ARTIST BIOS
KYMANI MARLEY
Son of Bob Marley and table tennis champion Anita Belnavis, Ky-mani Marley is the second youngest of Bob Marley’s children. While he bears the Marley name, Kymani’s childhood told a different story. Born in Falmouth, Jamaica, Kymani migrated to Miami at the age of 7. He was raised in the inner-city in a 2 bedroom home shared by 8 family members. Being exposed to an urban lifestyle, Kymani adopted the attitude that all people are equal – no one is above or beneath him. Humble, soft-spoken, sincere, loyal, honest and genuine; these are the makings of Kymani Marley.
Ky-mani is an artist with no limits. Incorporating world music, reggae, hip hop, blues, rock and a grass roots sound into his music, the end product is the pure representation of life for Kymani. His raw, unadulterated, gruff sound captures the listener and reverberates the essence of Kymani’s life story. Songs such as “Dear Dad”, “I Pray”, “Ghetto Soldier” display the versatility and fiery-passion Kymani exudes when sharing his voyage through song. Peace, one love, unity and street life; these are the makings of Kymani Marley’s music.
In 2003, Ky-mani starred as the character Kassa in the “One Love” a film released in theaters throughout the Caribbean and Europe. The film received rave reviews from film festivals and critics. His other films include the cult-classic “Shottas” (2002) and Nick Cannon’s “King of the Dancehall” (2016). His television credits include: BET J–Living the Life of Marley; NBC/Telemundo, Fox – Happy Hour with Cody Willard and Rebecca Gomez, Music Choice, MTV Jams and VH1 Soul to name a few.
Kymani tours relentlessly having performed on all 6 inhabited continents on multiple occasions. He has collaborated with artists from a wide pool of genres and backgrounds including Puerto-Rican reggaeton star Farruko garnering over half-a-billion views on YouTube for their collaboration “Chillax”. He has headlined highly esteemed festivals including Germany’s Summerjam, New Zealand’s One Love Concert and Poland’s Woodstock concert on which he performed to over 600,000 people. Kymani continues to record and release new and exciting material that highlights the myriad of his influences while creating a new era of sound.
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DEMARCO
Demarco is a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist in constant demand for his consistent stream of hits including "I Love My Life" and "Puppy Tail". The latter of which spawned a viral dance craze with girls (including Rihanna) posting their version of the Puppy Tail dance on YouTube and Instagram.
Demarco's immense popularity in Africa led to his 2017 collaboration with Akon on the song and video "No Wahala" which also featured Nigeria's Runtown.
An accomplished producer/musician Demarco emerged as a performer with the singles "Fallen Soldiers" and "Duppy Know Who Fi Frighten". His versatility can be heard on songs such as "Love a Come Down".
Demarco has toured Africa, Australia, Europe and beyond.
KABAKA PYRAMID
Kabaka Pyramid is a conscious revolutionary lyricist with a unique musical style; blending the power, energy and melody of Reggae with the lyricism of Hip hop. Hailing from Kingston, Jamaica this Bebble Rock Music artist uses his liquid and hypnotizing delivery to spread positive messages of spiritual evolution that forces you to listen. The name "Kabaka" is Ugandan for "King" and the long lasting survival of the Pyramids of ancient Africa represent his desire for longevity in the music and deep connection to Kemetic roots; leaving messages for generations to come. This Award winning artist has developed a solid global fan-base that connects deeply with the messages in his music, touring extensively over the past 5 years to the largest of Reggae stages around the world. Aided by his excellent “Bebble Rockers” band; he has brought his message and power to tens of thousands of people in North America, Europe, Central America and the Caribbean. Hitting stages such as “Reggae on the River” (US), Rebel Salute (JA), Sierra Nevada World Music Festival (US), “Rototom Sunsplash” (Spain), Musa (Portugal), SummerJam (Germany), Reggae Sumfest (JA), Reggae Sundance (NE), Reggae Sun Ska Festival (FRA), South by South West (US), BoomTown (UK) as well as headlining multiple 20+ multi-city club tours; Kabaka is well known for delivering an electrifying and entertaining live performance. He has just recently concluded the 30 show, United States “Stony Hill” tour with Damian Jr. Gong Marley to rave reviews. Following the global success of his impactful hit single "Well Done" in 2015; Kabaka released his "Accurate" mixtape presented by music superpower Major Lazer and Walshy Fire to tremendous reception with page 1 / 2 the mixtape proving to be an instant classic amongst reggae/hiphop fans. In 2017 he topped the Global Reggae Charts with the anthem “Can’t Breathe” the first single off his debut full length album “Contraband”. The project was executive produced by Damian “Jr Gong” Marley and is a joint release with Bebble Rock Music and Ghetto Youths International. In fact the Pyramid has released a powerful catalogue over the years including the critically acclaimed "Rebel Music EP" and the Billboard top 10 charting "Lead the Way EP"; singles such as “Never Gonna Be A Slave”, “No Capitalist”, “Mi Alright” with Chronixx, and “Free From Chains” as well as music videos for the popular “Warrior” featuring Protoje, “World Wide Love, “Liberal Opposer” and “High and Windy” with Sara Lugo; he has achieved regular rotation on local and international airwaves. Kabaka Pyramid is touted by many as a leader in the new wave of powerful reggae artists coming out of Jamaica. Kabaka has achieved recognition both locally and overseas, placing #1 on the BILLBOARD Next Big Sound Charts and also featured by the popular music conglomerates, TheFader, MTV Iggy, Okayplayer, Reggaeville amongst many others in the media landscape. In 2013 he was awarded breakthrough artist of the year by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association. He is also a three (3) time nominee for Song of the year 2013, 2014 and 2015 for the tracks “No Capitalist”, "Mi Alright" and "Well Done" respectively. The lyricist has in addition won the award for best reggae recording by Canada’s highly respected Juno Awards with Exco Levi. With a mission to steer future generations towards harmony and unity Kabaka Pyramid is primed and focused on bringing a righteous and conscious way of thinking to the masses through Reggae Music. “Possessing a solid list of skills not only in the booth but on the mixing board, and an array of lyrics that preach a message of love, self-awareness and African pride, Kabaka Pyramid is well on his way to a career that should not only lead to greatness but also lead a lot of fans to righteousness” Aesthetics Now Mag.
OLATUNJI
Olatunji is a soca artist from Trinidad and Tobago with numerous titles to his credit including the Groovy Monarch (2015) for his breakout hit "Ola". Born to parents Edward Yearwood, a well -known composer and mother Mairoon Ali, a local actress, radio personality and teacher it was evident that Olatunji or "Ola" as he is widely known, would be a talent to be reckoned with.
Ola's rise to prominence began in 2002 at the age of 16, when he entered the Junior Calypso competition where he would place 2nd in the NYAC Emancipation Competition and 2nd in the Sunshine Snacks Junior Calypso Competition. 2003 saw continued success as he placed in every competition he entered including 1st in the Sunshine Snack Junior Calypso Monarch. He was also named the "Most Outstanding Calypsonian" and "Most Promising Act".
Yearwood spent 5 years with the Roy Cape All Star and also studied the performing arts in London. His unique style can be described as World-Beat Soca. Yearwood was featured in The Fader Magazine as the face of AfroSoca music, an emerging genre that fuses Soca and Afrobeats. He sees the release of his debut international album 'Awakening' on July 1, 2016, from FOX FUSE - the world's largest label for soca music. In September 2018, Yearwood was featured as a contestant on The X Factor UK (Series 15) .
SAMANTHA MOON
Diversified Vocalist and Musician Samantha Moon born Tracy Samantha Johnson on the beautiful nature island of Dominica. Ms. Moon began showing interest in singing at the early age of three. she is a very versatile singer and is able to sing many genres such as R&b, Reggae, Soul and pop but is focused Mainly on R&B an soul.
Ms Moon is influenced by artist like Regina Belle, Anita Baker, Toni Braxton, dolly parton, sade, whitney Houston, stevie wonder and many more.
She sang on a more professional level in 2003 for a very large crowd and had captivated everyone with her beautiful voice. This had opened the door to many other opportunities for her.
One year later ms.moon joined one of Dominica's most prestigious bands “Natral Vybz International”, as a lead vocalist where she had been a member for three years. She also released local hits with Natral Vybz such as "Hati" featuring Elisha Benoit. This song was dedicated to the people of Haiti after the tragic earthquake. Additionally, the song "REAL MAN",
in January 2011, she performed in Jamaica at the Rebel Salute show.
Ms Moon has opened up for artists such as Barrington Levy, Queen Ifrica, Christopher Martin, Cecile, wyclef jean, The Meditations & Irie Sol etc.
She has also opened for an Etana concert at the Reicchold centre for the arts in St. Thomas USVI and has performed recently at the 2017 Carifest festival following her live 2017 concert at the Minnesota Music Cafe. In 2014 she took part in the Q95 radio station talent search in the Commonwealth of Dominica where she battled for the crown of best performer and singer and won.. She has also recently won the 2017 competition called "Sing St.cloud" in Minnesota where over more than 14 competitors battled for the winning position.
Ms. Samantha Moon Recently Released her four Track EP Called Wake Up Now and is now available on all digital platforms.
WOODBLIND
Woodblind features the combo of Duluth mainstay and guitarist Jason Wussow and Los Angeles studio/ touring bass player Veikko Lepisto. Wussow’s credits include the bands Flux Skapacitor, No Room to Pogo, Yeltzi, Fuzzy Ellis and ownership of all-ages music venue Beaner’s Central. Lepisto has worked with Mike Ness of Social Distortion, Royal Crown Revue and Bette Midler while on the West Coast. Teamed together they make acoustic ska à la 1960s’ Jamaica and 70s’ England. Their sets include traditional reggae, ska versions of classic rock and R&B hits, and original rocksteady numbers.
BELIZEAN VYBEZ
Belizean Vybez has been performing Punta and other Caribbean music since 1998. Its members consist of U Roy Muslar on bass and vocals who came to Chicago from Belize City; Karim Mariano, from Punta Gorda, is the singer for the band; Greg Grant, originally from the Orange Walk District, is on keys; Ryan Coleman “Feng”, also on keys, comes from the Cayo District and Martin Thomas, from Dangriga, plays Garifuna drums. The band members joined forces after meeting through the vibrant Garifuna community in the Chicago area.
