Tyrone Thompson, (born July 1, 1967)
better known as Papa San, is a Jamaican

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 ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

singer.

Biography

Born in 1967 in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, he was raised by his

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

grandmother and began performing with

sound systems In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

(including Stereophonic the Bionic, Black Scorpio and Creation) in the late 1970s.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dabcehall'', Greenwood Press, , pp. 230-1 He won the Tastee Talent contest in 1981. He went on to become one of the major dancehall artists of the late 1980s and 1990s, with hits such as "Animal Party, I will survive, style and fashion, Legal Rights & Round table talk feat. Lady G & Maddy Maddy Cry".Kenner, Rob (2000)
Boom Shots
, ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'', August 2000, p. 163. Retrieved 2 November 2013Williams, Leighton (2002)
Dancehall Elders Want Respect
", ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', 8 December 2002. Retrieved 2 November 2013 His brother and fellow deejay

Dirtsman Patrick Thompson (4 March 1966 – 21 December 1993), better known as Dirtsman, was a Jamaican dancehall deejay. Biography Born in Spanish Town on 4 March 1965, Thompson was the son of the owner of the Black Universal Sound System, and was th ...

was murdered in 1993. In the three years that followed, his sister was killed in a motorcycle accident, his cousin was killed by police, and he himself had legal problems after being arrested on weapons charges. He turned to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in 1997.Westbury Music Ltd
/ref> This is also reflected in his style, as he started off as a true dancehall

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 ...

, later adopting traits of Gospel and Christian music.Papa San drops One Blood today
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 2 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013Rommen, Timothy (2007) ''“Mek Some Noise”: Gospel Music and the Ethics of Style in Trinidad'', University of California Press, , p. 96 Papa San sponsors a concert known as Papa San and Friends, to raise funds for orphanages in rural Jamaica. Since becoming a Christian, he has continued to produce his roots reggae sound, but with the message of Christ to the beat instead of his previously popular secular music. He has six children and lives in

Weston, Florida Weston is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just west of Fort Lauderdale. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which is anchored by Miami. The population was 68,107 at the 2020 census. Weston is 30 miles northwest of Miami, F ...

with five of them and his wife, Debbie Thompson. In 2011, Papa San and his wife, having been ordained ministers of the Gospel, were launched into pastoral ministry and started Our Fathers Kingdom International Ministries. In 2013, Papa San featured on Church Clothes, Vol 2 by Christian Hip Hop artist

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the ind ...

, with

Andy Mineo Andrew Aaron Mineo (born April 17, 1988), is an American Christian hip hop artist, producer, music executive, and video director based in New York City. He is signed to Reach Records and his creative initiative Miner League. In addition to ...

, on the song "The Fever". His album ''One Blood'' topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Reggae Albums Chart in February 2014.Jackson, Kevin (2014)
Papa San's Blood tops gospel chart
, ''

'', 2 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014

Discography

* 1986 ''Party Animal'' (Scar Face Music) * 1986 ''Papa San Meets Anthony Redrose'' (Weed Beat) * 1989 ''Style & Fashion'' (Pow Wow) * 1989 ''System'' (Pow Wow) * 1990 ''Reggae Dance Hall'' (Rohit) * 1991 ''Fire Inna Dancehall'' (King Dragon) * 1991 ''Strange'' (Pow Wow) * 1992 ''Pray for Them'' (Sonic Sounds) * 1992 ''Rough Cut'' (Pow Wow) * 1993 ''In Action'' (Pow Wow) * 1993 ''Pray Fi Dem'' (RAS) * 1995 ''No Place Like Home'' (VP) * 1996 ''Gi Mi Di Loving'' (Melodie) * 1999 ''Victory'' (Interscope) * 2003 ''God & I'' (Gospo Centric) * 2005 ''Real and Personal'' (Gospocentric) * 2008 ''

Higher Heights Higher may refer to: Music * The Higher, a 2002–2012 American pop rock band Albums * ''Higher'' (Ala Boratyn album) or the title song, 2007 * ''Higher'' (Ezio album) or the title song, 2000 * ''Higher'' (Harem Scarem album) or the title song ...

'' (Beloved Records) * unknown ''Three The Hard Way'' (World Enterprise) * 2012 ''My Story'' (Beloved) * 2014 ''One Blood''

References

External links

Papa San Tyrone Thompson, (born July 1, 1967)
better known as Papa San, is a Jamaic ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papa San Converts to Christianity Living people 1967 births Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican male singers Jamaican gospel singers People from Spanish Town Former Rastafarians VP Records artists