Sure", "Jack It Up", and "Latest News". [1] For his first major hit, Vegas versioned the wildly popular "Playground" Riddim (Sean Paul's "Infiltrate" among others) to create "Nike Air", which became a huge hit in Jamaica. The next single, "Heads High", with an anti-oral sex lyric, [2] followed its success in Jamaica with a chart run in the UK and a No. 69 peak on the U.S. R&B chart, and Vegas became increasingly in demand as a guest artist by acts such as Sean Paul.[ citation needed ]
In 1998, his debut album, Heads High was released, which hit No. 5 on the US Reggae chart. Vegas won a MOBO for Best Reggae Artist for the Heads High album as well. 2000's single "Hot Gal Today" was a minor hit on the US R&B chart, peaking at No. 66. In 2001, he issued Damn Right, featuring guest appearances from Shaggy and Big Yard; this album went to No. 2 on the US Reggae chart. 2004 saw the release of the Pull Up LP on Delicious Vinyl Records, and the title track scraped the bottom of the Hot 100, peaking at No. 98 (as well as No. 68 on the R&B chart). In 2006, he did a soca collaboration with Machel Montano, "Dance with You" on Montano's B.O.D.Y. album. His latest, 2007's Hot It Up, featured the Jamaican hits "Hot Wuk", "Taxi Fare" and "Tek Weh Yuhself". In 2008, Mr. Vegas also recorded "On the Floor" with Trinidadian artist Destra Garcia on her album, Soca or Die.
In September 2008, Smith announced that he was retiring from the music industry, citing unhappiness with his work and a desire to spend more time with his children and be "closer to God Almighty". Although he had been suffering from ill-health for some time, he denied that this was a factor in his retirement. [3] However, in 2009 and 2010 he made new songs such as "Man a Gallis", "Can't Stop Now" (Major Lazer), "Mix Up Peggy", "Wanna See You Move" (DJ GQ) and "Fi Get Rich".
Recording throughout 2011 and in early 2012 for his newly formed label imprint MV Music, Mr. Vegas released his new album, Sweet Jamaica on 29 May 2012. [4]
To celebrate Jamaica's 50th Anniversary, Mr. Vegas took to the studio to produce an all-star remix, The Voices of Sweet Jamaica with a cast of reggae greats including Shaggy, U-Roy, Barrington Levy, Marcia Griffiths and more.[ citation needed ] Proceeds of the recording went to benefit the children of Mustard Seed Communities in Kingston, Jamaica.[ citation needed ]
In 2012, Mr. Vegas received a MOBO Award nomination in the UK. Sweet Jamaica was named by Google Music as one of the 'Top 50 albums of 2012', endorsed by Complex Magazine in the 'Top 100 Albums of 2012' as well as appearing on the 'Best of 2012' in the reggae section of iTunes. The album debuted at number 7 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. [5]
Vegas received multiple awards at the 32nd IRAWMA celebration on 4 May 2013 when "Sweet Jamaica" was selected for Song of the Year, and "Bruk it Down" for Video of the Year.[ citation needed ]
Reggae Euphoria was released in September 2014. [5] He featured on a remixed version of Beyoncé's "Standing on the Sun", which was included on the 2014 'Platinum Edition' of her self-titled album. [6]
An album of cover versions, Lovers Rock and Soul, was released in October 2015. [7] [8]
In 2019, Mr. Vegas released the track "Wobble Ma Head" with Indian artists Akade & PABLO. [9]
Rodney Basil Price, known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair for gun talk". He is considered one of the best dancehall lyricists of all time.
Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer, producer and sound-system operator.
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques is a Jamaican deejay, singer, and rapper who is regarded as one of dancehall and reggae's most prolific artists of all time.
Eek-A-Mouse is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as a "singjay". Eek-A-Mouse is well known for pioneering his own style of scatting, differing from the-then toasting deejays in the 80s.
Colvin George Scott, better known as Cocoa Tea, is a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter.
Greensleeves Records & Publishing, shortened to Greensleeves Records, is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975. The record label was founded in 1977, with early releases including albums by Augustus Pablo and Barrington Levy.
VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami, London, Kingston, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, the label has established a presence in Toronto, Australia and New Zealand.
Reggae fusion is a fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip-hop/rap, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic, and Latin music, amongst others.
Xtatik is a Trinidad and Tobago Soca band led by Machel Montano.
Janice Fyffe, known as Lady G, is a Jamaican dancehall and reggae deejay. She is widely recognised as a dancehall veteran and pioneer.
Ewart Everton Brown, better known by his stage name Mad Cobra or simply Cobra, is a Jamaican dancehall musician.
Reanno Devon Gordon, better known by his stage name Busy Signal, is a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist.
Omar "Tarrus" Riley is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and member of the Rastafari movement.
Jacob Lee Williams, better known as Gappy Ranks, is an English dancehall musician of Jamaican and Dominican descent, from Harlesden, London.
Urales Vargas, known professionally as DJ Buddha, is an American DJ, record producer, radio personality, music publisher, and record executive from Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Andrae Hugh Sutherland, known professionally as Popcaan, is a Jamaican dancehall singer.
Garfield Delano Spence, also known as Konshens, is a Jamaican dancehall recording artist, deejay, singer and businessman.
Fox Fuse is a leading digital music label for Caribbean music and is the largest label worldwide for soca and chutney music. Based in Tampa, Florida, Fox Fuse has built a strong reputation working with superstar clients such as Pitbull, Lil Jon and Shaggy, and has some of the top performers and producers in Caribbean music exclusively-signed to its roster.
Fredrick “Freddie” McGregor is a Jamaican singer, musician and record producer. His music career began when he was seven years old.
Nateshia Lindsay, better known by her stage name Ms. Thing, is a Jamaican dancehall vocalist and deejay. She is best known for providing vocals on the international hit song "Dude" by Beenie Man, which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.