Luciano (singer)
Luciano | |
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Website | www |
Jepther McClymont OD (born 20 October 1964),[1] better known as Luciano, is a Jamaican second-generation roots reggae singer.
Career
Born in Davyton,
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
By 2001, Luciano had released two live albums as well as two compilation albums alongside Sizzla and
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
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]
Beliefs
Luciano is a devout
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]
Personal life
In 2010, Luciano was reportedly given a tract of land for residence in the
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]
Awards and nominations
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] |
Discography
Studio albums
- Moving Up (1993)
- One Way Ticket (1994)
- After All (1995)
- Where There Is Life (1995)
- Messenger (1996)
- Sweep Over My Soul (1999)
- A New Day (2001)
- Great Controversy (2001)
- Serve Jah (2003)
- Visions (2003)
- Tell It from the Heart (2003)
- Serious Times (2004)
- Jah Words (2005)
- Gideon (2005)
- Child of a King (2006)
- God Is Greater than Man (2007)
- Jah Is My Navigator (2008)
- United States of Africa (2010)
- Write My Name (2010)
- Rub-A-Dub Market (2011)
- The Qabalah Man (2013)
- Zion Awake (2014)
- Embrace Your Failures (2017)
- In The Name of Love (2019)
- The Answer (2020)
Live albums
- Live (2000)
References
- ^ ISBN 0-87930-655-6, pp. 157–158.
- ^ Luciano gets started Archived 24 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Jamaica Star, 11 October 2004. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
- ^ a b Campbell, Howard. Luciano charts New territory Archived 7 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Jamaica Gleaner, 18 March 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
- ISBN 1-56639-629-8.
- ^ Luciano to speak at International Men's Day function Archived 13 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Jamaica Gleaner. 19 November 2001. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
- ^ Van Pelt, Carter. Luciano Interview. inetnebr.com. 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ a b Moody, Shelah. Spotlight On Luciano Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Reggae Review. 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
- ^ a b Taylor, Angus (7 September 2010). "Interview: Luciano". UnitedReggae.com. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
- ^ [1] Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ a b c Williams, Leighton. Luciano defends ganja, serves Jah Archived 7 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Jamaica Gleaner. 6 April 2003.
- ^ Luciano gets house and land in Gambia. Dancehallreggaeworld.com. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ "Luciano's son killed in Kingston – Entertainment". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
- ^ a b "GRAMMY Award Results for Luciano". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 9 September 2020.