Sizzla

Sizzla is one of the most commercially successful reggae acts of his era. A hugely prolific artist who keeps up a high quality release rate, he has put out more than an incredible 70 full length studio albums since starting out in the 1990s. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he is a keen subscriber of the Bob Ashanti brand of the Rastafarai movement and studied mechanical engineering at Dunoon High School. In his youth he witnessed a real dancehall explosion and with that music came to a lifestyle of guns and drugs, but his devotion to religion helped steer him clear of this. Sizzla’s served his musical apprenticeship under the Caveman Hi Fi sound system and has used his music as a way of getting his messages across. He has released on labels like Digital B, VP, Greensleeves, Kalonji Records, Xterminator Records and others. He has toured extensively with the likes of Luciano and has worked with Bobby Digital Dixon. In his long career he has had many hits including the likes of ‘Babylon Cowboy’ and ‘Kings of Earth’. Some of his albums include the likes of Black Woman & Child, Taking Over, Bobo Ashanti, Da Real Thing and 876 from 2016 on Judgement Yard.
He is a fine live performer who always commands the audience on stage and has released two live albums as well as many compilations of his vast discography. Sizzla’s first nomination for Best International Reggae Artist of the Year came at the 1998 MOBO Awards and he also won a place in various magazines’ top 100 albums of the year. He has 21 albums that have made it into the Billboard charts, and most recently his LP 876 hit the number three slot. In his time he has worked with or been sampled by the likes of Rick Ross, Rhianna, Akon, Lil Wayne, Wyclef Jean and more, whilst awards have come in from the likes of MOBO, Rolling Stone, the Reggae Academy and more.