Born Damian Beckett and previously known as Baby Cham until 2005, Cham is a Grammy Award-nominated Jamaican recording artist, best known for his 2006 single Ghetto Story, from his debut album of the same name. Raised in the Marverly and Waterhouse communities of Kingston, Cham’s uncle, a sound equipment owner was his first influence in the music business since DJ’s like Super Cat worked in the studio that housed his uncle’s equipment. The young man’s passion increased and in 1993 Cham met hit producer Dave “The Stranger” Kelly who refused to work with him on a serious basis until he finished school. Then Cham began working with Spragga Benz; and the “lift off” came into being. They recorded a duet, Cocomania in 1994, and he first received airplay at the tender age of 16. Then Cham finished school and from the mid to late ’90s a slew of Kelly-produced, hit singles including Many Many, Man & Man, and the controversial Boom put Cham in the hit-maker driver’s seat as he became the premier artist on Kelly’s Madhouse Record Label. With time and effort, Cham pushed into the U.S. arena, dropping the sexually tinged crossover hit Vitamin S in 2003. That led to him signing a distribution deal with Atlantic Records and the single’s re-release in 2004. In 2006 Atlantic released his major debut album, Ghetto Story, featuring popular guest vocalists such as Alicia Keys and Akon.
