Prezident Brown "Strickly
Conscious Songs"
Fitz Albert Cotterel, aka
Prezident Brown was born in teh green hills of Clarendon, Jamaica. As
"Junior
Ranking", a name his mother gave him, he would grabthe mic and chant away
at
schoolyards and country
dances As a teenager, he was known as "Slim Brown", a
name given to him by Nicodemus because of his strong resemblance to and similar dee-jay
style of his long
time idol, U Brown. Like a father, brother, and close personal friend,
U Brown is a great inspiration to Prezident Brown. The biggest and most
formative influence
for the Junior MC however, was producer
and
Soundsystem operator, Jack Ruby,prominent
in the Ocho Rios music scene at the time. Ruby saw something special in him.He
took the fatherless Slim Brown under hsi wing, re-christened him, Prezident
Brown and appointed
him resident M.C. of his Hi-Power
Soundsystem, travelling Worldwide. After
the sound system era changed following Jack
Ruby's death in 1989, he began recording
with Groove
Music, who later founded Irie FM in JA. After that, he recorded
with Roof International, Courtney Cole's label.
Eventually it was Barry O'Hare's label,
X-Rated (now World of Music,) that
provided a home for base Prezident Brown and helped launch his career
in Europe. X-Rated took off just as
a massive roots
revival swept across Jamaica, washing
gun and
slackness
lyrics out of the dance halls, paving the
way for conscious reggae music. Of
course Prezident
Brown was
bound to rise in that kind of
climate. He
is a
champion in the new roots
and reality
consciousness. Prezident
Brown entertains, informs
and inspires. His message is pure rasta conscious
vibes.
By
1995, he flooded the market from all
sides; He was
free-lancing without a break. He
was bringing out
boom-tunes
on the X-Rated label, among others like
Digital B,
Black Scorpio, Mango and
Star Trail. He
recorded
the song, "Blow Your Nose," with Everton Blender,
(an artist, with whom, he has toured Africa
and Europe.) Prezident
Brown also recorded on Tony
Rebel's
Flames label. (It should be noted
that his
style is
frequently liken to that of Rebel's.)Prezident
was also featured in the song, "Black And
Proud,"
on the Steel Pulse album
Rage And Fury. He has
recorded with numerous other reggae legends as
well.
Barry O'Hare's X-rated
label produced two
albums,
"Big Bad and Talented" and "Prezident
Selections",(distributed on the Runn label.)
After a
third album, Original Blueprint, (produced by Digital B,
now licensed by V.P,) he continued to release singles.
His fourth album. To Jah Only, (on the highly regarded Ocho
Rios label, Kariang,) was then
produced.
In 2001 he started working with Jahmani Productions. That summer he toured the
North and
Southwest. The
month long
tour debuted at the Monterey Bay Reggaefest
in
September and
ended at the Renegade Festival in
Grass Valley. CA. Jahmani Productions (US) and
Chet Records(Europe),
along with
Kariang and World of Music
(JA) are working
together in
efforts to bring even more recognition to this
talented artist
worldwide and bring his musical blessing to the people. The
album, Prezident Brown Showcase, Vol.
1 & 2 is a product of this
collaboration.
Both of
the showcases combined contain
four
C.D.s
and 63
timeless tracks. Prezident
Brown Showcase,
Vol.1, C.D.1 features
a re-mastered version of his fourth
album, To Jah Only plus three unreleased
tracks:
"Learn
It On My Own," "Herbsman" and "Down in
the Valley." C.D.2
(executively produced by Jahmani Productions) features, Dub To Jah Only. Prezident
Brown Showcase, Vol.2, C.D.1 Can't
Touch my soul, is a
compilation of singles including 6 previously
unreleased,
tracks: "Can't Touch My Soul, "Chatty
Mouth,"
"Got to Move," "Joyful Noise," "Watch Out" and
"Hear my Prayer." C.D.2
features a remastered
version of
his second album, Prezident Selections,
along
with bonus tracks including: "Talking Drums" and
"Holy
Land". He
is currently
recording
a new album in JA., ( produced by
Chet
Records.).
Discography :
2CDs Showcase Vol. 1 2CDs Showcase Vol. 2
For more informations and real audio samples check out the official :
BIG RESPECT TO PREZIDENT BROWN !
All Rights Reserved © Reggae Portugal 2001, 2002, 2003