Dean Bent (born January 1971), better known as Sweetie Irie, is an English reggae singer and deejay.

Early life

Sweetie Irie began working on local sound systems as a teenager.

Career

He gained the attention of

Angus Gaye Angus Gaye (24 September 1959 – 2 September 2022), better known as Drummie Zeb, was a British musician. He was the drummer and vocalist for the reggae band Aswad, as well as a record producer for other artists. Early life Gaye was born in Lond ...

Aswad Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one "Don't Tur ...

, who recruited him to MC on the dancehall mix of their 1989 single " On and On". He was then signed by

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

and in 1991 released his debut album ''DJ of the Future'' which went gold. Sweetie achieved a No. 53 chart placing with Aswad on the song "Smile" and a No. 47 placing with

Scritti Politti Scritti Politti are a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, England, by Welsh singer-songwriter Green Gartside. He is the only member of the band to have remained throughout the group's history. Beginning as a punk-inspired collect ...

on " Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me". In 1999, Sweetie joined UK garage outfit Middle Row and in 2001 collaborated with Ed Case on a remix of

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

' hit single "

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

", which charted at number four and went platinum in the UK. He followed that with the top 30 single "Who" (also with Ed Case), which led him to signing with

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

. In 2016, Sweetie teamed up with contemporary artists Kideko and George Kwali featuring

Nadia Rose Nadia Rose (born 11 June 1993) is a British rapper and songwriter from Croydon, London. Education Rose studied Music and Music Management at university. Career Rose released her debut EP ''Highly Flammable'' on 13 January 2017 following the ...

to release the single "Crank It" on the

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 publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

label which reached No. 31 in the UK. In 2017, Sweetie performed on a special edition of '' Top of the Pops'' and also performed in the BBC proms as the first reggae artist to do so. In 2018, he collaborated with Redlight on the single "Zum Zum". He has toured for three decades and has performed at festivals including Glastonbury, Wireless, Love Box and Boom Town. As well as the artists mentioned above, he has collaborated with No Doubt,

Ian Brown Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963) is an English singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the split in 1996, he began a solo career, re ...

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

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 separa ...

, Bobby Digital, Maxi Priest, Shy FX, Congo Natty, Roni Size, Redlight, Zinc and

Ms Dynamite Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Niomi Arleen Mc ...

. Sweetie teamed up with

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

producer Benny Page, mixing Sweetie's reggae dancehall roots and Page's drum and bass, yielding the album ''Purple''. Sweetie featured on

Afrobeats Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and ...

producer Julz colour tape album, ''Radar''. In 2020, Sweetie teamed up with Blaise and Nono for the Jin Jin label (Good Body), and regularly appeared on ''Love Island''. Since 2020, Sweetie has been touring with Gorillaz performing the "

" garage remix.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irie, Sweetie Living people 1971 births 21st-century Black British male singers English songwriters British reggae musicians 20th-century Black British male singers UK garage singers British male songwriters