Luciano | |
|---|---|
 Luciano in concert at Reggae Geel 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jepther McClymont |
| Also known as | The Messenger, Jah Messenger |
| Born | 20 October 1964 Davyton, Jamaica |
| Genres | Reggae, roots reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | RAS, Xterminator, VP |
| Website | www |
Jepther McClymont OD (born 20 October 1964), [1] better known as Luciano, is a Jamaican second-generation roots reggae singer.
Born in Davyton, Manchester Parish, and raised as the seventh of nine children in a strict Adventist family, Luciano began recording in 1992, with his first single "Ebony & Ivory" (on which he was credited as 'Stepper John') on the Aquarius Record label, followed by a split album with DJ Presley (now credited as 'Luciana') for producer Sky High. [1] His first releases as Luciano included the hit single "Give My Love a Try", produced at Castro Brown's New Name Studio, followed by others produced by Brown, Freddie McGregor, Blacka Dread, and Sly and Robbie, including the 1993 no. 1 UK reggae hit "Shake It Up Tonight". [1] [2]
He started working with Philip "Fatis" Burrell, releasing the singles "Chant Out" and "Poor and Simple", with the album Moving Up following in late 1993. [1] In 1994 he cut singles for Musclehead and Louie Culture before returning to work with Burrell for a series of successful singles and the album One Way Ticket, which saw Luciano at the forefront of the "Rasta Renaissance" in dancehall music. [1] [3] The renewal of Rastafarian influence into dancehall music in the early 1990s had begun with artists such as Tony Rebel and Garnett Silk. After Silk's death in late 1994, many looked to Luciano to continue consciousness in reggae music. Of Garnett Silk, he stated "Garnett was more like a brother, a father, a tutor, a forerunner. When he moved on I knew the work for me became harder still." [4]
The following year brought the smash hit album Where There Is Life for Chris Blackwell's label Island Jamaica. It contained such hits as "It's Me Again Jah" (a no. 1 single in Jamaica), "Who Could It Be", as well as the title track. [1] He recorded a second album for Island Jamaica in 1996 entitled Messenger (largely compiled from his hit singles), whose title track earned him his enduring nickname. [5]
The majority of his recording in the mid-to-late 1990s was for Burrell and the Xterminator label, which by that time included such artists as Sizzla, Mikey General and Firehouse Crew, [3] as well as recordings from Capleton and Cocoa Tea. Along with the work on the two albums for Island Jamaica, the majority of Luciano hits produced by Burrell were featured on 1999's Sweep Over My Soul. Burrell and Luciano parted ways in 1999. [6]
By 2001, Luciano had released two live albums as well as two compilation albums alongside Sizzla and Anthony B after the split with Xterminator. That year saw the release of two new albums of material, Great Controversy on Jet Star and A New Day on VP Records. The latter received a nomination for Best Reggae Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards, and was executive produced by longtime saxophonist and touring partner Dean Fraser. The album received additional production from Sly & Robbie and was backed by Fraser and the Firehouse Crew. [7]
Fraser continued to produce many of Luciano's albums throughout the decade, including 2008's Jah Is My Navigator. In 2010, he released United States of Africa. While the previous album had focused mostly on God, Africa dealt with global events. Of this, Luciano stated, "We're not just singing about Zion and all those glorious dreams. We're also dealing with issues that affect the people, their very minds." [8]
He was awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer on 15 October 2007, in recognition of his contribution to reggae music. [9]
In July 2009, Luciano paid his respects to fellow musician Michael Jackson by releasing a reggae tribute (on Lioni Records) of Jackson's iconic USA for Africa charity song, "We are the World".
Luciano's album Zion Awake was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.
In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Luciano at number 143 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. [10]
Luciano is a devout Rastafarian, whose lyrics promote consciousness and eschew slackness, or vulgarity, which is often prominent in reggae and dancehall music. He has criticized other Rastafarian reggae artists who record slackness material, describing them as having lost focus. [11] The singer is known for reading Biblical verses prior to performances. [11]
The singer is also an activist in the promotion of ganja, or marijuana, stating: "I'm not fighting for the decriminalisation of ganja, because it was never a criminal. My fight is to enlighten the people of the cannabis and let them know of the herbal properties and the benefits we can achieve from it." [11]
In 2010, Luciano was reportedly given a tract of land for residence in the Gambia at the bequest of President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh. [12] The singer first performed in the country in 2001, [7] and has stated his preference for eventually residing in Africa. [8]
On 27 February 2016, Luciano's son Menelik McClymont was stabbed to death at the age of 19, in the vicinity of Parkington Plaza on Half-Way-Tree Road, St Andrew, Jamaica. He died of his wounds in hospital on 28 February. [13]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee/work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 44th Annual Grammy Awards | Best Reggae Album | A New Day | Nominated | [14] |
| 2016 | 58th Annual Grammy Awards | Best Reggae Album | Zion Awake | Nominated | [14] |
Mark Anthony Myrie, known professionally as Buju Banton, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall musician. He is one of the most significant and well-regarded artists in Jamaican music. Banton has collaborated with many international artists, including those in the hip hop, Latin and punk rock genres, as well as the sons of Bob Marley.
Barrington Ainsworth Levy is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist.
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honouring of God, called Jah by Rastafarians. It is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include spirituality and religion, struggles by artists, poverty, black pride, social issues, resistance to fascism, capitalism, corrupt government and racial oppression. A spiritual repatriation to Africa is a common theme in roots reggae.
Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer, producer and sound-system operator.
Ini Kamoze is a Jamaican reggae artist who began his career in the early 1980s and rose to prominence in 1994 with the signature song "Here Comes the Hotstepper". The single topped the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as record charts in Denmark and New Zealand, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart.
Miguel Orlando Collins, known by his stage name Sizzla Kalonji or Sizzla, is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is noted for his high number of releases. As of 2018 he has released 56 solo albums.
Bobby Dixon, known as Bobby Digital, was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall producer. He was given his nickname "Bobby Digital" because King Jammy, with whom he worked in the mid-1980s, had begun experimenting with digital rhythms at around the same time. He owned the Digital B label, and among the artists with hits on the label are Shabba Ranks and Sizzla. He has influenced reggae artists such as Admiral Tibet.
Keith Blair, better known by the stage name Anthony B, is a Jamaican DJ and member of the Rastafari movement.
Garnet Silk was a Jamaican reggae musician and Rastafarian, known for his diverse, emotive, powerful and smooth voice. During the early 1990s he was hailed as a rising talent, however his career was ended by his early death in 1994, while attempting to save his mother from her burning house.
Jah Cure, or Iyah Cure is a Jamaican reggae musician. Raised in Kingston, he was given the name Jah Cure by Capleton.
Stop Murder Music is a campaign to oppose Caribbean artists who produce music with lyrics alleged to glorify murder of homosexual men. The campaign was mainly against Jamaican musicians, primarily dancehall and reggae artists such as Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, and the Bobo Ashanti Rastafarians Sizzla and Capleton.
Vivienne Tanya Stephenson, known by her stage name Tanya Stephens, is a Jamaican reggae singer and deejay who emerged in the late 1990s. She is most known for her hits "Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet" — later featured on the Reggae Gold 1997 compilation album — and "It's a Pity", for which Stephens achieved international recognition. She and business partner Andrew Henton have together co-founded Tarantula Records.
Royal Son of Ethiopia is reggae singer Sizzla's sixth studio album, released on Greensleeves on June 22, 1999. As on his previous record, Freedom Cry, fellow conscious reggae singer Jepther McClymont, alias Luciano, is featured on one track, this time on "In this Time". The songs are written by Miguel Collins, alias Sizzla, and voiced over riddims provided by Philipp "Fattis" Burell of Xterminator, Lowell "Sly" Dunbar and Donald Dennis.
Richard "Bello" Bell is a Jamaican record producer and label-owner who launched the Star Trail label in around 1989 along with Garnet Dalley. He began by producing artists such as Beres Hammond and Hugh Griffith, but had his greatest successes in 1992 with Garnett Silk's "Hello Africa", Yami Bolo's "Non-stop Loving", and other successful singles by Leroy Smart and General Degree. Bell has also worked with leading dancehall artists including Capleton, Sizzla, and Anthony B, with whom he had a long and successful relationship between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, and long-established singers such as Gregory Isaacs, Mykal Rose, and Everton Blender.
Robert Ffrench is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer.
Jeneile Osborne, better known as Queen Omega, is a reggae singer born in Trinidad.
Warrior King was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 27 July 1979. He is a Jamaican reggae singer known within the Caribbean and internationally for his music that is focused on messages about education and uplifting women. Some of Warrior King's best known hits include "Virtuous Woman" (2001), "Hold Da Faith" (2005), "My Life" (2005), "Can't Get Me Down" (2005) and "Wanna Give You Love" (2009). "Never Go Where Pagans Go"(2002).
Kemar McGregor, also known by his nicknames, DJ Flava and Flava McGregor, is a Jamaican-American pop reggae producer. He has recorded and produced music for the most renowned artists in the music industry, including Sinéad O'Connor, Musiq Soulchild, Syleena Johnson, Snoop Dogg/Snoop Lion, Jon Secada, Maxi Priest, Sizzla, Marcia Griffiths, Beenie Man, Wayne Wonder, Buju Banton, Capleton, Sanchez, Freddie McGregor, Luciano, Sugar Minott, Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, Morgan Heritage, Half Pint, Tanya Stephens, Gyptian, Cas Haley, Beres Hammond, Glen Washington, Etana and Cocoa Tea, among many others. McGregor is the owner and chief executive officer of FM Records.
Black Scorpio is a Jamaican sound system and record label run by Maurice "Jack Scorpio" Johnson.
Delroy Isaac Foster, better known as Delly Ranx, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay and record producer.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
