#6 - MAN OF GOD [The Great Luciano] - DJ Chilly Barbados

Singer/songwriter, musician and producer, Jepther Washington McClymont has reigned as the king of “conscious” reggae music for over 2 decades. Born in Davyton in the parish of Mandeville, Jamaica, Luciano was influenced by reggae icons such as Bob Marley and Dennis Brown. As a youth he was heavily drawn to the positive message of the “one love movement”. Dubbed Luciano in comparison to the all-powerful vocals of opera legend Luciano Pavarotti, his voice resonates with impeccable inflection, tone, range and pitch. In the early part of 1993, Luciano The Messenjah collaborated with reggae ambassador Freddie McGregor on his “Big Ship Music” label resulting in a UK chart topping cover of Cheryl Lynn’s R & B hit “Shake it Up Tonight”. As this song climbed to #1, his name spread like wildfire amongst reggae’s top producers, one of which was Phillip “Fattis” Burrell”, whom he collaborated with and released the critically acclaimed single “Moving Up” later in 1993 on the Xterminator label via VP Records. It was not long after that Chris Blackwell (founder of Island Records known for signing artists like Bob Marley and U2) took note and signed Luciano to Island/Mango Records. His 1995 album, “Where There is Life”, swept across the globe with a string of #1 hits like: “It’s Me Again Jah”; “Lord Give Me Strength”; “Your World and Mine” and “Who Could It Be”, propelling him to the top of the conscious reggae music scene.