Ken Marlon Charles a.k.a. KMC (born 5 January 1971) is a

soca Soca or SOCA may refer to: Places * Soča, a river in Slovenia and Italy * Soča, Bovec, Slovenia * Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport, by ICAO code * Soca, a village in Banloc Commune, Timiș County, Romania * SoCa, Southern California Other u ...

artist from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. Famous for hits like " Soul on Fire", "Soca Bashment" and "Bashment to Carnival" KMC is signed to the US-based

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Sequence Records. Considered to be one of Trinidad's top

artists, KMC has over sixteen years experience in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

. He has made a name for himself as a

solo artist In music, a solo (from the Spanish and Italian based-word: ''Solo'', meaning ''alone'' or ''by yourself'') is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung featuring a single performer, who may be performing completely alone or supported by an ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, producer and frontman of the band Red, White & Black.

Early years

KMC is one of nine children. He was born and raised in the village of Rio Claro and then moved to

Chaguanas The Borough of Chaguanas is the largest municipality (83,489 at the 2011 census) and fastest-growing
– Afra ...

Career

KMC always had a passion for music. As a young child he used to sneak about and listen to the bands in his village. "At the age of seven, I used to go under the house by the band and when they weren't around I would play the drum set." As time marched on, the same energy and precociousness that brought the young KMC to the

drum set A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

also brought him to teach himself how to play music. "Music is something I was never taught. I was never taught to play the keyboard. I learned to do everything on my own. Love is what made me master it. Everything I do is by ear and not by reading," he proclaims. KMC started his musical career as a dance-hall artist, recording and releasing a total if sixteen records. In 1998, he decided to test his skills in the Soca genre, bursting onto the scene with songs like "Kaya", "Bashment to Carnival" and "Soca Bashment". These were well received by his fans and helped to establish KMC as a leading Soca artist. With over ten independently released Soca albums and compilations to his name, KMC is responsible for the Voodoo, Drunk Man, Concubine, Party Alliance, Thunderbirds, X-Out, Stinging Nettle, and Tear Drop Riddims, amongst others. He has also produced songs for some of the leading Soca artists, including

Machel Montano Machel Jesus Montano (born 24 November 1974)Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Soca Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 300–301. is a Trinidadian soca singer, actor, record producer and songwriter. Known for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unp ...

Bunji Garlin Ian Antonio Alvarez (born July 14, 1978), better known by his stage name Bunji Garlin, is a Trinidadian ragga soca artist. He is also affectionately known as the Viking of Soca. His spouse is Fay-Ann Lyons. Early life Bunji was born on July 1 ...

Maximus Dan MX Prime previously Maximus Dan (born Edghill Thomas, 1979, Carenage, Trinidad and Tobago) is a Soca music, soca / dancehall musician. He is also known by his former stage name ''Maga Dan''. After working with Jamaican producer Danny Browne betw ...

Destra Garcia Destra Garcia (born 10 November 1978) is a Trinidadian musician, singer and songwriter of soca music. She is also known by the mononym Destra. She is one of the most popular female soca artists in the world. Biography Childhood and early caree ...

Denise Belfon Denise "Saucy Wow" Belfon (born 23 November 1968, in Trinidad) is a soca and contemporary R&B songwriter and dancer. Early years As a young girl in school, she was a football (soccer) player and was offered a scholarship to Howard University t ...

, and Jungle. KMC is known for songs like "Doh Want to Know", "Carnival Rags", "Rough Wine", "First Experience", "Flopping Up", "Cyah X Me Out" and "Animal". In April 2005, KMC was signed to the American

music label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

Sequence Records. His debut album on the label was entitled '' Soul on Fire'' after the album's first single. The album entered the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

at number 84 and has sold approximately 285,000 copies worldwide. "Soul on Fire", the single, was the first track released from the album in June 2005. The song's remix, featured Jamaican dancehall star

Beenie Man Anthony Moses Davis (born 22 August 1973), better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Jamaican Dancehall deejay. Biography Davis was born in the Waterhouse district of Kingston in 1973.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Mus ...

and American disc jockey

Fat Man Scoop Isaac Freeman III (born August 6, 1971), better known by his stage name Fatman Scoop, is an American rapper, promoter and radio personality famed for his on-stage rough, raw loud voice. He is known for the song " Be Faithful", which topped the c ...

. The video for the Soul on Fire single was filmed in Tobago and featured the Tobagonian born, Trinidadian model

Teri Bovell Teri is a given name directly from Teresa. Notable people with the name include: * Teri Ann Linn (born 1961), American actress and singer * Teri Anulewicz, American politician * Teri Austin (born 1957), Canadian actress * Teri Byrne (born 1972) ...

. In October 2005, KMC joined

on his US "King of the Dancehall" tour.

Discography

Albums

*2005: '' Soul on Fire''

References

External links

The Trinidad Guardian -Online Edition Ver 2.0
* {{DEFAULTSORT:KMC 1971 births Living people Soca musicians 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers