Leroy Russell Junior (born 4 November 1987), better known by his stage names Tommy Lee and Tommy Lee Sparta, is a Jamaican dancehall artist from Flankers

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Tommy Lee Sparta gained popularity as a member of Adidjahiem Records and the associated Portmore Empire crew under the leadership of

Vybz Kartel Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall recording artist, composer, record producer, and entrepreneur. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as "Worl' Boss". As summarize ...

. He has been a controversial figure in dancehall due to his self-described "

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Dancehall" style, which often features dark and

Satanist Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few h ...

-inspired subject matter.goege, Kingston (7 July 2012). Interview with Winford Williams. OnStage

Career

Tommy Lee Sparta began deejaying in late 2007 at Snipa Studios in Flanker, where he recorded his first song, "Spartan Story." During this time, he performed as an

opening act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...

for local shows, including several from Portmore artist Vybz Kartel. Kartel, noticing that the artist was receiving positive responses from the crowd, invited him to move to Kingston and become a part of the Portmore Empire, Kartel's music crew. Tommy Lee Sparta, however, was reluctant to leave his family and neighborhood, and declined the offer. According to Tommy Lee Sparta, it wasn't until his performance at Vybz Kartel's Birthday Bash on 7 January 2010 that he decided to take the idea of being a musician seriously, and he soon accepted the offer to become an official member of the Portmore Empire crew.Russell, Leroy (8 September 2012). Interview with Joel "Kruddy" Harrison. Pree Dis: Episode 100.

Tempo Networks Tempo Networks is a pan-Caribbean television channel that broadcasts Caribbean music and other cultural products. Its programming includes music videos, news, dramas, and documentaries about Caribbean life. Musical genres broadcast include Regg ...

"Warn Dem," released in November 2010, was Tommy Lee Sparta's first recognized hit, based on a

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

by Da Wiz, his original producer from Snipa Studios. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, directed by Dk Konsepp, was also a first for the artist. Tommy Lee Sparta's breakthrough hit came with "Some Bwoy (Link Pon Wi Chain)" on the 2011 So Bad Riddim. However, it wasn't until well after Kartel's arrest and the release of the music video in 2012, under new management from Junior "Heavy-D" Fraser, that the single gained traction. The single worked its way to the number one spot of many of Jamaica's informal music charts, including Pree Dis and Entertainment Report, and the video was in heavy rotation on

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

stations such as RETV, Hype TV, and

. "Some Bwoy," along with follow-up singles such as "Psycho," "Buss a Blank," We want paper and "Shook (Uncle Demon)," gave Tommy Lee Sparta significant exposure locally as well as internationally and in 2012 he was not only the headlining artist for both the International

Reggae Sumfest Reggae Sumfest is the largest music festival in Jamaica and the Caribbean, taking place each year in mid-July in Montego Bay.Johnson, Richard (2014)All Set for Sumfest, ''Jamaica Observer'', 8 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014 Sumfest started in 19 ...

show in Montego Bay and the Sting music festival in Portmore but he was also the first full blown dancehall artist from the second city Montego Bay to do so he was 23 years old at the time. In May 2012, Adidjahiem Records was shut down, citing the legal issues of owner Vybz Kartel and lack of ability to represent/promote artists as reasons for the closure. Since then Tommy lee sparta has been an independent artist with his own record label Guzu musiq and his musical group the SPARTA Camp which consist of artistes like Dre x Sparta and more. In September 2012, Tommy Lee announced that he would be changing his stage name to Tommy Lee Sparta for

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

purposes, and to differentiate himself from

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

drummer

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...

and actor

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...

. The element "Sparta" was derived from an informal name given to the part of Flankers where he grew up. The move was suggested by his lawyer as a way to thwart potential copycat musicians from impersonating the artist.

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight- ...

Warren Weir __NOTOC__ Warren Weir (born October 1989) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, who specialized in the 200 metres. He was the bronze medallist in the event at the 2012 London Olympics, helping Jamaica sweep the medals. In 2013 at the Moscow World Cha ...

and several other Jamaican sprinters have stated their appreciation of Tommy Lee Sparta and Adidjahiem Records, going so far as to flash the

hand sign Manual communication systems use articulation of the hands (hand signs, gestures, etc.) to mediate a message between persons. Being expressed manually, they are received visually and sometimes tactually. When it is the primary form of communica ...

for the clique popularized by Tommy Lee Sparta after Jamaica won all three medals at the men's 200 metres in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In response, Tommy Lee Sparta released

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es for his songs "Psycho" and "Some Bwoy" with altered lyrics paying tribute to the Jamaican sprinters. BountyKiller

Bounty Killer feud

In September 2012, a feud formed between Tommy Lee Sparta and

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

leader

Bounty Killer Rodney Basil Price (born 12 June 1972), known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair ...

over a series of

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

posts that were perceived as an insult to Tommy Lee Sparta. One such message from Bounty Killer on 8 September said, "Christmas is 4 christ so nuh demon or devil cyaah win we a bloodclaat all a dem a dead a sting!!!" This was widely believed to be a reference to Tommy Lee Sparta's "Uncle Demon" persona and a threat against the artist regarding the upcoming Sting music festival on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

. Bounty Killer, however, denied that the tweet was directed towards Tommy Lee Sparta, stating that the message was against

the devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. ...

and not any artist in particular. Tommy Lee Sparta said of the slight that he had great respect for the artist as an elder dancehall musician, and that as the statement was probably made to garner publicity, he would not respond with any disrespect.Price, Rodney (8 December 2012). Interview with Winford Williams. OnStage However, just a little over a week later, Tommy Lee Sparta released the music video for a new

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...

directed towards Bounty Killer entitled "Goat Head." Bounty Killer responded the next month with two diss songs of his own, "Di Gaad" and "Nyammy Lee." As a result of the growing feud, the two artists were slated to clash at the 2012 Sting music festival, with Bounty Killer comparing the matchup as equivalent to "a giant and an ant." However, when Sting's lead promoter, Isaiah Laing, implied that Tommy Lee Sparta might have a chance of defeating the veteran artist, Bounty Killer saw the remark as an insult and cancelled his performance. During Tommy Lee Sparta's performance at Sting, he expressed his support and respect for Bounty Killer, and both artists have since stated they consider the feud to be over. (Awards accolades tours and chart success ) in 2012 Tommy lee sparta was nominated for two of Jamaica’s youth views awards one in collaboration of the year for the single informer ft vybz kartel and top charting song of the year for his hit song psycho one to which he copped top charting song of the year in the following year 2013 he announced new dates for some international shows in Canada after they were postponed due to a medical condition and he welcomed the new year with a google endorsement as google play described him as an artist to watch for in 2013 in Kenya he won breakthrough artist of the year Later Tommy lee sparta released the music video for his fully animated music video captain sparta that became a big hit for kids in Sweden ranging from ages 12 –19 which lead to the artist securing a children show on April 24 but Sweden was not the only place he was visiting because this was also his first European tour which would see the artiste make appearances in Holland, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and England over a six week time frame and had a successful 2013 tour fans were happy when Tommy lee sparta released one of his many eps titled sparta boss that was released on September 23, 2013 but they were also more overjoyed to find out Tommy lee’s hit song psycho was added as a soundtrack for the global video game franchise grand theft auto 5. In 2016 he was featured on a song called ''Evil'' from

Bonez MC John Lorenz Moser (born December 23, 1985), better known by his stage name Bonez MC, is a German rapper and music producer. Bonez is a member of the German hip hop crew 187 Strassenbande consisting of the rappers Gzuz, Maxwell, LX, Sa4 and B ...

and

RAF Camora Raphael Ragucci (born 4 June 1984), known professionally as RAF Camora, is an Austrian rapper. Biography Raphael Ragucci was born in Vevey, Switzerland, to an Austrian father from Voralberg and an Italian mother from Naples. Ragucci settled in ...

that charted at number 51 on the German charts. In 2018 he entered the billboard reggae albums top 10 chart at number 9 with his new creator ep Tommy Lee Sparta was nominated in 2020 for an IRAWMA (international reggae & music awards) award in the category of best dancehall stage craft entertainer. Tommy Lee Sparta’s latest hits include blessings, rich badness, under vibes, tattoo, procreator, power struggle, and lord luci. Tommy Lee Sparta has amassed 1 million subscribers on his YouTube vevo channel on September 18, 2021 thanks to his vastly large cult following he declared his appreciation for the feat on his Instagram account this is a clear indication that the Sparta fanbase is one of the most loyal fanbase in the game .

Personal life

Russell was born in 1987 and grew up in Flanker an unofficial

residential community A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types of occup ...

located just east of

Sangster International Airport Sangster International Airport is an international airport located east of Montego Bay, Jamaica. The airport is capable of handling nine million passengers per year. It serves as the most popular airport for tourists visiting the north coast ...

in Montego Bay. He has 4 sisters and an older brother. One sister, Denise Baker, lives in Allentown, PA with her husband Kirk Baker, Russell's older cousin Andrew Henry and his five children: Darion "Deejay" Henry, the eldest, Donovan "Popatime" Henry and Gerard Henry.
Russell obtained an American Visa in June 2014. Tommy Lee Sparta says that he only "pree music" in his 2013 sting performance.
He describes his upbringing as difficult, having lost his father at the age of 9. Russell attended Anchovy High School in the nearby town of

Anchovy An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

. He had his first child at the age of 14 while he was in

eighth grade Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...

by his high school sweetheart, Donna who was then in the

eleventh grade Eleventh grade, 11th grade, junior year, or grade 11 (called Year 12 in Wales and England and fifth form in Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the ...

. In February 2014 he was accused along with four others in connection with a lottery scam, he was proven to be innocent of the lottery scamming in 2019. He was unlawfully detained for nearly a week and was ordered to be released by a judge in May 2019 In March 2021, he pled guilty to illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Discography

Extended plays

*2012: "Pussy Mechanic" (UIM Records) *2012: "Gal Gimme Wine" (UIM Records) * 2012: ''Psycho'' (Tad's Record Inc) * 2012: ''Grim Reaper'' (UIM Records) * 2013: ''Save Dem Soul'' (Da Wiz Records) *2013: "Bun Nu Nu " (UIM Records) * 2012: ''Some Bwoy'' (Young Vibez Production) * 2013: ''Spartan Soulja'' (Guzu musiq) *2014: "Dream" (UIM Records) *2015: "Big Bike" (UIM Records) *2015: "Rebirth" (UIM Records) *2017: "Diamond Blessings" (Damage musiq) *2018: "New Creator" (Ricardo Gowe Record) *2019 :”Blessings (damage musiq) *2019 :”Under vibes (Falmouth dinesty king records) *2019 :”Rich badness(herah musik production) *2020 :”Procreator (damage musiq) *2020:”Tattoo(night owl musik)

LPs

* 2012: ''Grim Reaper - LP'' (UIM Records) * 2012: ''Bay Badness - LP'' (UIM Records - TJ Records) * 2013: ''Save Dem Soul - LP'' (UIM Records - Da Wiz Records) * 2013: ''Sparta Hits - LP'' (UIM Records - Guzu Musiq) * 2013: ''Uncle Demon - LP'' (Guzu Musiq) * 2013: '' Sparta Boss - LP'' (Guzu Musiq) * 2017: ''Diamond Blessings - LP'' (Damage Musiq) * 2018: ''New Creator - LP'' (Guzu Musiq) * 2019: ''Reincarnation'' ''- LP'' (Boss Lady Muzic, Inc.) * 2021: Transition ''- LP'' (Boss Lady Muzic, Inc.)

Features

*2016 "Evil" (

feat. Tommy Lee Sparta) *2016 “Kuraiyoru” (Kohh feat. Tommy Lee Sparta) *2017 "Scotch Bonnet" (Ramriddlz feat. Tommy Lee Sparta) *2017 "Crossover" (Sean Kingston feat. Tommy Lee Sparta) *2018 "Run With It" Madeaux feat. Tommy Lee Sparta) *2019 "Blessings" (Damaqe) *2020 "Bad Gyal" (feat. Skilibeng, Jucee Froot & Tommy Lee) *2021 "LOVE PRISON" (KILLY feat. Tommy Lee Sparta)

External links

Tommy Lee Sparta website
(offline as of 09/18/2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparta, Tommy Lee Jamaican dancehall musicians Jamaican reggae singers Jamaican male singers People from Montego Bay Living people 1987 births