Luciano

A superstar in his native Jamaica, Luciano combines his love of God and beauty into a soulful, spiritual blend of rock- and R&B-tinged reggae. Born Jepther McClymont in Davyton, he began his musical career singing in church and moved to Kingston to pursue music professionally. After McClymont had worked with prominent reggae producers like Herman Chin-Loy and labels like Aquarius and Sky High, Homer Harris of Blue Mountain changed McClymont’s name. Luciano released singles for labels like Big Ship, New Name Muzik, and Sky High, and began working with longtime producer Philip "Fatis" Burrell. The pressures of constant recording and performing caused him to leave the music scene in 1993 to regroup and reconsider his life, but he returned on Chris Blackwell’s Island Jamaica label with Where There Is Life (1995), which reflected his sabbatical with its spiritual, contemplative style and found critical acclaim for its artistic integrity and stylistic diversity. Luciano’s Rastafarian approach to life and music continued to fill his recordings as he built a discography of well over 20 studio and live releases into the late 2010s, supported by production from Dean Fraser, Sly & Robbie, and Frenchie, among many other associates. The singer’s late-’90s and early-2000s highlights include Messenger (1997), Sweep Over My Soul (1999), the Grammy-nominated A New Day (2001), and Serve Jah (2003), all of which reached the Top Ten of Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart. All the while, respect and admiration for the singer grew; he was awarded an Order of Distinction the same year he released his 13th proper album, God Is Greater Than Man (2007). Later high points included Rub-a-Dub Market (2011), The Qabalah Man (2013), and Zion Awake (2014), the last of which earned Luciano another Grammy nomination. ~ Heather Phares & Andy Kellman