Kevin Lyttle
Encyclopedia
Kevin Lyttle is a soca
artist
hailing from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
, who had a worldwide hit
with the interpellative soca ballad
"Turn Me On", which was recorded
by Lyttle and the dancehall
artist Spragga Benz
.
and radio
disc jockey. Lyttle recorded "Turn Me On" in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2001. His strong live performances of soca influenced by dancehall
and contemporary R&B
made the song a hit throughout the Caribbean
.
The song started finding its way into club
s in the UK
. It was officially released as a single
in the UK in late 2003 and reached number two in its first week, spending seven weeks in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart
. It later reached number eleven in Finland
and number three in Australia
; and was a hit in other twelve countries. The single was released in the U.S.
in 2004 and the video
was added to MTV
on 24 May 2004. "Turn Me On" eventually went gold
in the U.S. and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100
.
Lyttle signed with Atlantic Records
in 2003. His self-titled album
was released on 27 July 2004 in the U.S. The second single, "Last Drop", has been released in markets outside the U.S., and has reached the Top 10 in Finland, the Top 20 in Switzerland
, the Top 30 in the UK and Top 40 in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia.
Along with Byron Lee
and Arrow
, he performed at the Cricket World Cup 2007 opening ceremony in Greenfield Stadium
, Jamaica
.
Lyttle's latest album, Fyah, was released by Universal Records
in Japan in the late summer of 2008. It featured contributions from the artists, Problem Child, Lexxus and Skinny Fabulous, a duet
version of "Turn Me On" with Alison Hinds
, and the Kevin Rudolf
produced Something About You
, written by Rudolf, Lyttle and Larry Nacht. U.S., Canadian, European and Caribbean releases followed.
and is married to Dr. Jacqueline James.
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
artist
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
hailing from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
, who had a worldwide hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
with the interpellative soca ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
"Turn Me On", which was recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by Lyttle and the dancehall
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. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
artist Spragga Benz
Spragga Benz
-Career:He began his career around 1991. Once known to his friends as "Spaghetti" , but this was later shortened to Spragga. The Benz in his name comes from the sound system for which he used to work for, L.A. Benz, and it is through this that he found his way into the music industry at a Dubplate...
.
Career
Previously, Lyttle had subsisted on day jobs, such as customs officerCustoms officer
A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government.-Hong Kong:4 931 posts, of which nine are directorate officers, 3 804 are members of the Customs and Excise Department, 504 are Trade Controls Officers and 614 are staff of the General and Common...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
disc jockey. Lyttle recorded "Turn Me On" in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2001. His strong live performances of soca influenced by dancehall
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. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
and contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
made the song a hit throughout the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
The song started finding its way into club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was officially released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in the UK in late 2003 and reached number two in its first week, spending seven weeks in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It later reached number eleven in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and number three in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
; and was a hit in other twelve countries. The single was released in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 2004 and the video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was added to MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
on 24 May 2004. "Turn Me On" eventually went gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in the U.S. and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Lyttle signed with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
in 2003. His self-titled album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was released on 27 July 2004 in the U.S. The second single, "Last Drop", has been released in markets outside the U.S., and has reached the Top 10 in Finland, the Top 20 in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, the Top 30 in the UK and Top 40 in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia.
Along with Byron Lee
Byron Lee
Byron Lee OD, OJ was a musician, record producer, and entrepreneur, best known for his work as leader of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.-Biography:Lee was born in Christiana in Manchester Parish to an Afro-Jamaican mother and a Chinese father Byron Lee OD, OJ (born Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee, 27...
and Arrow
Arrow (musician)
Alphonsus Celestine Edmund Cassell MBE was a calypso and soca musician who performed under the stage name Arrow, and is regarded as the first superstar of soca from Montserrat.-Early years:...
, he performed at the Cricket World Cup 2007 opening ceremony in Greenfield Stadium
Greenfield Stadium (Trelawny)
Greenfield Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Trelawny, Jamaica that was completed in 2007. It has a capacity of 25,000 people. It was built under an agreement between Jamaica and the People's Republic of China, that saw the PRC Government put up at least US$30-million needed for the project.It...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
Lyttle's latest album, Fyah, was released by Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
in Japan in the late summer of 2008. It featured contributions from the artists, Problem Child, Lexxus and Skinny Fabulous, a duet
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
version of "Turn Me On" with Alison Hinds
Alison Hinds
Alison Hinds is a Bajan female soca artist based in the Caribbean island of Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world and has been given the nickname the "Queen of Soca".-Biography:...
, and the Kevin Rudolf
Kevin Rudolf
Kevin Rudolf is an American singer-songwriter and record producer signed to Cash Money Records. Rudolf is mostly known for singing and producing rock/pop music...
produced Something About You
Something About You
"Something About You" was the first single from English R&B singer Jamelia's third album, Walk with Me . The single was released on 11 September 2006. Jamelia described the sound of the single as being more "experimental" and not as "R&B" as her previous material.Her official mailing list...
, written by Rudolf, Lyttle and Larry Nacht. U.S., Canadian, European and Caribbean releases followed.
Personal life
Lyttle lives in Miami, FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and is married to Dr. Jacqueline James.
Albums
- 2004: Kevin LyttleKevin Lyttle (album)Kevin Lyttle is the self-titled debut album from Kevin Lyttle of the island of St. Vincent, and has become an international best seller. Using the Soul of Calypso, soca, has made the sound recognizable...
- #8 U.S.Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
(RIAARecording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
certification: Gold) - 2008: Fyah - UniversalUniversal RecordsUniversal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
- Japan
Singles
- 2004: "Turn Me On" - #4 U.S.Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, #2 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... - 2004: "Last Drop" - #22 UK
- 2004: "Drive Me Crazy"
- 2008: "Fyah"
- 2009: "Anywhere" featuring Flo-Rida