Luciano

Born October 20, 1964 in Davyton, part of Jamaica's rural Manchester parish, reggae royalty, "Rasta renaissance" trailblazer, and marijuana activist Jepther McClymont OD (born 20 October 1964) began his musical trajectory singing in his local church choir and was taught guitar by his father. He christened the arrival of his stage name Luciano in 1992 with his first single, "Ebony & Ivory", which was released via Aquarius Records. Bringing together dancehall and roots reggae, the celebrated singer scored his first Jamaican hit in 1993, "Give My Love a Try", and his first UK reggae hit followed shortly after, "Shake It Up Tonight". He kicked off the start of a fruitful working relationship with the producer Philip "Fatis" Burrell on his debut album (1993's Moving Up), which didn't quite make the entrance he had anticipated but paved the way for album number two. Released in 1994 on prestigious label VP Records, One Way Ticket was a coup for the '90s "Rasta Renaissance" scene, a dancehall movement that leaned on Rastafari consciousness, and spawned homegrown hits including the track title. Another album arrived in 1995, After All, with Luciano signing to Island for Where There Is Life, which yielded several hits including "It's Me Again Jah". Conceiving his spiritual persona "The Messenger", he released a second album for Island Jamaica under that name in 1997 and marked the '00s and 10s with a steady stream of albums, including 2001's A New Day for VP Records, which earned him a nomination for Best Reggae Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards. In 2007, he was awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer in recognition of his contribution to reggae music. He scored another Grammy nomination in 2016 for 2014 LP Zion Awake. 2020 saw the release of album The Answer.

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