The Kemist,
is a
Jamaican-American
Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican commu ...
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 ...
,
producer,
recording artist
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
and
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 ...
signed to
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
.
His sound is a fusion of
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 ...
and
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 ...
with
electronic dance music.
Early life
Errol "Kemar" Thompson, professionally known as The Kemist, was born and raised 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 ...
.
His mother,
Marcia Griffiths
Marcia Llyneth Griffiths (born 23 November 1949) is a Jamaican singer. One reviewer described her by noting "she is known primarily for her strong, smooth-as-mousse love songs and captivating live performances".
Biography
Born in West Kingst ...
, is considered the Queen of reggae music
and his father, Errol Thompson Snr, is an acclaimed Jamaican broadcaster, social speaker and musician.
Kemar attended
Wolmer's Boy's High School where he participated in rap battles during lunchtime and from there started making beats and selling tracks to friends.
In 2012, Kemar and Mike Thompson formed the production duo Black Lion,
whose credits include Mash It Up,
Slippery When Wet
''Slippery When Wet'' is the third studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was released on August 18, 1986, by Mercury Records in North America and Vertigo Records internationally. It was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, with recording sess ...
and I Love Sax.
Career
The Kemist's first release as a vocalist was ''Assets'', a collaboration with
Yellow Claw and Tropkillaz that was released on
Diplo
Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...
's label,
Mad Decent
Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. Recently, it has popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music created by DJ ...
on 12 October 2013.
In 2018 The Kemist signed with
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
.
On 2 November 2018 they released his first single ''Body Can't Lie'' featuring
Nyanda
Nyanda Janelle Thorbourne, better known by her stage name/mononym Nyanda, is a Jamaican-American recording artist and songwriter from Kingston, Jamaica. Nyanda is a member of the R&B/reggae duo Brick & Lace whose debut album, ''Love Is Wick ...
via 21 Entertainment /
Republic Records
Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...
/ Universal Music Canada.
Discography
Albums & EPs
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
As Composer / Writer
As remixer
Non-Singles
As lead artist
As Featured Artist
As Composer / Writer
Music videos
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemist, The
Jamaican rappers
Jamaican people of English descent
Reggae fusion artists
Ragga musicians
Jamaican reggae singers
Jamaican male singers
Dancehall musicians
Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica
American male singer-songwriters
21st-century American singers
Singer-songwriters from Florida
Jamaican musicians
Jamaican DJs
Record production teams
Living people
21st-century American male singers
Year of birth missing (living people)