Oswald Priest, better known as Mad Lion, is a

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 ...

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

musician and rapper.Larkin, Colin (1998) "Mad Lion", in ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 178 He frequently collaborates with fellow hip hop artist

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

. His awards include the 1994

Source Award ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the maga ...

as Reggae Artist of the Year, and the 1995 Source Award as Reggae Hip-Hop Artist of the Year.

Biography

Priest is Jamaican and was born in London. Shortly after moving to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, he met reggae performer Super Cat at Super Power Records. At Super Cat's suggestion, he adopted his professional name, an acronym for Musical Assassin Delivering Lyrical Intelligence Over Nations. He blended raggea and hip-hop, and went on to work with KRS-One throughout the 1990s. His addition of hip hop rhythms to Shabba Ranks' "Jam" gave him some early success. His début single "Shoot to Kill" was successful in New York and he reached a wider audience with "Take It Easy", which was one of 18 tracks on his début album in 1994, titled ''Real Ting''. He contributed to

Salt-N-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...

's 1997 album '' Brand New''. In 1997 he topped the US reggae chart with "Carpenter". He also appeared in the music video for the Flava in Ya Ear remix by Craig Mack feat.

Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

Rampage Rampage may refer to: Places * Rampage Mountain, a mountain in Montana People * Quinton Jackson (born 1978; nicknamed "Rampage"), American mixed martial artist and actor * Randy Rampage (1960-2018), Canadian musician * Rampage (rapper) (born 1 ...

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and

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

. Mad Lion's other collaborative projects consist of working with Puerto Rican producers DJ Playero, DJ Tony Touch, DJ Nico Canada, and other reggaeton artists who were flourishing around 1996. Mad Lion was featured on a track in which he did a duet with the Puerto Rican Hip Hop artist

Mexicano 777 Israel Perales Ortiz (September 1, 1972 – July 23, 2015) better known by his stage name Mexicano 777, was a Puerto Rican rapper who gained fame across Latin America, and in the United States. Mexicano 777 was from Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, and was ...

on the track titled "Guerreros" which was a Dancehall fused Hip-Hop track that was featured on the "Boricua Guerrero: First Combat" album produced by DJ Playero & DJ Nico Canada. Mad Lion also collaborated with Puerto Rican Reggaeton artist Rey Pirin on the track titled "Guerrillero Borincano" which was a gritty Hip-Hop. Mad Lion was joined by Jahdan & the Black Hearted Skavengerz who did a solo on a Reggaeton riddim titled "Many Many More", & the duo Curly Valentino & Demos Demarco made an appearance on the Hip-Hop track titled "Razor Sharp" with Mexicano 777. Mad Lion soon lent his rapping skills to that of the DJ Tony Touch & DJ Nico Canada produced mixtape titled "Guatauba", where he laid down a freestyle on a Reggaeton riddim. Again, Mad Lion was joined by other Jamaican Dancehall artists such as Mad Cobra, who did a freestyle on a Hip-Hop riddim, & The Black Hearted Skavengerz appeared doing a freestyle on a Reggaeton riddim.

Discography

*''Real Ting'' (1994), Nervous *''Real Lover'' (1995), VP *''Ghetto Gold and Platinum Respect'' (1997), Nervous *''Predatah or Prey'' (2001), Reprise/

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mad Lion Jamaican hip hop musicians Reggae fusion artists Ragga musicians Jamaican reggae musicians Living people Reprise Records artists Year of birth missing (living people)