Tilmann Otto (born 19 April 1974), better known by his stage name Gentleman, is a German

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

musician.

Personal life

Gentleman lives in the Neubrück area of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

.Kriesch, Adrian & Scholz, Jan-Philipp (2014)
German reggae in Africa, courtesy of Gentleman
, ''

Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...

'', 26 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014 He is the son of a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

pastor and is the father of two children, named Samuel and Tamica. He is married to Tamika, a

backing singer A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

of the Far East Band, which has supported him since his first concert tour of Germany in 2002. Although regularly on tour and in the studio, Gentleman generally considers himself a rather family oriented person, which becomes apparent in his music projects such as his long-player ''

Journey to Jah ''Journey to Jah'' is the 2002 second LP released by the Reggae artist Gentleman, produced by Dean Frazer. Track listing # "Dem Gone" - 4:03 # "Ina Different Time (feat. Jahmali & Daddy Rings)" - 3:51 # "Runaway" - 3:41 # "Man A Rise (fea ...

'', which was inspired by the birth of his first son Samuel. His song ''Mama'' from the collaborative album ''Conversations'' that he recorded with

Ky-Mani Marley Ky-Mani Marley (born 26 February 1976) is a Jamaican singer and musician. His name is of East African origin, and means "Adventurous Traveler". He is the only child of Bob Marley with Anita Belnavis, a Jamaican table tennis champion. In 2001 ...

deals with his deep spiritual relationship to his mother. Gentleman - Ilosaarirock 2011

Music

Gentleman has traveled to Jamaica regularly since he was 18 years old. His career began with the collaboration of the band

Freundeskreis Freundeskreis (meaning "Circle of Friends") also known as FK, were a German hip hop group from Stuttgart. They performed songs in German language, German, English language, English, French language, French and Esperanto. The members were Max Her ...

which produced the song "Tabula Rasa". After beginning his career as a

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

, he based his style to the classic form of the reggae genre like that of

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

. He sings mainly in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Jamaican Patois Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English wo ...

. With songs like "Send a Prayer", Gentleman expresses his deep belief in

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. His album, ''

Confidence Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...

'', climbed to number 1 on the German album charts in 2004. Gentleman was featured on the album ''True Love'' by

Toots and the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

, which won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 2004 for Best Reggae Album.“Toots & the Maytals - True Love." Amazon. www.amazon.com. Web. . Retrieved 9 November 2016. In 2005, Gentleman performed with Mamadee with the song "Lass los" representing

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

in the

Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 The Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 was the first edition of the annual Bundesvision Song Contest musical event. The contest was held on 12 February 2005 at the König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The contest was hosted by ...

, placing 15th with 10 points. After ten years releasing music under the label

Four Music Four Music (''Four Music Productions GmbH'') is a German record label founded by hip hop group Die Fantastischen Vier in 1996. It was originally located in Stuttgart, but has moved to Kreuzberg, Berlin. In 2004, Max Herre's debut album, as wel ...

he moved to

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

in 2010.

2013-08-25 Gentleman at Chiemsee Reggae Summer '13 BT0A6474

Discography

Albums

Singles

EPs

* 1999: ''Heat of the Night'' * 1999: ''Jah Jah Never Fail'' * 2002: ''Leave Us Alone'' * 2002: ''Dem Gone'' * 2003: ''Rainy Days'' * 2003: ''Runaway'' * 2004: ''Superior'' * 2005: ''Intoxication'' * 2005: ''Send a Prayer'' * 2006: ''On We Go / Caan Hold Us Down'' * 2007: ''Different Places'' * 2007: ''Serenity'' * 2008: ''Soulfood / Lack of Love'' * 2010: ''It No Pretty'' * 2010: ''To the Top'' * 2010: ''Lonely Days''

DVDs

* 2003: ''Gentleman & The Far East Band Live'' * 2011: ''Diversity Live''

References

External links

Official website

Gentleman @ ''fourmusic.com''
' ''(as of 2001; archived at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gentleman 1974 births Living people Reggae fusion artists Musicians from Osnabrück Participants in the Bundesvision Song Contest German reggae musicians Echo (music award) winners VP Records artists