Keith Morgan (born 23 September 1969), better known by his stage name Junior Kelly, 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.

Career

Born in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Morgan was educated at St. Catherine High School.Junior Kelly Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved 18 May 2016 The younger brother of DJ Jim Kelly, he made his first recording in 1985, and after his brother's death worked under the name Junior Kelly. A string of singles in the 1990s had limited success (his 1995 single "Go to Hell", an attack on the Jamaican political system, was banned from the airwaves in his home country), but his 1999 hit "If Love So Nice" led to an album, ''Rise'', recorded in the UK with

Mafia & Fluxy Mafia & Fluxy are a British reggae rhythm section and production team, consisting of the brothers Leroy (bass) and David Heywood (drums), whose careers began with London reggae band The Instigators in 1977. They backed Jamaican artists on UK to ...

. "If Love So Nice" went on to further success both in Jamaica and internationally.Morgan, Simone (2012)
Roots singer Junior Kelly gears up for tour
", ''

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 ...

'', 3 August 2012, retrieved 6 August 2012 His success prompted interest from

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, ...

, for whom he recorded the 2001 album ''Love So Nice'', which included the hit "Boom Draw", and featured musicians such as

Leroy Wallace Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace (born 22 August 1950) is a Jamaican drummer who worked for several years at Studio One, and has worked with numerous reggae artists including The Gladiators, Inner Circle,Hebdige, Dick (1987) ''Cut 'n' Mix: Culture, ...

Dean Fraser Dean Ivanhoe Fraser (sometimes appearing as Dean Frazer; born 4 August 1957) Allmusic.com biography by Sandra Brennan/ref> is a Jamaican saxophonist who has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the Mus ...

, and Winston Bowen. In 2001 he featured on singer-songwriter and producer

Emmanuel Anebsa Emmanuel Anebsa (born 27 November 1972) is a singer, songwriter and producer from the United Kingdom. He has recorded over 30 albums, all independently produced. Early life Anebsa, born Steven Emmanuel Wilks, grew up in St Pauls in Bristol i ...

's track "Life is So Confusing". Kelly's second album for VP, the largely self-produced ''Smile'', was released in 2003. The 2005 album ''Tough Life'' featured a duet with

June Lodge J.C. Lodge (born June Carol Lodge, 1 December 1958) is a British-Jamaican reggae singer, fine artist and teacher. Her breakthrough hit " Someone Loves You, Honey" became the best-selling single of 1982 in the Netherlands. Lodge is also an accom ...

on "Love You Like That" (an update of her "Someone Loves You" hit). The ''Tough Life'' album also included ''Rasta Should Be Deeper'', a hit song previously also released on Hi-Score Music that was recorded and mixed by

Soundism Soundism is a group of music producers and sound engineers with music recording studios located in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Västerås in Sweden. They are part of the Swedish hip hop culture. Not only have new artists emerged, but also other ac ...

Vladi Vargas Vladi Vargas (born 11 August 1971) is a music producer and sound engineer in Västerås, Sweden. Starting out as a Dj, he was one of the pioneers in the Hip Hop culture in Sweden. During the 1980s he participated in several national DJ competitio ...

. In 2010 he released ''Red Pond'', the album's title a reference to the

Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

ghetto community, featuring contributions from

Ras Shiloh Ras Shiloh (born Thomas Williams; January 6, 1975 in Brooklyn, United States)Album Review: R ...

Lukie D Lukie D (born Michael Kennedy, 1972, Cockburn Pen, Jamaica) is a dancehall singer and deejay. He is known for his singing and powerful vocal range and soulful voice rather than toasting style, which fits with the prominent theme of love in his s ...

, and

Queen Ifrica Ventrice Morgan (born 25 March 1975), better known by the stage name Queen Ifrica, is a reggae singer and disc jockey from the hills above Montego Bay, Jamaica. She is the daughter of ska musician Derrick Morgan but was raised by her mother and ...

.Taylor, Angus (2010)
Junior Kelly Red Pond Review
,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2016 In late 2015 he released the album ''Urban Poet'', followed by promotional tours of Europe and the Caribbean. In 2019 he did a very successful European tour with Thomas Evers of Rockers Artist Agency to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his hit album "Love so Nice".Jackson, Kevin (2016)
Junior Kelly the Urban Poet
, ''

'', 18 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016

Discography

Ruhr Reggae Summer Muelheim 2016 Junior Kelly 05

Albums

* ''Rise'' (2000), Charm * ''Juvenile'' (2000), Jet Star * ''Juvenile in Dub'' (2000), Jet Star * ''Love So Nice'' (2001), VP * ''Conscious Voice'' (2002), Penitentiary * ''Bless'' (2003), Penitentiary * ''Smile'' (2003), VP * ''Creation'' (2004), Penitentiary * ''Tough Life'' (2005), VP * ''Red Pond'' (2010), VP * ''Piece Of The Pie'' (2013), VP * ''Urban Poet'' (2015), Irie Vibrations ;Live: *''Live in San Francisco'' (2007), 2B1 ;Split releases: * ''3 Wise Men Volume II'' (2001) – with

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 Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of '' Lucius'' ("Light"). The French form is '' Lucien'', while the Basque form is '' Luken''. Single name * Luciano (rap ...

, and Qshandia * ''The Five Disciples'' (2002) – with Sizzla,

Anthony B Keith Blair (born 31 March 1976), better known by the stage name Anthony B, is a Jamaican DJ and member of the Rastafari movement.Moskowitz, David V (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dance ...

, Luciano, and

Capleton Clifton George Bailey III (born 13 April 1967),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 67–69 better known by his stage name Capleton, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician. He is also referred to as Kin ...

* ''Five Disciples Part II'' (2003) – with Sizzla, Capleton, Luciano, and Anthony B * ''Kings Of Zion'' (2003) – with Sizzla, Anthony B, and Capleton * ''Toe 2 Toe 5'' (2003) – with Sizzla

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Junior Jamaican Rastafarians Jamaican male singers Jamaican reggae singers Living people 1969 births Singers from Kingston, Jamaica VP Records artists