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

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

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 reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

singer.

Biography

Born in 1967 in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), 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 spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, he was raised by his

Rastafarian Rastafari is an Abrahamic 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 of the movement and much ...

grandmother and began performing with

sound systems Sound system may refer to: Technology media * Sound reinforcement system, a system for amplifying audio for an audience * High fidelity, a sound system intended for accurate reproduction of music in the home * Public address system, an institution ...

(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, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'', 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. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Western Hemisphere. Original ...

'', 8 December 2002. Retrieved 2 November 2013 His brother and fellow deejay Dirtsman were 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, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

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 nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

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

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'', 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 master-planned City (Florida), city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States. The population was 68,107 at the time of the 2020 census. Located just west of Fort Lauderdale and to the northwest of Miami, th ...

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) is an American Christian rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, and Record producer, recording producer and Music executive, executive. Since having begun his career in 2004, he has released ten studio alb ...

, 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 was signed to Reach Records until leaving in September 2024 to pursue his creative ...

, 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 advertis ...

'' Reggae Albums Chart in February 2014. In 2021 he was awarded by ABGMA with the Soca and Urban/R&B/Pop Award.

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'' (Beloved Records) * unknown ''Three The Hard Way'' (World Enterprise) * 2012 ''My Story'' (Beloved) * 2014 ''One Blood'' * 2016 ''Journey'' rovided to YouTube by Syntax Creative* 2022 ''Life Lessons'' rovided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises

References

External links

* Papa Sanat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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