John Taylor (born 16 April 1963), better known as Chaka Demus, is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

musician and

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

, best known as part of the duo

Chaka Demus & Pliers Chaka Demus & Pliers are a Jamaican reggae duo made up of deejay Chaka Demus (born John Taylor) and singer Pliers (born Everton Bonner), known for their hits " Tease Me" and " Murder She Wrote". As a duo, they enjoyed more commercial success w ...

Biography

Early years

Born in West Kingston, Taylor was a regular attendee at Kingston dances and was given a chance by

Prince Jammy Lloyd James (born 26 October 1947),Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", 1997, Rough Guides, better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a Jamaican dub mixer and record producer. He began his musical career as a dub ma ...

to DJ on his sound system.Lesser, Beth (2008) ''Dancehall: The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture'', Soul Jazz, , p. 61 Upon releasing his debut single, the Jammy-produced "Increase Your Knowledge" in 1985, he was virtually unknown. None of his early

records A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

saw chart success, though they later met with increased success. Other musicians quickly recognised him as having great potential, most notably

Yellowman Winston Foster , better known by the stage name Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, also known as King Yellowman. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a series of singles that established ...

who joined him for such songs as "Everybody Loves The Chaka", "Scotty", and "Bring It To Me" and

Admiral Bailey Admiral Bailey (born Glendon Bailey, Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican dancehall Deejay (Jamaican), deejay who enjoyed his greatest success between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. He now lives in Jamaica. He has been described as "the hottes ...

, who collaborated with him on "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer", giving him his first hit. The same year saw the release of "Everybody Loves The Chaka", for the Scorpio label, which was then followed up by the 1989 album, ''The Original Chaka'' 'Watch me Ride'.

Mainstream success

He first met

Pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist ...

(Everton Bonner) in 1991 and suggested that they team up. They enjoyed an internationally successful partnership including a string of hit singles and a number one album in the UK between 1993 and 1997.Chaka Demus And Pliers
, Chart Stats, retrieved 2010-07-18 Chacka Demus net worth amounts up to 75 million dollars. In 2007, Chaka Demus & Pliers reunited to record a track called "Need Your Lovin" which was released on vinyl, on Explorer Records. On 18 November 2007, Chaka Demus & Pliers performed "Murder She Wrote" alongside

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

at the

2007 American Music Awards The 35th Annual American Music Awards took place on November 18, 2007 at the Microsoft Theater, Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Performers Winners and nominees Winners are highlighte ...

. Their subsequent album, ''So Proud'', was released in Europe and the Middle East in October 2008. A solo album called ''DJ Spirit'' was released in 2008. Chaka Demus now runs his own record label, Bright Star, on which he has released records by his son, known by his stage name of Marvellous. He continues to perform with Pliers, and recorded a new album in 2012, featuring guest appearances from Pliers, Marvellous, and

Freddie McGregor Freddie McGregor (born 27 June 1956, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a Jamaican singer, musician and record producer. His music career began when he was seven years old. Biography In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to form The C ...

. In August 2013, he released the album ''Second Coming'' on the Fire and Ice label that he co-owns with Winston Solomon.Campbell, Howard (2013)
Second Coming for Chaka Demus
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 27 August 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013

Solo discography

*''The Original Chaka'' (1986), Witty *''Everybody Loves the Chaka'' (1988), Black Scorpio *''Reggae Dance Hall Sensation'' (1989), Rohit International *''No. 1'' (1991), Penthouse *''Gal Wine'' (1992), VP *''Bad Bad Chaka'' (1994), Mélodie Distribution *''Second Coming'' (2013), Fire and Ice ;Other collaborations and split releases: *''Rough & Rugged'' (1988), Jammy's/Super Power - split with

Shabba Ranks Shabba Ranks (born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon; 17 January 1966) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home cou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demus, Chaka 1963 births Living people Jamaican reggae musicians Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica VP Records artists