Mikey Bennett is a Jamaican music producer, composer, musician and singer.

Early life and influences

Mikey Bennett was born into a Christian family in Jamaica. Church is where Bennett realised he had musical talent. At the age of 12, Bennett was influenced greatly by guitarist

Mikey Chung Michael Chung (1950 – 28 December 2021) also known as Mao Chung, was a Jamaican musician who played keyboards, guitar and percussion instruments. He was also an arranger and record producer of Jamaican music, and worked with a wide array of m ...

. He would write his lyrics and Chung would help Bennett put them to music. He attended what is now the Northern Caribbean University based in Mandeville, Jamaica.

Career

Bennett has been on the music scene since the 1980s. He has composed and produced music for international artists including

Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, actor and philanthropist. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 20 ...

Maxi Priest Max Alfred "Maxi" Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. He was one ...

, Dennis Brown, and

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

Shabba Ranks Shabba Ranks (born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon; 17 January 1966) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home cou ...

, J.C. Lodge,

Cocoa Tea Calvin George Scott (born 3 September 1959), better known as Cocoa Tea, is a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter. Biography Born in Rocky Point, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, Cocoa Tea was popular in Jamaica from 1985, but has become success ...

, Home T Four,

Admiral Bailey Admiral Bailey (born Glendon Bailey, Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican dancehall Deejay (Jamaican), deejay who enjoyed his greatest success between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. He now lives in Jamaica. He has been described as "the hottes ...

, and

Johnny Osbourne Johnny Osbourne (born Errol Osbourne, 1948) is one of the most popular Jamaican reggae and dancehall singers of all time, who rose to success in the late 1970s and mid-1980s. His album '' Truths and Rights'' was a roots reggae success, and feat ...

. He recently directed and produced a reggae album titled ''The Heart of Jamaica'' for the longtime rum producer Appleton Estate. Bennett is the CEO of Grafton Studios in Vineyard Town, St. Andrew, Jamaica. He has also taught song writing at the University of Technology (Utech), Kingston, Jamaica. He has received many honours, among them the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) award in 2017 for mentorship.

Social responsibility

Bennet is involved in the Tower Street Correctional Facility music programme in Kingston, Jamaica and the St Catherine adult correctional centre. Bennett also judges competitions for spotting local musical talents."British High Commission Stages Song Competition", The Gleaner newspaper (Jamaica), 18 January 2019.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Mikey Jamaican record producers Living people Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican businesspeople Year of birth missing (living people)