LiveOne
Remaining true to the spirituality and social conscience of roots reggae, Anthony B has been a righteous star of Jamaican music since the 1990s, releasing more than 25 albums and working with superstars including Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly and Wyclef Jean. Born Keith Anthony Blair in rural Clark's Town, Trelawney, he grew up singing in church choirs and performing with the Shaggy Hi-Power soundsystem, studying to be an accountant before heading to Kingston at the age of 16 to pursue a life in music. Following the same teachings of the Bobo Ashanti form of Rastafarianism that inspired Peter Tosh, Anthony B first collaborated with Little Devon and was discovered by producer Richard Bello and signed to Star Trail Records for the early hits 'Repentance Time', 'Fire Pon Rome' and 'One Thing'. He became part of a new generation of Jamaican stars in the 1990s that included Sizzla, Shabba Ranks and Beenie Man, but Anthony B turned away from the guns, girls and glitz-type bravado of his peers and instead applied chants and Biblical positivity to dancehall rhythms and was recognisable for wearing robes and tying his dreadlocked hair in a head scarf. His albums 'Universal Struggle' and 'Street Knowledge' also addressed social injustice and continued the legacy of Bob Marley. In 2002 he started his own Born Fire Records label and teamed up with Sizzla for the collaborative records 'Too Strong' and 'Three Wise Men'. He subsequently toured across Europe, India, America and various African countries including Senegal and Gambia with his albums including 'Untouchable' in 2004, 'Black Star' in 2005 and 'Life Over Death' in 2009. Moving to Austria, he released 'Freedom Fighter' for the Irievibrations label in 2012, covered songs by Ray Charles, John Lennon, Ini Kamoze and other artists who had inspired him on 'Tribute to Legends' in 2013 and mixed ragga howls with EDM beats on his 2015 track 'Traits of a Chieftain' from his album 'Tears of Luv'.
Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.
