Wallace Wilson (born 17 January 1978), better known by the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Red Rat, is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

n dancehall reggae recording and performing artist.Kellman, Andy
Red Rat Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

, retrieved 2011-02-15 He is known for his up-beat music, comical style, and signature catch phrase "Oh, no!"

Early life

Wilson was born in Saint Ann's Bay,

Saint Ann Parish Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called "the Garden Parish of Jamaica" on ac ...

. Wilson's father was the guitarist of

Byron Lee & the Dragonaires Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (known as Byron Lee's Dragonaires after Lee's death and now The Dragonaires) are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron ...

, and two of his older brothers were also professional musicians. Red Rat's debut album, ''Oh, No.. It's Red Rat'' (1997), featured songs such as "Shelly Ann", "Dwayne", "Tight-Up Skirt", "Cruise" (featured in the movie ''

The Big Hit ''The Big Hit'' is a 1998 American action comedy film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Che-Kirk Wong, and stars Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Bokeem Woodbine, Antonio Sabàto Jr., China Chow, Avery Brooks, Lainie Ka ...

''), and "Big Man, Little Yute". It became one of the best selling records from

Greensleeves Records Greensleeves Records & Publishing, shortened to ''Greensleeves Records'', is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records star ...

. His second album, ''I’m a Big Kid Now'', followed in 2000, with more hits and critical acclaim. His musical diversity and mainstream popularity led to a series of collaborations with artists such as Treach of Naughty by Nature, Kele Le Roc, Renee from Zhane, NEXT, British electronic group

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles " At the River", " I See You Baby" and " Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of ...

and his cousin, Canadian hip-hop artist, Dan-e-o. Recently, Red Rat reemerged back in the media with his new hit, "Rise up, Zimbabwe" which was a joint project with ABRA (African Bread Recording Artists). The song was released in April 2010 and immediately saw popularity in the music fans of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. In 2009, Red Rat rebranded himself and was offered an opportunity to become the President of A&R/Musical Director at an independent record label called Infinity Moguls Inc. He began working with a young female artist named Pascalle, who is his business partner with Infinity Moguls. Pascalle performed with him all over the world. He began to coach her personally. Red Rat then went on to collaborate with Dan-e-o, his cousin, a Toronto-based rapper, the song also featured Pascalle, called "Hoo Yuh Want?" Followed by Red Rat, Infinity Moguls teamed up with ABRA in 2010, for the release of "Rise Up, Zimbabwe" which became an anthem. Red Rat revisited the

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

market, where Infinity Moguls partnered with Ruff and Tuff on another song that became Pascalle's single "HAUTE" featuring Red Rat and Toledo. The song was released in 2016, and quickly topped the Caribbean charts. In 2016 Red Rat teamed up with DJ Buddha to create an

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstra ...

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 style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Ro ...

moombahton Moombahton (, ) is an electronic dance music genre, derived from house music and reggaeton, that was created by American DJ and producer Dave Nada in Washington, D.C., in 2009. Nada coined the name as a portmanteau of "Moombah" (a track by Su ...

fused song called "Higher" featuring an up-and-coming artist called dEvolve which was released in September 2016 and became one of the fastest song to get over three million streams on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

in less than three months.

Discography

*''Oh, No.. It's Red Rat'' (1997),

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fo ...

*''I'm a Big Kid Now'' (2000), Greensleeves *''Monsters of Dancehall'' (2008), Greensleeves

References

External links

*
Infinity Moguls
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Red Rat 1978 births Living people Jamaican dancehall musicians Jamaican reggae musicians People from Saint Ann Parish Greensleeves Records artists