David Christopher Daniel Wahlgren (born 13 July 1966), better known by the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Papa Dee, is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. His most commercially successful track is his version of the

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

song "

The First Cut Is the Deepest "The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold in May 1967. Stevens's own version originally appeared on his album ''New Masters'' in December 1967. The song ...

Music career

Wahlgren debuted in 1988 with the single "Funky Raggamuffin/Let the Music Play", a mixture of dancehall and hip hop. He then joined the Stonefunkers and became the group's rapper. This was followed by a few years of cooperation with

Rob'n'Raz Rob'n'Raz were a Swedish people, Swedish music duet (music), duo of Robert Wåtz and Rasmus Lindwall. After some years of DJing in the late 1980s, they decided to start performing and composing together. They worked on record producer, production ...

. Wahlgren then went solo, and had his breakthrough in 1990 with the album ''Lettin' Off Steam'', which was predominantly hip hop and dancehall. His next album, ''One Step Ahead'', had elements of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

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 ...

, mixing song and rap. His 1994 release, ''Original Master'', produced by

Denniz Pop Dag Krister Volle (26 April 1963 – 30 August 1998), better known as Denniz Pop (stylized ''Denniz PoP''), was a Swedish DJ, music producer, and songwriter. He co-founded the recording studio Cheiron Studios in Stockholm in 1992. Life and car ...

at Cheiron Studio, incorporated

Euro disco Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is the variety of European forms of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the late 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...

into his music. During the 1990s and 2000s, he released several albums, often in cooperation with Desmond Foster and a couple with

Soundism Soundism is a group of music producers and sound engineers with music recording studios located in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Västerås in Sweden. They are part of the Swedish hip hop culture. Not only have new artists emerged, but also other ac ...

. 2001, Soundism also produced the Papa Dee song "Hottie Hottie Girls" featuring

Lady Saw Marion Hall (born 12 July 1969; formerly known by the stage name Lady Saw) is a Jamaican singer and songwriter whose career has spanned over two decades. Formerly known as the Queen of Dancehall, she is the first female deejay to be certified ...

, Jamaica's prime female dancehall star. Kent (Gillström) Isaacs also produced a couple of Papa Dee's more daring and innovative albums. One of the albums they did together was the cover album, recorded in Jamaica, with reggae musicians including Horse-Mouth,

Flabba Holt Errol Holt (born 19 July 1950), also known as Errol Carter and by his nickname Flabba, is a Jamaican bass guitar player and a singer who was a member of The Morwells and the Roots Radics and has played on hundreds of Jamaican albums. Biography ...

and Chinna Smith. He is also a member of The Brooklyn Funk Essentials and of Dubchek with

David Barratt David Barratt is British music composer and record producer. Born in London, England, Barratt worked in New York City and composed music for TV and radio commercials for, amongst others, Michelin, BMW, Coke, LA Gear, Dr Pepper, Revlon, Veri ...

. His songs have been featured in several feature films including

Predator 2 ''Predator 2'' is a 1990 American science fiction action film written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, directed by Stephen Hopkins, and starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, María Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Peter Hall ...

, starring

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films include ...

. In 1997 Dubchek made music for the critically acclaimed ''

Two Girls and a Guy ''Two Girls and a Guy'' is a 1997 American black comedy-drama film written and directed by James Toback and produced by Edward R. Pressman and Chris Hanley. It stars Robert Downey Jr., Heather Graham and Natasha Gregson Wagner. The film is ma ...

'' featuring

Robert Downey, Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

and

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy '' License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaime ...

. In the Swedish feature film/comedy '' Smala Sussie'' Papa Dee was credited both featuring as himself onscreen and as songwriter. PD composed music for the stage (Top Dog/ Underdog at Stockholms Stadsteater) Due to his prolific yet flexible imprint Papa Dee has enjoyed a successful career as one of Sweden's most sought after voice artists dubbing cartoons and movies alike.

Partial voice work

* In the 1990s, Wahlgren dubbed Buster Bunny in

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...

, rendering that of the character's original voice actor, Charlie Adler * He took on Eddie Murphy's character in "Mulan" (1998) and "Mulan 2" (2005) as Mushu * In ''

Snow Dogs ''Snow Dogs'' is a 2002 American adventure comedy film directed by Brian Levant, and produced by Jordan Kerner. The film stars Cuba Gooding Jr., with a supporting cast of James Coburn (in one of his final roles), Joanna Bacalso, Sisqó, Nichell ...

'' (2002) he rendered Cuba Gooding Jr's character . * He also dubbed

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

in the Swedish release of "

Shark Tale ''Shark Tale'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, and Rob Letterman (in his feature directorial de ...

''/''Hajar som Hajar" (2004) - he featured as Oscar. * In ''Space Chimps'' (2008) he voiced Andy Samberg's character Ham 3. As founding member of the NYC groove collective Brooklyn Funk Essentials he has recorded 4 full-length albums: * ''Cool and Steady and Easy'' (1994) * ''In the Buzz Bag'' (1998) * ''Make Them Like It'' (2000) * ''Watcha Playin’ ''(2009) As Dubchek with David Barrat, Papa Dee recorded full-length albums * ''Down Memory Gap Lane'' (1998) * ''The Far East End'' (2010) Highlights as featuring guest artist include: * Leftfield's ''Leftism'' on the track ''Release the Pressure'' - additional vocals (1995) *

Titiyo Titiyo Yambalu Felicia Jah (born 23 July 1967) is a Swedish singer and songwriter who has won four Grammis. Biography Early life Titiyo was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Ahmadu Jah, a Sierra Leonean drummer, and Maylen Bergström. She is the ha ...

''My Body says Yes'' (1990) *

Mad Professor Mad Professor (born Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955, Georgetown, Guyana) is a Guyanese-born British dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music ...

compilation ''DJ’ s Choice'' Tribute to MLK (1990) * Diana King's album ''Respect'' (2002) in the duet ''Keep It On The Downlow'' In 2001

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

used his track ”Ispy” for its worldwide commercial. Between 2000-2008 Papa Dee hosted his own radio show, ''P3 Rytm'' for SR, the Swedish National Radio Network 2012: Back on the move Papa Dee's currently working on his book ''Was Jean Baptiste Bernadotte a blackman?'' and his upcoming album ''Fall From Grace'' is in the final stages.

Personal life

Wahlgren was born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, to a Swedish mother and a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian father. His father left the family when he was a small child. On 14 September 2008, Wahlgren was arrested and charged with grave assault (Swedish: ''grov misshandel'') with bodily harm to his wife Andrea on a street and in their apartment. His wife categorically denied that maltreatment had taken place and later wrote a book, ''En Fjärils Kamp'' (A Butterfly's Struggle), about how she was not heard in the trial. Despite this, a Swedish lower court found him guilty of a lesser charge of assault (Swedish: ''misshandel'') on 20 October 2008 based on testimony from multiple witnesses and he was fined SEK 8,700. In 2010, the Swedish High Court acquitted him of the other charges of assaulting his wife in their apartment after she denied the assault. Papa Dee was awarded SEK 25,000 for the suffering as a result of the prosecution and SEK 18,045 for lost income and costs. Papa Dee and Andrea Wahlgren divorced in 2012.

Discography

Albums

* ''Lettin' Off Steam'' (1990) * ''One Step Ahead'' (1993) * ''Original Master'' (1994) * ''The Journey'' (1996) * ''Island Rock'' (1998) * ''The Man Who Couldn't Say No'' (2001) * ''Live It Up!'' (2004) * ''A Little Way Different'' (2008) * ''Fall From Grace'' (2012)

Singles

Singles as featured artist

Other appearances

* ''Debut studio album'' - The Bitter Twins (TBA)

References

External links

Papa Dee's WebsiteSoundtracks for Predator 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papa Dee 1966 births Living people People from Gothenburg Swedish people of Ghanaian descent Swedish rappers Swedish reggae musicians Dancehall musicians Ragga musicians Melodifestivalen contestants Brooklyn Funk Essentials members English-language singers from Sweden