Windel Beneto Edwards (born 25 October 1983), better known by his stage name Gyptian (), 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 ...

singer. He often appears with

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the ho ...

songs within the reggae subgenre

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 ...

Early life

Born to a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

mother Pauline McCaulsky and

Rastafarian Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...

father, Edwards received his musical calling at the age of seven, when he began singing in the church. He grew up in a small community in Rural St. Andrew, Jamaica called King Weston District. Recognizing his talent, his parents introduced him to Mr. Wong, a record producer from Portmore, St. Catherine. "I did not take it seriously," said Edwards "My family members have always been carrying me to Portmore to see him, but I usually disappear. One day, they dropped me off at his studio and left me and it all began there."

Career

Career beginnings

Under the guidance of Mr. Wong and Earl Chinna Smith, Gyptian honed his sound, winning the 2004 Star Search talent competition at Kens Wild Flower Lounge in Portmore, earning him a spot at Sting 2004, dubbed the 'greatest one night reggae show on earth'. The singer earned his nickname from his habit of tying a shirt around his head and twisting his chin hair like an Egyptian

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

. In 2005, he scored two

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, "Is There A Place" on the Seasons

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 ...

and "Serious Times". Nominated for Best New Entertainer at the 2006 International Reggae and World Music Awards, the singer has been dominating the Jamaican

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...

with hits including "Is There a Place", "Beautiful Lady", and the chart-topping

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, "Mama, Don't Cry". On 12 September 2006, Gyptian released his first album ''My Name Is Gyptian'' on

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, ...

. On 12 December 2007, Gyptian, while in New York City, shot the music video, directed by

Rhona Fox Rhona Fox is an American businesswoman of Indo-Guyanese descent who founded the soca music record label Fox Fuse. Fox was born in Essequibo, Guyana, raised in Nassau, Bahamas, and is based in New York City. Biography Born in Essequibo, Guya ...

, for his new single, "I Can Feel Your Pain" (Cloud Nine Riddim) Produced by

JonFX John Alexander Crawford (born May 31, 1983), professionally known as JonFX, is a music producer from St. Andrews, Jamaica. He has worked with dancehall and reggae artists Shabba Ranks, I Wayne, Vybz Kartel, Gyptian and Akon, as well as late rap ...

. The song was the first to be confirmed to appear on his second album ''I Can Feel Your Pain'', which was released in 2008.

2010 and crossover success

As of the end of May 2010, his single "Hold Yuh" had peaked at number 91 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 33 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Chart, number 6 on the Billboard Heatseekers Songs Chart and had been at the top of the Reggae Digital Songs chart for nine consecutive weeks. In June, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually reached a new peak of 77 on that chart, number 3 on the Heatseekers Songs chart, 31 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Chart, 63 on the Radio Songs chart and an astonishing peak of 28 on the Billboard

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

, capitalizing its crossover success. The song also peaked at number 1 on the Dancehall/Reggae fusion Charts of the Jamaica Weekly Music Charts for two consecutive weeks. In Canada it peaked at No. 69 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

. The official remix for the song features rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

. It spent 29 weeks on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Chart and 15 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. (Despite it sounding similar to

Alison Hinds Alison Amanda Hinds (born June 1 1970) is a British-born Bajan soca singer based in Barbados. She is often referred to as the Bajan " Queen of Soca" as a result of her impact on the genre. Biography Alison Hinds was born on 1 June 1970 in Lo ...

Roll it gyal Roll may refer to: Physics and engineering * Rolling, a motion of two objects with respect to each-other such that the two stay in contact without sliding * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff bo ...

) Gyptian had further chart success with his third album '' Hold You'', which reached number 2 on ''Billboards Reggae Albums Chart. The title track, "Hold Yuh", became a multi-chart hit worldwide. According to ''Billboard'' magazine, "not since Wayne Wonder's " No Letting Go" has an underground reggae artist garnered as much attention in the United States as Jamaica's own Gyptian." The song also became popular in the UK, and was released there on 7 November by

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...

Recordings, in an EP which will include remixes by

Shy FX Andre Williams, better known as Shy FX, is a British DJ and producer from London. He specialises in drum and bass and jungle music. Biography Shy FX's debut record was "Jungle Love", released in 1992 on the Permission to Dance label. Soon after ...

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

and

Toddla T Thomas Mackenzie Bell (born 22 February 1985), better known by the stage name of Toddla T, is an English DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Biography Bell was raised in Sheffield where he attended Ki ...

. In October 2012, he released the ''SLR'' EP, which included three tracks from his forthcoming album.Campbell, Howard (2012)
Gyptian: Ready to go
, ''

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'', 26 October 2012, retrieved 27 October 2012 His fourth album '' Sex, Love & Reggae'' was released in October 2013 and entered the ''Billboard''

Top Reggae Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart at number one.Jackson, Kevin (2013)
Gyptian tops Billboard chart on his debut
, ''

'', 8 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013 His latest album, ''Nothing to Lose'', was set for release in April 2015, but never got released.

Artistry

His style of reggae music is considered

lovers rock Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.Larkin, Col ...

and

, with songs about political issues and love. His musical and lyrical style has been compared to established Jamaican artists, such as

Sizzla Miguel Orlando Collins (born 17 April 1976), known by his stage name Sizzla Kalonji or Sizzla, is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is noted for his high num ...

, Luciano and

Beres Hammond Beres Hammond OJ (born Hugh Beresford Hammond; 28 August 1955, in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary, Jamaica)Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. ...

Personal life

Gyptian is currently single and is living in Jamaica. In June 2006 his twin sons died after being born prematurely. On 8 June 2010, he crashed his motorbike and sustained minor head and shoulder injuries. He is

, and this is supported by lyrics in some of his songs, including "Leave Us Alone", where chants about Selassie I can be heard.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Featured singles

References

External links

Article about Gyptian in the Jamaica Star
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyptian 1983 births Living people Jamaican reggae singers Lovers rock musicians Jamaican dancehall musicians Singers from Kingston, Jamaica VP Records artists