Christopher Oteng Martin (born 14 February 1987) is a

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 ...

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 and songwriter from

St. Catherine, Jamaica Saint Catherine () is a parish in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued parishes because of its many resources. It includes the first capital of Jam ...

. Martin won

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican-based Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 25 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Samoa, St. Lucia, Surinam ...

's ''Rising Stars'' in 2005 (the Jamaican version of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''). He is best known for the songs "Cheaters Prayer", "I'm a Big Deal", "Let Her Go", "Is It Love", and "Dreams of Brighter Days".

Biography

Born in Back Pasture, St. Catherine, 14 February 1987, to Cleveland and Maxine Martin, Martin attended the Watermount All-Age School and later went on to St. Jago High School. There, he developed a love for dramatic arts and sports. He graduated in 2003. Two years later, he won the Digicel ''Rising Stars'' title in 2005. After this, Martin participated in Digicel's 2005 Christmas promotion. After his debut single "Love Is All We Need," part of the promotional campaign, was released, he became the first Digicel ''Rising Stars'' Alumni to have a hit on the charts in Jamaica. His releases include: "Nah Go Change", "Take My Wings", "Tonight", "Giving It", and the singles "Jamaican Girls" and "Gallis" featuring

Busy Signal A busy signal (or busy tone or engaged tone) in telephony is an audible call-progress tone or audible signal to the calling party that indicates failure to complete the requested connection of that particular telephone call. The busy signa ...

. He has worked with a number of top producers in reggae and dancehall including Robert Livingston (Big Yard), Arif Cooper, Shane Brown(Jukeboxx) and Christopher Birch. Martin has performed numerous stage shows across Jamaica and was notably invited to perform at One Night with

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

and at the 2008 Air Jamaica Jazz Festival. In 2008, Martin was nominated for The Jamaica Observer Teenage Choice Awards and Excellence in Music and Entertainment. The song "Melody to My Song" was released on Good Love Rhythm, produced by Baby G. The song "She Never Listens" featuring Demarco was produced by Star Kutt, and "Watch Me Lord" was produced by Ariff Cooper and released on the Fresh Ear label. In addition to those, Martin appeared on "Vibe Is Right" on the Street Bullies Medley produced by Tony Kelly as well as "Real Friends" featuring Agent Sassco (formerly

Assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

) and D-Major, released via T.J Records. In 2013, Martin signed to

VP Records VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami, London, Kingston, Tokyo, ...

. In April 2016, he toured Zimbabwe and performed live on stage alongside D'Major and several Zimbabwean singers, including Winky D. This show took place at Glamis Arena in Harare.

Personal life

Martin was romantically linked with Ce' cile from 2010 to 2014 and they are the parents of a daughter, Christiyana, born in 2012.

Discography

Albums

* ''Big Deal'' (2017) * ''And Then'' (2019)

Extended Playlist (EP)

* ''Steppin Razaor'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Christopher 1987 births Living people Musicians from Saint Catherine Parish Jamaican reggae singers Reggae fusion artists VP Records artists