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With the release of his landmark CD Where There Is Life in 1995, Luciano emerged as one of the most important reggae singers in decades and the greatest hope for roots reggae’s survival in the digital dancehall era. Since that much acclaimed release, Luciano’s music has been consistently praised for imparting sentiments of spiritual salvation, Rastafarian edification and African repatriation.

Music has run deeply throughout Luciano’s life. Born Jepther Washington McClymont on October 20, 1964 in Davey Town, a small community located atop a hilly region on the road to Mandeville in the central Jamaican parish of Manchester. Luciano was raised in the Adventist church and sang in the church choir. His father Arthur passed away when Luciano was just 11 years old. He left behind a guitar he had built and as Luciano recalls, “through those early years, I fell in love with the guitar and started to learn to play, which I realized was showing love and respect to my father.” His beloved mother Sophie, who struggled to raise Luciano and his eight siblings, is also a gifted singer.

As he grew older, Luciano sang in local youth clubs and took the mic at local sound system dances. In the late 80s, he arrived in Jamaica’s bustling capital Kingston hoping to transform his musical talent into a flourishing career. He sold oranges in the marketplace as means of initially supporting himself but when a drought restricted that year’s orange crop, he returned to Mandeville. However, the music beckoned so it wasn’t long before Luciano went back to Kingston, this time with even greater determination to succeed. He worked as an upholsterer by day and at night he sought recording opportunities in various studios.

It was suggested by one of his mentors, Homer Harris, that the name Jepther McClymont did not have the requisite charisma to propel the career of an aspiring entertainer; Jepther was (professionally) re-christened as Luciano, a name that parallels his extraordinary vocal skills alongside those of the world-renowned operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti. The name was also somewhat prophetic: “Luci” means bearer of light and within a few years Luciano would shine as one of the brightest lights in the Jamaican music constellation.

As the 1990s progressed, Luciano recorded for a few producers but failed to make any significant headway until he met Freddie McGregor. “Shake It Up” recorded for Freddie’s Big Ship label became a number one hit in the UK in 1993 and was featured on Luciano’s first release for VP Records, After All. But due to Freddie’s hectic touring commitments, he was unable to devote sufficient time to developing Luciano’s singer/songwriting skills. However the singer soon found an ideal collaborator in producer Phillip “Fatis” Burell of Xterminator Records whose releases were characterized by Rastafari imbued themes and intricately crafted roots rock riddims played by some of Jamaica’s finest musicians.

Fatis, who also took on the managerial role in Luciano’s career, brought the gifted singer’s talents to the musical forefront. With the release of Where There Is Life for Island Jamaica/Xterminator, Luciano’s deeply devotional yet accessible lyrics and the beautiful melodies, coupled with Fatis’ contemporary one drop riddims catapulted the singer to the top of the reggae charts, toppling (at least temporarily) the decade long reign of deejays rapping x-rated lyrics over digitized dancehall beats.

At the end of 2013, Luciano released his album Qalabah Man, distributed by VP Records and earlier this year, also release Deliverance, a Mad Professor british production, on his imprint Ariwa Records.

mawgak

President & CEO of KDW Concepts.net and Montrealdancehall.com.