Agent Sasco

A popular Jamaican dancehall singer and deejay with a sharp delivery and a smart, sometimes combative lyrical style, Agent Sasco came up in the 2000s, releasing a wide array of singles and collaborations as well as a pair of albums for the VP label. Initially known as Assassin, he later changed his name to Agent Sasco and began to shift toward more socially conscious themes. Already a star within dancehall and reggae, he gained further notoriety in the 2010s by guesting on high-profile releases by American hip-hop stars Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar and even appeared at the 2016 Grammy Awards with the latter. His later albums include Theory of Reggaetivity (2016) and Hope River (2018), and he has remained a prolific singles artist heading into the next decade.
Born Jeffrey E. Campbell in Kintyre, Jamaica, he developed an interest in music early on and was nicknamed Assassin by his school friends for his quick-witted lyrics. He was still in his teens when Spragga Benz recorded one of his songs in 1999, setting him on his career path as a musician. Using Assassin as his stage name, he began releasing his own music in the early 2000s, turning out dozens of singles for a variety of labels like Penthouse Records and Germain Music. Meanwhile, he furthered his education, pursuing a degree in business management while deejaying on the side. By 2005, Assassin had signed with VP Records and issued his debut album, Infiltration, followed in 2007 by Gully Sit'n, which centered around ghetto life. Themes of struggle and hardship were common in his singles, which continued to arrive at a rapid pace, some of them using a new alteration of his name, Sasco, or Agent Sasco. He was also an in-demand touring artist with appearances around the world including Europe, Africa, North America, and the Far East.
In the early part of the next decade, Sasco’s reach had extended beyond reggae and dancehall, and in 2013, American rapper Kanye West included a verse of Sasco’s on his Yeezus album. Two years later, he was featured on Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy Award-winning highlight To Pimp a Butterfly LP and performed with Lamar at the 2016 Grammy ceremony. Released that same year, his third long-player, Theory of Reggaetivity, appeared under the conjoined moniker Assassin aka Agent Sasco. A fourth album, Hope River, appeared in 2018, with a host of singles arriving over the next two years. In 2020, two decades into his career, Sasco remained as prolific as ever, releasing numerous singles along with the Sasco vs Assassin EP. ~ Timothy Monger