Cham, Wayne Marshall, Christopher Ellis, Jo Mersa, Black-Am-I
The Hamilton
04/11/2015 08:00 PM EDT
$15.00 - $20.00
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Cham
Cham (born Damian Beckett on February 24, 1979) is a Grammy Award-nominated Jamaican recording artist, most well known for his 2006 single "Ghetto Story" from his major label debut album of the same name, a song which led to multiple "story" songs by other artists in a similar vein.[1] He is currently signed to Atlantic Records, and was previously known as Baby Cham, until 2005. He is still called "Baby Cham" by his Jamaican fans and fans from around the world.
The Miami New Times referred to Cham's 2000 debut album Wow... The Story as "the most anticipated album in years from any reggae artist."
Throughout his career, Cham has collaborated with many hip-hop and R&B artists such as Foxy Brown, Alicia Keys, Carl Thomas, Shawn Mims, Akon, and T-Pain.
Wayne Marshall
Taking reggae and dancehall to the world. New single I KNOW. Tru Colors album coming soon. Ghetto Youths International
Christopher Ellis
CHRISTOPHER LAMOUR ELLIS was born the youngest male progeny to "The Godfather of Jamaican Rocksteady", the late ALTON ELLIS. Talented in his own right, the soulful 28 year-old Roots Reggae, R&B crooner has been astounding audiences with his incredibly natural, smooth vocal stylings since the age of 11. The Jamaica Gleaner notes, "His look and sound closely mirror those of his dad, he has beyond a doubt inherited the soulful vocals of his father."
Born on March 12, 1982 in London, England, CHRISTOPHER ELLIS frequently performed with his legendary father on world tours, leaving lasting impressions on international audiences across the globe, including in the territories of : Jamaica, New York City , Italy, Germany, London, Spain and Canada, to name but a few. But, it wasn't until the fledgling songbird was about 14 years old that he started to realize how groundbreaking his father's legacy was, what his father meant to the country of Jamaica and the enormous influence that his father had on the development of the reggae and dancehall music genres.
Christopher humbly comments, "I feel privileged to have this great man as my father, to be involved with and learn from such a great man is completely an honour for me." The talented singer-songwriter looks at the time that he spent touring with his famous father as a period of learning. Christopher reminisces, "For me, singing with my father was more like schooling; it prepared me immensely for my own career." During his learning curve years, Ellis found himself perfecting his song writing talents and passion for music by performing regularly at venues such as the Jazz Café near his home in London, England.
On October 11, 2008, ALTON ELLIS passed away in London, England. About six days before, the reggae legend handed his musical torch to his youngest son. Ellis confides, "Dad said to me, 'Christopher, you need to take it up', and him saying that ignited a fire deep inside of me." 24 hours after Christopher painfully witnessed the passing of his father, he went into a studio in London and recorded a tribute song to his father, the recording would later be released on the 2009 'Old School Young Blood' reggae dancehall compilation through the U.K. based Peckings Records, which also featured the track 'Young Hearts' by Tarrus Riley.
On October 27, 2008, CHRISTOPHER ELLIS and his family arrived in Jamaica to bury and attend their beloved Alton Ellis' funeral. During the service, dancehall artist Lincoln Barrington Minott a.k.a. the late 'SUGAR MINOTT' paid tribute to Alton Ellis by singing over his grave. After the service, Minott invited Christopher to record music with him at his studio. Christopher accepted the invitation and extended his stay to remain in Jamaica. During that time, Christopher went to Minott's studio every day for six months, and ended up recording a few unreleased songs. The versatile singer notes, "What transpired in Sugar Minott's studio over that period of time was sensational and healing; a building block of inspiration which acted as a catalyst for my debut album."
During his time in Jamaica, Ellis also took the opportunity to perform a few shows including the 2008 Waterfront New Year's Eve show, Rebel Salute 2009 and the November 2009 Stars R Us Vintage Stage show which was a celebration of Alton Ellis's life and career. The tender-aged Ellis presented a show stopping performance that left the audience and local journalist's awestruck. The Jamaica Gleaner commented, "Christopher Ellis, one of Alton's youngest children and who has been entrusted with carrying on his father's legacy as a pioneer in Jamaican music, stole the show."
Though coping with his father's death, CHRISTOPHER ELLIS was finding himself in a good place. Sources of energy such as leaning on his mother and siblings, was helping him to get through this heartbreaking time in his life. His musical inspirations also continued as he absorbed the organic surroundings of Jamaica. Christopher recalls a day that his brother's childhood friend named Rohan 'Koolie' Smith approached him about going to Hope Road to meet STEPHEN MARLEY. Ellis notes, "Koolie is a close friend to Bob Marley's son, Stephen Marley and had been trying for over three years to set up a time for me to meet Stephen." Koolie finally made the introduction, and at that fateful meeting on Hope Road, Christopher sang A Capella for the iconic reggae producer. Two days later, STEPHEN MARLEY invited Christopher to join him at King Jammy's studio in Jamaica. The studio session resulted in Marley recording Christopher Ellis' first single entitled, 'End of Time', a moving, soul stirring track featuring beautiful vocal works by STEPHEN MARLEY, CHRISTOPHER ELLIS and JAH CURE, inspired by Alton Ellis' rendition of 'You Made Me So Happy'.
The magnificent opportunity of working with STEPHEN MARLEY and the Marley Family has continued in Miami where Ellis has spent quality time working in the studio on material that is being helmed and produced by the 5-time Grammy award winning artist and mega-producer. "I feel so incredibly Blessed to be working on my debut album with Stephen Marley for the Ghetto Youths Records family," Ellis says with emotion. To date, Ellis has recorded two singles, including the aforementioned 'End of Time' and a rendition of Alton Ellis' song entitled, 'Willow Tree', a sweetly seductive lover's ballad that showcases Christopher Ellis' versatile musicality. Both singles have an anticipated 2010 / 2011 release on Marley's own Ghetto Youths International, Inc. record label, with a 2010 video launch for 'Willow Tree' that will mark Christopher Ellis' international debut. "Music is my passion, and though Reggae/Rocksteady is where I was born, I just want to make music! and I very much look forward to making music of all genres, for people all over the world."
In addition to working on his debut album, Christopher has taken time out in 2010 to perform shows across Europe including the territories of Italy, Sweden and England. In the early summer of 2010, Ellis joined Stephen Marley on stage in Negril, Jamaica to sing his upcoming single 'End of Time', and has continued to be a regular on the scene in his home town of London, England. In the fall and winter of 2010, fans can anticipate CHRISTOPHER ELLIS to continue to perform world-wide, including confirmed appearances in Europe and the United States beginning October 2010.
While the legacy of reggae legend ALTON ELLIS has been passed on to his son Christopher, the youngest Ellis proves that his mellow, R&B influenced vocals and soulful , thought provoking lyrics will continue to help pave his own musical path. With the guidance from Bob Marley's son STEPHEN MARLEY, this burgeoning solo artist is on a mission to reinvent music and make his own legendary mark.
"I simply love to perform live," says Christopher. "If I can add one small credit to my father's existing legacy I'd be happy with that. These are exciting times, and I'm going to give my music and my supporters everything I've got."
Jo Mersa
As the eldest son of Stephen Marley and grandson of Bob Marley, Joseph "Jo Mersa" Marley grew up surrounded by music. By the time he was four years old, Jo was appearing onstage alongside his father, his uncle Ziggy and aunts Cedella and Sharon (a.k.a. Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers) and their children as part of the group's rousing concert finales with Jo often taking the mic and chanting the lyrics to the Melody Makers' biggest songs, much to the delight of their audiences. Born in Kingston, Jamaica on March 12, 1991, Jo moved to Miami at age 11 where he keenly observed his father and his uncle Damian as they created music in Stephen's Lion's Den studio. Back then school was the priority for Jo; traveling with Ziggy and the Melody Makers was reserved for school breaks and summer vacations, yet those experiences provided first hand opportunities for Jo to expand his musical aspirations beyond the performance stage.
"I started making beats with MPCs (MIDI Production Center or Music Production Controller, a popular electronic musical instrument series) when I was about 11 but I wouldn't save them properly," Jo recalled in an interview in his father's Miami studio. "Then when I was around 12 my cousins and I went on the Melody Makers' Roots Rock tour. Uncle Ziggy bought my cousins an Apple laptop and we used the Garage Band software and made our beats on it; we recorded from the microphone, put on our headphones and that became our studio for a good three years. That is when my song writing started to get more focused and it even made my writing in school better because I started to take my words more seriously."
The seriousness of Jo's words is affirmed by the five tracks featured on his debut EP "Comfortable" due in Spring 2014 on the Marley family's imprint Ghetto Youths International (GYI). Spanning pop, hip hop, EDM and dancehall influences, the "Comfortable" EP showcases deft lyrical skills, ranging from Jo's speed deejaying recounting of experiences with insincere women on "Bogus" (gimme the real woman who nah bogus through the last name they run down Joseph) produced by his uncle Damian Marley, to his cleverly-rhymed detailing of a budding relationship contrasted by his sweetly sung hook on the title track.
Originally released in February 2013 on the GYI compilation "Set Up Shop Volume 1", which topped the Billboard Reggae Album chart, the sleek electro-dancehall hybrid "Comfortable" and its accompanying video generated a strong response among music fans so it was chosen as the title track for Jo's EP. Comfortable is also an apt description of Jo's approach to music making. "We talked about it as a team, me, my father and my uncle Damian and "Comfortable" was just the most fitting name; the word works on many levels: I am just getting comfortable enough to give you a peace of my mind, comfortable enough so that I can open up and share my views, my thoughts and my heart," Jo explained.
Like his father and grandfather, Joseph Marley is an avid football (soccer) player; he received his nickname Jo Mersa from famed Jamaican footballer Alan "Skill" Cole, a close friend of his grandfather. Joseph's competitive football playing technique suggested to Skill the determination of a boxer in a ring so he started calling him Joe Mercer, referring to the UK boxer, and the nickname stuck.
Jo also inherited his father and grandfather's abundant musical talent and he has been greatly influenced by their accomplishments but the decision to pursue a career as an artist was completely his own. "My father left it up to me; when I grew up it was my choice which way I wanted to go. And from there he said ok, if that's what you want to do, let's see how motivated you are."
A month prior to his 19th birthday, Jo's first single "My Girl", which he wrote when he was 14, was released on GYI featuring his cousin Daniel "Bambaata" Marley, Ziggy's eldest son. Jo's first solo effort "Bad So", followed in November 2011. A dancehall/club jam, "Bad So" demonstrated his skillful deejay delivery coupled with humorous lyrical detail reminiscent of the iconic dancehall artists who have also had a profound impact on Jo's artistic development, which can be heard throughout the "Comfortable" EP. "Shabba Ranks, Professor Nuts, Ninja Man, Admiral Bailey, Papa San, Super Cat, Spragga Benz, Cocoa Tea, Sizzla Kalongi, and so many other artists who came from the time when I was born, I used to sing back their music not knowing what they were talking about. I heard the melody, the word play, the rhymes before I started preeing (understanding) the lyrics deep and what they were saying," Jo revealed. "So there is a lot of my personal experience in these love songs on "Comfortable", how I view a lot of things with young women, telling stories, just like how dancehall was back in the day." On the club friendly track "Perfect 10" featuring Jemere Morgan (son of Gramps Morgan of the Jamaican-American reggae band Morgan Heritage), which Jo describes as a love story with a rude boy twist, his irresistibly witty flow presents the cure for his love interest's broken heart: "the baldhead boy that likes to shine his head with Amaral made you sick of love so let me be your Panadol". In the pursuit of exclusivity with a young lady on "All To Me", Jo turns up the dancehall heat, offering a rapid-fire succession of compliments reminiscent of the comedic brilliance of the legendary Jamaican deejay Professor Nuts: "What is your secret? Mi know you no thief it, what a piece a body gal, me love how you keep it/wonder what your mother regularly a feed it?"
Jo came up with the melodic hook to "Sunshine" while singing to his baby sister Mia in an attempt to stop her crying. A detailed statement of intention towards the woman who continually brightens his life, Jo describes the song as the EP's most intimate, as he nimbly rhymes over a bubbling dancehall rhythm embellished by gentle guitar strands: "you make me sing how you well comfortable, we go together like the bass and the treble/our lifestyle nah miserable so what's next, the baby and the cradle?"
Each of the EP's riddims (except for "Bogus") were created by Jo, working alongside his father's keyboard player Llamar "Riff Raff" Brown, with Stephen Marley handling the final productions. "From day one I have been hands on with my music but more of my hand is in my projects now because I have come a far way from where I started," Jo reflected. "Riff Raff and I have a chemistry; if I hear something in my head, I tell him and he can play it back and add a little spice to it. We built the riddims but my father produced and finalized everything, he has magic ears, he knows if a track has too much of this or not enough of that or if it needs something else."
Jo will perform the entire "Comfortable" EP as the opening act on Stephen Marley's Revelation Part II "The Fruit of Life" tour, which commences in April in St. Petersburg, Florida. As Jo career progresses, he looks forward to making his mark as an individual artist while continuing the Marley musical legacy. "My father calls my grandfather a magician because he was the only man who could bring peace to his country (during Jamaica's deadly political skirmishes of the 1970s) and that's a lot of power, influence, it's magic, but I don't let it get to my head," Jo declares. "He made a big step for Jamaican music and it is time for me to add my works to it, to build on it. I am just getting started; I am just getting Comfortable."
Black-Am-I
One of the newest recruits to the Ghetto Youths International ranks, the culturally inclined reggae singjay Black Am I has already distinguished himself as a powerful voice of Jamaican music's next generation. While he may be fresh to the music business,
Black Am I has got ambition aplenty—and the talent and integrity to back it up. If you don't know his name yet, then it's time to get familiar.
In this time, when some of the most fundamental tenets of reggae culture seem to have fallen by the wayside, Black Am I replenishes the great traditions of self?determination, equal rights, and celebration of one's African identity through hard?hitting yet
conscious lyrics. Backed by fresh sounds that blend classical roots reggae with contemporary dancehall energy, the young artist is poised to spark a revolution in the minds and hearts of music lovers worldwide.
Born in the rural village of Nine Mile, situated in the hills of the Jamaican parish of St.Ann, Black Am I knew that he was blessed with the gift of music. "Growing up in Nine Mile reggae was a part of me," Black Am I explains. His father chose to call him I?Nesta, out of respect for Nine Mile's most famous son, Robert Nesta Marley. Sometimes a name carries the seeds of destiny—in keeping with the Rastafarian concept of word,sound, and power—so it came as no surprise somehow when Black Am I was inspired to sing. "Music we say," Black Am I affirms. "I love the thing for a long time. I just want to see it reach to a level." But the level he's aiming for isn't just the usual "next level" cliché
of searching for any form of success by any means necessary. Instead, Black Am I holds himself to a higherstandard. "I feel like I'm responsible to bring back roots reggae," the young singer says without hesitation. "Cause the thing get watered down." From an
early age—long before he had access to a recording studio—Black Am I began writing his own songs. Right now all I need is a producer, he told himself.
So when Damian "Junior Gong" Marley was visiting Nine Mile one day, he recognized the opportunity. "I approach him and say, 'I am the artist in the place you know," Black Am I recalls. Always willing and able to support fresh talent, Junior Gong asked him to
sing something. "The first time I met up with Black Am I in Nine Mile," Junior Gong says with a smile, "I told him that he needed some more pratice." But Black Am I was far from discouraged—quite the contrary. "I was never disappointed," he says, "cause practice is perfection. So I just went for it." Rising to meet the challenge, Black Am I diligently put in the required work, and made sure he was ready the next time Junior
Gong visited Nine Mile. The occasion happened to be a celebration of the Ethopian Christmas on the 7th of January. "Gong was in the place again, and a celebration was in the air," Black Am I remembers. "After the gathering he was walking back to his father's place. And I just started to sing." The memory remains fresh for Damian Marley. "He just came up beside me and started sing: If you don't wanna be misled, I tell you Ras up and come. He did this whole tune and I said, Wait! Who's this?" Something about the voice seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place it. That's when Black Am I reminded him. "You don't remember me? The same one you meet a year ago—you told me to
practice." Impressed by the youth's talent, Junior Gong invited him to a formal audition at Tuff Gong studios in Kingston. "I did not even know Tuff Gong at that time," recalls the singer, who was then still known as Nesta. "I came to Hope Road to the demo studio. Some tracks were playing and we voiced on them." That initial session would prove to be fateful for more reasons than one. The first song he recorded that day went like this: "Black am I, why should I stray? /Sticking to my roots and culture and so me ah go stay. / Black am I, like who must I say?
/ Martin Luther King and Marcus Garvey." That powerful lyric had an immediate and lasting impact on all who heard it, and on the artist himself. "People never knew my name at the time," the artist recalls. "So everybody was calling me 'Black Am I.'" Soon
thereafter Junior Gong made it official, telling him "that's the name we're working with."
Since that time, the artist formerly known as I?Nesta has come to appreciate thesignificance of his powerful new name, his consciousness expanding to fulfill the potential implied by the title. "Being Black Am I, now I just represent for 'I and I' roots and culture," And we burn bleaching. We are African—there's no denying that. So that is why we have to just accept our name and say: This is the job we've got to do. Nothing has changed. Rastafari come from the root—Africa. The Lion of Judah shall never break him promise." Junior Gong has invested significant time and effort on artist development, and has noticed a rapid evolution of the young singer. "When we start work with Black Am I, it
was just really natural talent and love of music coming through," he says. "Since that time, he's started to get more calculated." "With Damian Marley I become a workaholic," says the artist, who has put down tracks like "Dwelling", "People Kill People" on King Jammy's General Riddim and the thought provoking"Modern Day Freedom," which raises timely questions about life within a 21st century system of economic dependency. "How can we free ourselves?" the artist ponders. "We have to put our shoulder to the wheel. No more complaining. Work to be done. I myself call pon every Jamaica right now. Stand up for your right. Get up, stand up. Sitting down too long right now. You know what I mean? It's game time. Training. Practice. Perfection—straight. Moving forward Black Am I continues to record and tour with Ghetto Youths International, moving toward his goal of being a voice for the voiceless. "Who have ears to hear, let them hear," he says. "I do music from my heart. I express myself in a way that I feel like the world want to express themselves. Because," he says, closing with a line from the book of Marley, "there are so much things to say right now."
- See more at: http://www.jamaicansmusic.com/artists/profile/Black-Am-I#sthash.W2vvCuWv.dpuf
Venue Information
The Hamilton
600 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20005
http://www.thehamiltondc.com