Ini Kamoze ( , born Cecil Campbell; 9 October 1957) 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 ...

artist who began his career in the early 1980s and rose to prominence in 1994 with the

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

" Here Comes the Hotstepper". The single topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as well as record charts in Denmark and New Zealand, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart.Ini Kamoze
, Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 December 2012

Career

He made his first single, "World Affairs", in 1981. Kamoze then released a 12-inch single "Trouble You A Trouble Me"/"General" in 1983. His self-titled debut album was released in 1984 as a six track

mini-LP A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. In the album notes he describes himself as a "pencil thin... disentangled... six-foot vegetarian". The album included the song "World a Music (Out in the Streets They Call It Merther)", which was to be sampled by Damian Marley on his 2005 hit " Welcome to Jamrock". The album was recorded with and produced by

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separat ...

, with whom he also toured internationally along with Yellowman and Half Pint.Broughton, Simon et al. (2000) ''World Music: The Rough Guide (Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific)'', Rough Guides, , p. 454Vare, Ethlie Ann (1986)
The Taxi Gang, Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare, Ini Kamoze, Yellowman, Half Pint, Universal Amphitheatre
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', 15 November 1986, p. 29. Retrieved 23 December 2012Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , pp. 146-7 By 1988, however, Kamoze had effectively disappeared from the music scene following lukewarm reactions to his intermittent releases. Kamoze founded his own label, releasing a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''Selekta Showcase'' which featured a popular Kamoze single titled "Stress". Four years later he released his next album, ''16 Vibes of Ini Kamoze''. In 1994, Kamoze released the song which would become his signature, " Here Comes the Hotstepper". Adopting another nickname from the song title, Kamoze would become known as the "Hotstepper", from the

patois ''Patois'' (, same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or sl ...

for a man on the run from the law. The song was originally recorded with Philip "Fatis" Burrell and later remixed by

Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is an American record producer. He is most known for producing material for close associates Nas, Amy Winehouse, and Jazmine Sullivan, but has also produced for other mainstream acts including Alicia Key ...

, and initially featured on a reggae music compilation ''Stir It Up'', released on the

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

label.Kenner, Rob (1995)
Next: Ini Kamoze - Here Comes the Hotstepper
, '' Vibe'', February 1995. Retrieved 23 December 2012 "Here Comes the Hotstepper" was not an entirely new composition, having roots in the song " Land of 1000 Dances", which was a number one R&B hit for

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

in 1966 and was first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962 and reprised in 1963 by

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

. The remixed version of the track also incorporates the bass line from Taana Gardner's 1981 single " Heartbeat".Aaron, Charles (1995)
Singles: Ini Kamoze - Here Comes the Hotstepper
, '' Spin'', February 1995, p. 80. Retrieved 23 December 2012 The song appeared on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the fashion-industry

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

Prêt-à-Porter Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a parti ...

''. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" remains Kamoze's only US number one hit (see Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1994). The success of the single sparked an intense bidding war with several major labels hoping to sign him.Atwood, Brett (1994)
Labels Stepping Over Each Other in Race for Kamoze
, ''

'', 12 November 1994, p. 10, 109. Retrieved 23 December 2012Atwood, Brett (1995)
Kamoze Competes Against Himself
, ''

'', 4 March 1995, p. 8, 96. Retrieved 23 December 2012 Kamoze signed a seven-album deal with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

in November 1994.Lichtman, Irv (1994)
Kamoze Signs Elektra Deal
, ''

'', 26 November 1994, p. 136. Retrieved 23 December 2012 Kamoze's career after this high-water mark featured the compilation album ''Here Comes the Hotstepper'' which was released in 1995 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

(against Kamoze's wishes), around the same time as his first album for Elektra, '' Lyrical Gangsta''.Sony Baloney
, '' Vibe'', June–July 1995, p. 32. Retrieved 23 December 2012 Both the

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 ...

(known as "World Jam") and the hook of Damian Marley's 2005 hit " Welcome to Jamrock" were sampled from Kamoze's 1984 track "World-A-Music". The opening line – "Out in the streets, they call it merther" – has been sampled in countless

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

and

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

tracks. His dub version of "Here Comes the Hotstepper", otherwise known as "I'm Steppin' it Hotter This Year", released in 1993, remains a dancehall anthem. In 2005, Kamoze recorded and released a double album, ''Debut'', on which he re-recorded a number of tracks from earlier in his career.Kwaaku (2006)
Hotstepper Returns
, ''

'', 1 April 2006, p. 41. Retrieved 23 December 2012 ''Debut'' was released on his own 9 Sound Clik label. In 2009, Kamoze released ''51 50 Rule'' on 9SoundClik. The album includes tracks such as "Rapunzel" (feat.

Maya Azucena Maya Azucena is an Americans, American singer-songwriter, recording artist and humanitarian from Brooklyn, New York City. She is a Ambassador, cultural ambassador, focusing on Women's empowerment, women's and youth empowerment as well as Dome ...

) and "Hungry Daze". The album also had some guest features from Sizzla ("R.A.W"), and Busy Signal ("Ta Da Bang"). This was his second album released on the 9 Sound Clik label.Cooke, Mel (2007)
Ini Kamoze defines 'My Girl'
", ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Western Hemisphere. Original ...

'', 20 July 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2012Cooke, Mel (2009)
CD review - Snipping would make Ini Kamoze's '51 50 Rule' even better
", ''

'', 25 September 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2012 The artist's most recent album release is 2016's ''Ini Kamoze Meets Xterminator: Tramplin' Down Babylon'' on his label, 9SoundClik. This is a collection of newly recorded and previously recorded tracks that were originally released as singles on Xterminator Records by producer Phillip "Fattis" Burrell. Kamoze has also written a book on the history of Port Royal, and a play, ''Runnings''. His name means "mountain of the true God".

Discography

Albums

Studio albums *''Ini Kamoze'' (1984),

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

*''Statement'' (1984),

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

*''Pirate'' (1986), Mango *''Shocking Out'' (1988), RAS *'' Here Comes the Hotstepper'' (1995), Columbia/ SMDE *'' Lyrical Gangsta'' (1995), East West America/ Elektra *''Debut'' (2006), 9SoundClik *''51 50 Rule'' (2009), 9SoundClik *''Ini Kamoze meets Xterminator: Tramplin' Down Babylon'' (2016), 9SoundClik Compilation albums *''16 Vibes of Ini Kamoze'' (1992), Sonic Sounds

Singles

References

External links