Rupee (musician)

Last updated
Rupee
Rupee performing at Mangos, South Beach FL.jpg
I Love Soca 2014 - Mangos, South Beach
Background information
Birth nameRupert Clarke
Also known asRupee
Born (1975-09-10) September 10, 1975 (age 48)
Germany
OriginBarbados
Genres Soca
Occupation(s) Musician, producer, songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active1997–2000 (group)
2000–present (solo)
Labels Independent

Rupert Clarke (born September 10, 1975), best known by his stage name Rupee, is a soca musician from Barbados. [1] [2] He was born in the military barracks in Germany to a German mother and a Bajan father, who was serving in the British Armed Forces at the time. He later migrated to Barbados. He was signed to Atlantic Records.

Contents

Early life

By the age of nine, Rupee had lived in three different countries - Germany, England, and Barbados.

Spending his first years in England, he was exposed to a contrast of sounds which reflected his parents' diverse backgrounds: calypso on the side of his West Indian father, pop and rock and roll from his mother. He and his siblings would often perform on stage, coming up with all sorts of chants, rhymes and antics to tease the audience. Rupee eventually moved to Barbados in 1985. He had his first major break after winning the Richard Stoute Teen Talent Competition in 1993, when he was a schoolboy at Harrison College.

Career

1997–2000: Coalishun

Rupee emerged on the local soca scene after being invited to join the then popular Bajan band, Coalishun, along with singers like Terencia Coward and Adrian Clarke in 1997. Though initially more dancehall oriented, Rupee would find himself settling into the soca genre, a genre indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago. This was marked by the release of his first hit single, "Ice Cream".

2000–present: Solo

"Ice Cream" was followed by a string of hit songs from three self-released solo albums. "Jump", from his first album, won Rupee repeated Road March titles at carnivals in Barbados, New York City, Miami, Boston and Toronto. "Tempted to Touch", from his second album, enjoyed over two years of international club play, spreading to urban and pop radio in Toronto and Miami. It became the catalyst for Rupee’s worldwide deal with Atlantic Records, as well as the first single from his 1 on 1 album released in December 2004. The album itself introduced elements of flamenco and gospel into soca music. [3]

Before deciding to pursue music full-time, Rupee explored other careers. After completing an associate degree in Graphic Arts from the Barbados Community College, he remained in that field for some time, working with two public relations/advertising agencies in Barbados.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Collaborations

Achievements

Apart from dominating the charts in the Caribbean, Rupee has also gone gold in Japan and in most of Europe. Furthermore, "Do the Damn Thing", a bonus track from his album 1 On 1 , recently featured in an episode of the American TV series, Desperate Housewives .

Over the years, Rupee has amassed a number of Party Monarch and Road March titles not only in Barbados, but also at West Indian Carnivals in the United States and Canada. His most popular hits have included "Ice Cream", "Jump" and the internationally released "Tempted to Touch" and "What Happens in de Party".

In 2007, Rupee along with Jamaican Shaggy and Trinidadian Fay-Ann Lyons recorded the official song for the 2007 Cricket World Cup - "The Game of Love and Unity" - written by Rupee. [4]

He has worked with artists such as Rihanna, Shaggy, Thara Prashad, Fay-Ann Lyons, Alison Hinds, Lil' Kim, Daddy Yankee, Wisin & Yandel, Red Rat, Destra Garcia.

In 2011 during the Crop Over festival season, Rupee won the Starcom Network group of radio station's title of "People's Monarch" with his song "I Am a Bajan". [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luny Tunes</span> Dominican reggaeton producers

Luny Tunes are an American reggaeton production duo consisting of Francisco Saldaña (Luny) and Víctor Cabrera (Tunes) who have been known for creating unique musical rhythms for some of the most popular reggaeton artists since the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superblue</span> Trinidad and Tobago musician (born 1956)

Austin Lyons, better known as Superblue, Super Blue and Blueboy, is a Trinidadian calypsonian, soca musician, and lyricist.

Alison Amanda Hinds is a British-born Bajan soca artist and songwriter based in Barbados. She is one of the most revered soca singers in the world. Alison is also known for her contributions to the genre of Soca music. Alison is often referred to as the "Queen of Soca" due to her significant impact on the genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machel Montano</span> Musical artist

Machel Jesus Montano is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and record producer. Known for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances, he is one of the genre's most popular artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yandel</span> Puerto Rican singer

Llandel Veguilla Malavé, known professionally as Yandel, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter and the half-member of the reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel. He released his first solo album, Quien Contra Mí, in 2003. His second solo studio album, De Líder a Leyenda, was released in 2013 and was certified Gold (Latin) by the RIAA in 2014.

The Southern Caribbean is a group of islands that neighbor mainland South America in the West Indies. Saint Lucia lies to the north of the region, Barbados in the east, Trinidad and Tobago at its southernmost point, and Aruba at the most westerly section.

Magnet Man is a singer, songwriter, composer, musician, producer and actor. Sometimes known as "The Man of Many voices" and "Musical Ambassador for Barbados", his music spans a broad range of genres, fusing RnB, Hip-Hop, Ragga, Soca, Soul, Latin, Rock and Pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexy movimiento</span> 2007 single by Wisin & Yandel

"Sexy movimiento" is the first single from Wisin & Yandel's album Wisin vs. Yandel: Los Extraterrestres. In January 2008, the song reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunji Garlin</span> Musical artist

Ian Antonio Alvarez, better known by his stage name Bunji Garlin, is a Trinidadian ragga soca artist. He is also affectionately known as the Viking of Soca. His spouse is Fay-Ann Lyons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypasounds</span> Musical artist

Hypasounds, is a Barbadian male soca artist based in the Caribbean island of Barbados.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaggy (musician)</span> Jamaican reggae musician (born 1968)

Orville Richard Burrell, better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-born reggae musician, singer and deejay who scored hits with the songs "It Wasn't Me", "Boombastic", "In the Summertime", "Oh Carolina", and "Angel". He has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning twice for Best Reggae Album with Boombastic in 1996 and 44/876 with Sting in 2019, and has won the Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fay-Ann Lyons</span> Musical artist

Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and songwriter. She is also known by the stage names Lyon Empress, Mane the Matriarch, and the Silver Surfer, a nickname which she claimed during her performance at the 2008 International Soca Monarch. Personally she's married to Bunji Garlin.

International Soca Monarch is an annual soca music competition/fete event, the finals of which are held on every Carnival Friday in Trinidad and Tobago. Contestants in the event vie for two separate crowns or titles, the International Soca Monarch for uptempo songs, and Groovy Soca Monarch for slower-paced songs. Between 2016 and 2018 a change in format meant that contestants vied for only one award but this one category changed was reversed in 2019. In 2016 an additional award was added, called the People's Choice, then subsequently removed, which involves text message voting by Digicel subscribers. Subscribers could have voted multiple times for their favorite artist during the competition and the artist who received the most votes was given an additional cash prize. The International Soca Monarch competition has become the mecca event for soca artists in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) where the event has been hosted since its inception; and also the rest of the Caribbean region, as many artists who have competed on its stage have moved on to successful soca careers. Dubbed the "Super Bowl of soca music" it is a highly anticipated and well-attended event that has been graced with internationally acclaimed recording artists such as SuperBlue, Machel Montano, Fay Ann Lyons Superblue's daughter and Bunji Garlin's wife, Kevin Lyttle, Rupee and Fay-Ann's husband Bunji Garlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbados–Germany relations</span> Bilateral relations

Barbadian–German relations are foreign relations between Barbados and Germany. Barbados is represented in Germany through its embassy in Brussels, (Belgium) and Germany is represented in Barbados from its regional embassy for the Eastern Caribbean in Port of Spain, and an Honorary Consul in Christ Church. Barbados and Germany formally established diplomatic relations on 14 March 1967.

Square One is a Bajan soca band formed in December 1987. It continued until 2004, when singer Alison Hinds left the group, then re-formed in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Me Digas Que No</span> 2010 single by Enrique Iglesias featuring Wisin & Yandel

"No Me Digas Que No" is a song performed by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias taken from his first bilingual studio album, Euphoria. It was produced by Carlos Paucar and Reggaeton producers Nesty "La Mente Maestra" and Victor "El Nasi". It featured Reggaeton Duó Wisin & Yandel. It was released digitally on 22 June 2010 as the second promotional Spanish single. The song hit the radio stations officially on 19 October 2010. It is the third collaborations between the artists after the remix versions of Lloro Por Tí and Gracias a Ti. The song peaked at number-one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs, becoming Enrique's twenty-second song to peak at number-one on the chart.

Zack Cohen is the CEO of and co-owner of Fox Fuse. Cohen oversees distribution, licensing, bookings and artist management for Fox Fuse. His partner at Fox Fuse is Rhona Fox.

Antilliaanse Feesten is a Caribbean music festival that takes place in every second weekend of August in Hoogstraten, Belgium. It had 38,000 attendees in 2016. The festival was first held in 1983, and has been repeated every year except 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Como Antes</span> 2017 single by Yandel featuring Wisin

"Como Antes" is a single by Puerto Rican singer and songwriter Yandel from his fourth studio album Update. The track features Yandel's longtime duo companion Wisin, being their first song in five years. It was digitally released on September 8, 2017 under Sony Music Latin as the record's third single. A music video directed by Jessy Terrero premiered on September 7, 2017. The song was written by Yandel, Wisin, with producers Tainy, and Jumbo.

References

  1. Artiste profile: Rupee, Billboard.com
  2. Toronto-lime.com via Archive.org
  3. Dwek, Joel (2021-05-10). "BARBADOS: 1 On 1 - Rupee". 200worldalbums.com. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  4. Toronto-Lime.com - Soca Track
  5. Rupee - Barbados' People's Monarch Crowning + Performance, Vid. of Rupee collecting 2011 People's Monarch prize in front of the radio station.