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 | Sizzla
Reggae Artist Sizzla was born Miguel Collins on April 17, 1976, and was raised in the August Town area of Kingston. As a person from the ghetto he became conscious of the suffering of youths in the ghetto. Sizzla was a graduate of Dunoon High School, where he studied Mechanical Engineering. Dunoon, with a reputation of association with some of the best dancehall deejays from the city, including Shabba Ranks and Lady G, allowed Sizzla to express his gift of music. Like many other young artists at the forefront of Jamaica's new roots movement, including Capleton, Jah Cure and Anthony B., Sizzla's militant rasta stance is expressed through his adherence to Prince Emmanuel's priestly Bobo 'Shanti order whose affiliates often wear the turban and carry the broom. Growing up in the ghetto and his devotion to the Bobo religion became the foundation of Sizzla music changing the history of reggae music. |
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In 1996 Phillip "Fatis" Burrell issued Sizzla's debut album "Burning Up", in 1997 Sizzla really set the reggae world on fire with a startling run of killer 45's, the Firehouse crew produced "Like mountain", "Babylon cowboy" and "Kings of the earth" for Fatis' Xterminator label, "Clean up your heart" on Barry O'Hare's Xrated imprint and many others. Sizzla fever reached a pitch with the almost simultaneous release of two albums from the man: "Praise Ye Jah" and "Black woman and child".
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Both became instant contemporary roots reggae classics. In February 1998 Sizzla appeared in the U.K. for two ecstatically received shows in Birmingham and London as part of an Xterminator revue called "Hail Kings Of Glory '98" alongside Louie Culture, Mikey General, Malachi and Luciano backed by Dean Fraser and the Firehouse Crew. 1998's Kalonji was issued in the U.S. under the title Freedom Cry, and featured the successful singles "Love Amongst My Brethren" and "Rain Shower." No less than three albums -- Be I Strong, Good Ways, and Royal Son of Ethiopia -- appeared in 1999, with Be I Strong achieving the highest profile among them. The year 2000 brought three more albums: the double-CD Liberate Yourself (which featured one disc of Sizzla material and another of his protégés), Words of Truth (which featured a bonus live disc), and Bobo Ashanti, a well-received, highly spiritual set with a stronger hip-hop flavor. Refusing to slow down, Sizzla issued four more albums in 2001 -- Black History, Taking Over, Rastafari Teach I Everything, and Blaze Up the Chalwa -- and often displayed a harder edge and a willingness to embrace digital production. That approach changed in 2002, when he concentrated on softer, mellower, more romantic material, which dominated that year's albums Ghetto Revolution and Da Real Thing. Two more albums, Light of My World and Rise to the Occasion, appeared in 2003. In 2005, rap mogul and Rocawear CEO, Damon Dash, announced that he had signed Sizzla to his DDMG Records label.
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It remains to be seen what the future holds for Sizzla. His astonishing thought provoking lyrical ability - he rarely seems to repeat himself - and his righteous authentic Bobo inspired delivery mark him out as a true original, another phenomenal manifestation of the continuing spirit of rebellion that finds its voice in the oppressed of Jamaica.
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