Juakali is a singer and MC from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. He is known primarily for his musical output in the

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 ...

and

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 ...

genres. Onstage since the age of 14, Juakali started his career as a dancer and, at one stage, a poet. He has released two albums.

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Mary Anne Hobbs Mary Anne Hobbs (born 16 May 1964) is an English DJ and music journalist from Lancashire, England. She currently hosts on BBC Radio 6 Music. She is also a performer and curator of live events. In 2024 she created a ground-breaking collaboration ...

invited Juakali for one of her live session shows at the BBC studio in London.BBC.co.uk
/ref> Juakali is a resident in Los Angeles, California, United States. He has traveled the world in recent years performing, and collaborating with other musicians. In 2006, following his performances at concerts aligned to the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, ''

Ego Ego or EGO may refer to: Social sciences * Ego (Freudian), one of the three constructs in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche * Egoism, an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality * Egotism, the drive to ...

'' magazine described Juakali as an artist "on the forefront of the reggae, jungle and burgeoning dubstep scene in the US and around the world." Juakali was the host of North America's first and premier dubstep event, 'Dub War in New York City', reviewed by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. He also performed with Sub Swara, a live electronic crew based in New York City that "deals with the most fascinating melt of sound – beats and bass laced with the elemental voice of Juakali... pure heaven." (Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC Radio 1). He has appeared on commercial recordings from Alpha & Omega, Raz Mesani, Pinch, Stat Zro, and Dub Gabriel. His debut solo EP was ''Breakground'' on GunJah Records/Foreign Familiar (2008). ''Come From Yard'' is his more recent EP release (2009). The term 'Juakali' is also an expression for the Kenyan

informal sector An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countri ...

, which comes from the

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

term 'jua kali' ('the hot sun') referring to the typical outdoor situation of such entrepreneurs. It often also refers more specifically to street vendors and artisans in Kenya.

References

External links

Juakali's Myspace

Juakali's Website

Juakali on Discogs

Cast TV interview

Juakali on BBC Radio 1

Juakali Interview with Media Contender
Dubstep musicians Living people Trinidad and Tobago reggae musicians Dancehall musicians Performers of Rastafarian music Year of birth missing (living people) {{trinidad-stub