Patrick George Anthony Barrett (born 15 January 1962), better known by his stage name Tony Rebel, 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 ...

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 ...

Career

Born in

Manchester Parish, Jamaica The Parish of Manchester is a parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross Pro-Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Latin Catholic Dioces ...

, Barrett was initially a singer, appearing as Papa Tony or Tony Ranking in local talent contests and on

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

Sugar Minott Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott (25 May 1956 – 10 July 2010)Campbell, Howard (2010)Reggae singer Sugar Minott dies at 54, Associated Press, 11 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010Peru, Yasmine (2010)Godfather of Dancehall, Sugar Minott, dead at ...

's "Youth Promotion". His first release was the single "Casino" that appeared in 1988 on the MGB record label, although his career took off when he worked with Donovan Germain's Penthouse setup in the early 1990s. He had a big hit in 1990 with "Fresh Vegetable", and established a

singjay Singjaying is a Jamaican style of reggae vocals combining toasting and singing in an elastic format that encourages rhythmically compelling and texturally impressive vocal embellishments. The performer is called a singjay, a combination of singer ...

style of delivery. He is notable as one of the few dreadlocked 'cultural' deejays of the

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 ...

era. In 1992 he signed a deal with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

who released ''Vibes of the Times'', a predominantly

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin. Origin Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as ...

album, the following year. It spawned some of his more well known international singles such as the title track "Vibes of the Times" and "Nazerite Vow" both of which had accompanying music videos. In 1994 he founded his record label, 'Flames'. That same year, he held a reggae festival named

Rebel Salute Rebel Salute is an annual music festival held in Jamaica. It is held on January 15 of every year, the birthday of promoter Tony Rebel. It is one of Jamaica's biggest music festivals, known for its focus on roots and conscious music. Rebel began the ...

Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville is the capital and largest town in the parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of the total population w ...

. It has developed into an annual event through his production company, Flames Productions, and is held every year on his birthday. In 2001, Barrett wrote, recorded and donated the song "Not all about money" to the

United Nations Volunteers The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is a United Nations organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and ...

programme for inclusion on the

International Year of Volunteers International Year of Volunteers was designated for 2001 by the United Nations General Assembly. The initiative aimed at increased recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of volunteering, to highlight the achievements of the millions of ...

2001 website and CD. It was chosen as the lead song for the CD. In June 2013, Barrett was sworn in as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

.Henry, Balford (2013)
Tony Rebel, Tommy Cowan sworn in as JPs
, ''

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 ...

'', 22 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013 Rebel's son, Abatau, has followed him into a career in music.Johnson, Richard (2016)
Abatau does it his way
, ''

'', 12 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016

Discography

Albums

* ''Real Rough'' (1990) (with

Capleton Clifton George Bailey III (born 13 April 1967),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 67–69 better known by his stage name Capleton, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician. He is also referred to as Kin ...

and

Ninjaman Desmond John Ballentine (born January 24, 1966), better known as Ninjaman, and sometimes as Don Gorgon is a Jamaican dancehall deejay and actor, known for his controversial and pro-gun lyrics and his stuttering and melodramatic style. In 2017, he ...

) * ''Die Hard'' (1991) Penthouse (with

Cutty Ranks Philip Thomas (born 12 February 1965), better known as Cutty Ranks, is a Jamaican dancehall singer. Biography Thomas was born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica in 1965. He began his career as a reggae artist at the age of eleven with local sound s ...

) * ''20 Man Dead'' (1991) Charm (with Cutty Ranks) * ''Rebel with a Cause'' (1992) Penthouse * ''Rebellious'' (1992) Ras * ''Vibes of the Time'' (1993) Columbia * ''If Jah'' (1997) VP * ''Jah Is by My Side'' (1997) VP * ''Realms of a Rebel'' (2001)

RAS Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

* ''Connection'' (2004) Next Music * ''I Rebel'' (2007) Flames He appeared on the track "Rebel" (2000), from Dr.Alban's album "PRESCRIPTION".

Compilations

* ''Collector's Series Vol. 1'' – 1998, Penthouse * ''Collector's Series Vol. 2'' – 1999, Penthouse

References

External links

Official website of Tony Rebel

"Nazerite Vow"

"Vibes of the Times"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rebel, Tony 1962 births Living people People from Manchester Parish Jamaican male singers Jamaican reggae singers Reggae fusion artists VP Records artists Columbia Records artists Jamaican justices of the peace