Barrington Levy is a renowned reggae and dancehall singer in Jamaica and beyond. On stage for over 25 years. Author of more than 40 albums published between 1979 and 2021.
For his strong and at the same time gentle voice, he received the nickname "Sweet Canary". He became a pioneer in the creation of the dancehall direction in modern music. It is still the main driving force in the development of the modern dancehall scene.
Dancehall was formed on the basis of reggae. It has a fast paced performance. The style was developed in Jamaica in the 80s of the last century.
Youth of the performer. The beginning of Barrington Levy's career
The singer was born on April 30, 1964 in Jamaica (Kingston). Has African roots. Later, the artist's family moved to the south of the island. The first creative experiments of Barrington Levy took place here, in the Claredon region. The performer tried a variety of musical styles, tried to create something of his own.
A great influence on the work of Barrington Levy was made by performers of African American and Afro-Jamaican origin. First of all, it was Dennis Brown and Michael Jackson with their "Jackson 5". In general, at an early stage of his work, the singer was very fond of American blues and this had a noticeable influence on his early hits.
Levy's first stage experience was early. At the age of 14, the singer entered the stage as part of his uncle's Everton Dacres band. The first of his tracks "My Black Girl", together with another Jamaican artist Mighty Multitude, the singer recorded in 1975. Some of Levy's early writings found their way to the United States and England. One such song, "Collie Weed", soon became a hit.
Famous works of those years are associated with the collaboration between the artist and the Jah Guidance studio. Junjo Laws then acted as the singer's producer. Examples of works from this period include "Mind Your Mouth" and "Twenty-One Girls Salute".
The producer immediately saw the potential of Barrington Levy. Junjo Laws helped with the release of the first studio album (1979): Bounty Hunter. This mega-hit was recorded at the famous Channel One studio.
The heyday of Barrington Levy's career
The turning point in the work of Barrington Levy fell on the time of cooperation with the Channel One studio and the Roots Radics group. The first fruit of this symbiosis was "A Yah We Deh", included in the author's debut album. These hits were already released with a focus on the North American market. The subsequent album "Englishman" (with the support of the Greensleeves studio) made Levy a reggae star of the 80s.
The performer did not remain without the support of his producer Junjo Laws. So came the new mega-hit "Robin Hood" (1980).
Three years later, the singer goes to a major music festival in the UK. His song "Under Mi Sensi" performed there stayed at the top of the ratings of English music channels for more than three months. In the future, the hit received recognition in the United States. It became the basis for the artist's creativity in the direction of creating the dancehall style.
New track "Under Mi Sleng Teng", written by Levy, performed by Wayne Smith, was released in 1985. The fruit of joint creativity was very popular among fans of the musical direction.
In the 80s, Barrington not only recorded his albums in the States, but also toured extensively. His performance at London's elite 100 Club delighted the public. No one had heard such a voice before.
An interesting fact from the biography of the artist: according to Levy, he owes his unique voice to experimenting with rhymes in the highlands of southern Jamaica.
In 1984, together with his producer, the performer recorded the famous "Money Move" - one of the best dancehall albums of all time. The production experience for Levy was successful. An example is the song "Deep In The Dark", already promoted under the singer's own label.
In total, in the period from 1980 to 1990, 16 albums of the author were released and each of them expected success.
The work of Barrington Levy in the 90s and success in the XNUMXs
The track "Divine", released in 1991, marked Levy's success in the new decade. Later, an album of the same name was released (1994). In total, from 1990 to 2000 Barrington created 12 studio albums.
In the summer of 1994, there was an abnormal heat wave and an explosion in the popularity of such a direction of reggae as Jungle. The rhythms of this style could be heard everywhere, from Jamaica to the United States and Latin America.
During this period, a new hit from Levy was released: “Under Mi Sensi” (the song itself was created earlier, we are talking about its Jung version, remix). During his long career, Barrington Levy has worked with a number of well-known artists, including Papa San, Snoop Doggy Dogg and many others.
Our days
Levy continues to take the stage, being the king of the dancehall and an example for young performers. Perhaps this person can be put on a par with such reggae geniuses as Bob Marley. In February 2021, the artist's fresh song "Hey Girl" was announced.
Barrington Levy rightfully belongs to the top class performers, his name is forever inscribed in the history of world music.
