Yellowman

Yellowman (* 1956 or 1959 in Jamaica ; real name Winston Foster ) is a dancehall musician. He was the most influential in the early 1980s Reggae - Deejay . As an albino actually an outcast in Jamaican society, he managed to rise to a national sex symbol through a pronounced self-confidence, humorous, albeit very obscene texts and a great talent as an improviser on the microphone. Despite suffering from skin cancer in the early 1990s, he is still musically active.

Life

Yellowman was abandoned by his relatives as a baby. He attended the Alpha Boys School , a school for orphans and underprivileged children in Kingston, which particularly promotes musical talents. The dancehall DJ started his career in 1974. In 1979 he won the Tastee Talent Contest popular in Jamaica and subsequently appeared for the first time as a deejay for the Gemini Sound System , later with Aces International, where his rhymes served as an inspiration for reggae artists and rappers of subsequent generations. Yellowman recorded his first album Them A Mad Over Me in 1981 for Channel One . The title song and the obscene Shorties - both on the Don't Bother Me - riddim by The Terrors - became hits and made him the first international DJ superstar and heir to Bob Marley as a representative of the reggae genre thanks to his punchlines. His breakthrough came with Me Kill Barnie , an answer to Lone Ranger's hit Barnabas Collins .

With Henry "Junjo" Lawes , the greatest producer in the early 1980s, Yellowman recorded Mr. Chin in 1982 , which was banned on Jamaica radio for insulting Asians in Jamaica. The next piece was the more moderate Mr. Wong together with Fathead , his then Deejay partner. Deejay duos such as Michigan and Smiley or Peter Ranking and General Lucky were popular in Jamaica in the early 1980s. At that time, Yellowman was in the Guinness Book of Records for the 10 album most published LPs in a year. However, since Fathead was always in the shadow of Yellowman (mostly he was only allowed to sprinkle right! And ribbit! ), The partnership lasted only two years.

Henry "Junjo" Lawes had good relations with the English reggae label Greensleeves , so that the next albums Mister Yellowman , In Bed with Yellowman , Zungguzunggugguzungguzeng and Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt were also released in Europe and Yellowman was the first MC to tour Eastern Europe, Australia and led Africa. Other labels jumped on the albino deejay train; At the same time, an alleged Yellowman album was released on Vista Records , but it was recorded by another deejay named Peter Yellow .

In 1984 the album King Yellowman was released on the major label Columbia Records . The next hit, Strong Me Strong , was recorded with Bill Laswell's band material and included one of the first reggae crossover songs, "Disco Reggae". Compared to the earlier recordings, the relatively unsuccessful record seems overproduced and adapted to the western market. At that time, Yellowman played five times in the legendary Madison Square Garden, which was always sold out, while the well-known textile manufacturer Nike designed a new model of sneakers for him.

The steep musical career was overshadowed by cancer; the first diagnosis was made in 1982. In 1986, half his jaw was removed, which disfigured his face and severely affected his voice. At the beginning of the 1990s a skin cancer developed.

Yellowman has recorded more than 50 albums to date, with his style becoming more serious and mature over the years. In 1997 he received his first Grammy nomination for Freedom of Speech . He is highly valued as a reggae entertainer, even if he has not been as innovative as in his early years for a long time. In 2006, he played the autobiographical and remarkable piece of Orphan to the 85 Riddim (z. B. Ghetto Story by Baby Cham on). Between the years 2000 and 2010 there were many successful re-releases of his albums and live recordings as well as collaborations of all kinds such as B. with the well-known alternative band "Basement Jaxx". Yellowman had great success with the Disney soundtrack "Find Yourself" for the movie "Cars" before making a comeback in Jamaica in May 2011 with the dancehall song "King A Talk" on the Locust Riddim.

Yellowman has been married to Rosie Foster, a relative of Bob Marley, for almost 30 years, has now seven children and lives in Kingston.

Web links

Commons : Yellowman  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Yellowman at Discogs (English)
• Yellowman at Allmusic (English)
• Interview with the Big Up! magazine

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Allmusic-Biography, see under web links