Spragga Benz

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Spragga Benz (* the thirtieth May 1969 as Carlton Errington Grant in Kingston , Jamaica ) is a Jamaican dancehall - Deejay .

Life

Career

His career as a deejay began in 1991 under the stage name Spaghetti , which his friends gave him because he was long and thin . It was later called Spragga. The Benz in the name stands for the LA Benz sound system , with which he made his first appearances and which gave him the opportunity to do a recording session for a dubplate with Buju Banton . It was originally planned that Deejay Banton, who was already very well known at the time, would produce four songs for LA Benz. But he only sang about two duplates and then suggested that Spragga toast the other two . He freestyled a few lines as he did not yet have any written texts. The later hit Love Mi Gun was created .

He soon became a sought-after deejay, working with various producers and musicians, including Bobby Digital . He had several hits such as B. Could * A * Deal (produced by Winston Riley 1993) and Girls Hooray (produced by Steely & Clevie 1993). A number of good duplicates followed, many of which are featured on his 1994 debut album, Jack It Up . Due to the success of the album, he got a label deal with Capitol Records . There he released his second album Uncommonly Smooth in 1995 . He also sings on this with Chevelle Franklyn ( A-1 Lover ) and Ben E. King ( Spanish Harlem ). The album wasn't selling well enough for Capitol Records, so they canceled it. After that, Spragga spent a few years only releasing singles on small Jamaican labels. He worked with various artists, including Wyclef Jean and KRS-One . In 1999 he recorded the Clash album Two Badd DJ's with dance hall singer Beenie Man and had a number one hit in Jamaica with the single She Nuh Ready Yet . The track was also included on his third album, Fully Loaded, released in 2000. On the album he sings duets with Lady Saw ( Backshot ) and Foxy Brown ( Too Stoosh ). The world-famous house music producer Todd Terry took part as co-producer . In the same year he made his screen debut with his self-produced film Brooklyn Babylon . The following year he had a leading role in the gangster film Shottas . In 2002 the fourth album by Spragga Benz was released under the name Thug Nature . In 2003 Benz recorded a series of duets with artists such as B. Carly Simon and Shannon to enter the US market. In July 2007, Spragga Benz co-hosted the Urban Music Awards in New York with Foxy Brown . In the same year his album Live Good was released . In 2008 he was nominated as the first Caribbean musician for three awards at the Urban Music Awards. Spragga Benz discovered and promoted many musicians such as B. Assassin .

Private

In the late 1990s, Spragga Benz founded the Stay In School project , a program for students in need in his hometown of Franklin Town .

His son Carlton "Carlisle" Grant Jr. , who played a young version of his father in the film Shottas, was shot dead on Saturday, August 23, 2008 by the police in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. Police said he and one other person were stopped in the Kingston 8 Area. As the police approached, one of the men opened fire and the police returned fire. The men then fled. When police searched the area, they found Grant Jr. with a gunshot wound and a 45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. Grant Jr. was taken to a hospital where he died.

After the death of his son, Spragga Benz established the Carlisle Foundation to support local youth.

Spragga Benz is unmarried and lives in Franklin Town, Jamaica. He is a devout Rastafarian .

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Oh Yeah (with Foxy Brown ; backing vocals)
  DE 68 07/30/2001 (5 weeks)
  CH 19th 07/15/2001 (13 weeks)
  UK 27 09/08/2001 (3 weeks)
Turn Me On (with Kevin Lyttle )
  DE 2 02/02/2004 (17 weeks)
  AT 6th 02/01/2004 (18 weeks)
  CH 3 01/25/2004 (26 weeks)
  UK 2 10/25/2003 (23 weeks)
  US 4th 05/22/2004 (25 weeks)
Last Drop (with Kevin Lyttle)
  DE 58 06/07/2004 (5 weeks)
  CH 20th 05/02/2004 (8 weeks)
  UK 22nd 05/29/2004 (4 weeks)

Albums

  • 1994: Jack It Up ( VP Records )
  • 1995: Uncommonly Smooth ( Capitol Records )
  • 1999: Two Bad DJs (with Beenie Man ) (VP Records)
  • 2000: Fully Loaded (VP Records)
  • 2002: Thug Nature (Empire Musicwerks)
  • 2007: Live Good (VP Records)
  • 2008: Prototype (Drop Di Bass records)
  • 2010: Shotta Culture (Boomtunes Records)

Singles, Dublates (selection)

  • 1992: Love mi Gun
  • 1993: Girls Horray
  • 1993: Everything Matey Do ( Greensleeves Records )
  • 1994: Camouflage ( Penthouse Records )
  • 1994: Moving up The Line (Penthouse Records)
  • 1995: A-1 Lover (Capitol Records)
  • 1995: Chunky (Greensleeves Records)
  • 1996: Love God And Live (Digital-B)
  • 1998: Peace (Hi Profile)
  • 1998: She Nuh Ready Yet (Juvenile)
  • 1999: F * ck P * ssy (Benz Speculous)
  • 1999: Lezz (Rookie Production)
  • 1999: Magnum (K..Licious Music)
  • 2000: Jah-Mek-A "Mi Island" (Too Good Productions)
  • 2000: Slow Country (Parlophone)
  • 2000: Work Wid It (Reggae Vibes)
  • 2001: Gi Wi Dem (Centron Sound Company)
  • 2001: Katty (Massive B)
  • 2002: African Move (Mentally Disturbed Vinyls)
  • 2002: Glad Mi Meet Her (Awful Music)
  • 2003: Guns & Girls & Ganja (Black Shadow Records)
  • 2003: Love Rasta (Builders)
  • 2003: Real Niggaz (K..Licious Music)
  • 2004: The Ganja Song (Penthouse Records)
  • 2004: Wining Queen (H2O Productions)
  • 2005: Backative Strong (Mista Wilks Productions)
  • 2005: Now Mi Seh (First Name Music)
  • 2006: Works (Loud Disturbance Records)
  • 2007: Youth Dem Need It (Time Travel Productions)
  • 2008: Down In There (Stainless Records)
  • 2010: Shotta Culture (BoomTunes)

Collaboration with other artists (selection)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Huey, Steve " Spragga Benz Biography ", Allmusic , Macrovision Corporation
  2. ↑ a b Spragga Benz short biography on Soundmaven.com
  3. ↑ a b c d List of publications on MySpace
  4. ↑ Jamaica Gleaner newspaper article about the nomination
  5. ↑ a b Spragga Benz reaches out - newspaper article by the Jamaican Gleaner (English)
  6. ↑ a b c Shattered Dreams - Report in the Jamaican Gleaner (English)
  7. ↑ Interview with VirginiaReggae.com
  8. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Spragga Benz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grant, Carlton Errington (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Jamaican dancehall musician
DATE OF BIRTH May 30, 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Franklin Town (Jamaica) , Jamaica