Desmond Méndez (born 6 April 1980), better known as Charly Black, alternatively known as Charly Blacks, and originally known as Tony Mentol, is a Jamaican

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

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

singer, selector and singjay. He is best known for his track "Gyal You a Party Animal", which became popular outside Jamaica in regions including

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and

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. The song was a hit in these regions, as well as in some parts of the

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and

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. It is also one of the most watched dancehall videos on

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with over 238 million views as of February 2022. Other songs include "Whine & Kotch" Feat. J Capri, "Girlfriend" , "Bike Back", and "Hoist & Wine". Mendez has also collaborated with other music artists, including his collaboration with American

Latin pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...

star Jencarlos Canela in the single "Pa Que Me Invitan".

Life and career

Desmond Mendez was born in Rio Bueno, Jamaica on 6 April 1980. He started his ascent at singing competitions at the age of five. He attended Rio Bueno Primary and High School. Mendez has been part of the Warlord International and Bass Odyssey sound systems. As Tony Mentol, he made his recorded debut in 2004 with the single "Woman It's You". He eventually switched aliases to Charly Black and recorded a string of cuts for labels like Coppershot, M Bass, and VP, the last of which issued "Buddy Buddy" in 2008. in the year 2012 With the label of Head Concussion Records (company of the Jamaican producer

Rvssian Tarik Johnston (born 12 April 1988), commonly known as Rvssian and previously as Russian (stylized in all caps), is a Jamaican record producer, singer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Head Concussion, a music production company situate ...

) he releases the song "Whine & Kotch" with the singer J Capri, having a great acceptance in the world of dancehall and being one of the most recognized songs of it. In 2014, he recorded his most successful single, "Gyal You a Party Animal", then simply known as "Party Animal". The song, based on Kurt Riley's Jambe-An

riddim In Jamaican dancehall music, a riddim is the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the ''riddim'' plus the ''voicing'' (vocal part) sung by the deeja ...

, gradually spread outside Jamaica to win over audiences across South America. It was licensed worldwide by Allezgo Productions and for the US by

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in early 2016, followed by the release of a music video for the song on

months later. It has since received over 100 million streams on

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. The song has also been remixed by other foreign music artists, including

Maluma Juan Luis Londoño Arias (born 28 January 1994), known professionally as Maluma, is a Colombian singer. Born and raised in Medellín, he developed an interest in music at a young age, recording songs since age sixteen. Arias released his debu ...

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (; born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee (), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "Honorific ...

, and Jillionaire. However, Maluma announced via

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that he was unable to launch his remixed version due to legal rights issues.

Live performances

In May 2016, he performed in

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and was warmly welcomed by critics. Since the critical success of "Gyal You a Party Animal" later that year, Mendez has been more active on live performing. In October 2016, he made a live performance in

, performing such songs including his signature "Gyal You a Party Animal", as well as ''Hoist & Wine''. This performance was sponsored by the Hispanic Radio Network and station Los 40. He also appeared in San José,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

on 2 December of the same year, where "Gyal You a Party Animal" was certified Diamond in Central America, making him the first Jamaican music artist to be Diamond-awarded in the said region. 2024 in August he will perform at Ruhr Reggae Summer (Mülheim an der Ruhr).

Discography

Studio albums

*''No Excuses'' (2023)

Compilation albums

*''Multi-Talented'' (2013) *''Rio Bueno'' (2021)

EPs

*''Best Whine Riddim'' (featuring Kooly Chat) (2011)

Singles

*"Woman It's You" (2004) *"Buddy Buddy" (2008) *"Rich This Year" (2009) *"Fall in Love Again" (2010) *"Whine & Kotch" (2012) *"Too Blessed" (2012) *"Bubble Dung" (2013) *"Jamaican Everyday" (2014) *"Bike Back" (2014) *"Gyal You a Party Animal" (2015) *"Energy Girls" (2015) *"Girlfriend" (2016) *"Hoist & Wine" (2016) *"Big Bumper" (2016) *"Just Do It" (2016) *"Bruk Out" (2016) *"Often" (2016) *"VIP Girl" (2017) *"Sidung" (2020) *"Charly" (2021)

Collaborations

*"Pa Que Me Invitan" (with Jencarlos Canela) (2016) *"Me lloras" (with

Gloria Trevi Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz (born February 15, 1968), known professionally as Gloria Trevi, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her emotional lyrics, performances, and lasting influence on Latin music, being ...

) (2018)

References

9.http://jamaica-star.com/article/entertainment/20170309/charly-black%E2%80%99s-party-animal-reaches-100-million-spotify#.W6nEmhW0MKE.google {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Charly 1980 births Living people 21st-century Jamaican male singers Jamaican reggae singers Jamaican DJs Reggae fusion artists Jamaican dancehall musicians People from Trelawny Parish