Prezident Brown
Encyclopedia
Prezident Brown aka Professor Frisky & Junior Ranking (born Fitzroy Albert Cotterell) is a Jamaica
n dancehall
deejay
.
and raised in St. Mary
. He built up a reputation by performing on local sound systems throughout the 1980s, under various names including Junior Ranking, before starting his recording career in the late 1980s. He was given the name Prezident Brown by producer and sound system operator Jack Ruby
, who made him the resident deejay on his Hi-Power sound system. Early singles included "Tears" (with Jack Radics) and "Everything is Right" (as Professor Frisky). His lyrics concentrate on "cultural" themes. He broke through to a wider audience with performances in 1995 at the Reggae Sumfest
and Reggae Sunsplash
festivals. He recorded the anti-drugs song "Blow Your Nose" with Everton Blender
, and "Wrong or Right", which received international daytime radio play. He was also featured on "Black and Proud" on the Steel Pulse
album Rage and Fury. He collaborated with Anthony Red Rose and Anthony Malvo on "Red Alert", which topped the Jamaican singles chart, and his continuing success saw him sign to Chris Blackwell
's Island Jamaica label, although an album recorded for the label was never released.
He toured the United States in 2002, playing 46 shows including an appearance at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, and toured the US again in 2009.
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...
n 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,...
deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
.
Biography
Cotterell was born in Clarendon Parish, JamaicaJamaica
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...
and raised in St. Mary
Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica
Saint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. With a population of 115,000 it is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast. It is also the birthplace of established dancehall reggae...
. He built up a reputation by performing on local sound systems throughout the 1980s, under various names including Junior Ranking, before starting his recording career in the late 1980s. He was given the name Prezident Brown by producer and sound system operator Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby (record producer)
Lawrence Lindo , better known as Jack Ruby, was a Jamaican record producer and sound system operator, best known for his 1970s productions of artists such as Burning Spear....
, who made him the resident deejay on his Hi-Power sound system. Early singles included "Tears" (with Jack Radics) and "Everything is Right" (as Professor Frisky). His lyrics concentrate on "cultural" themes. He broke through to a wider audience with performances in 1995 at the Reggae Sumfest
Reggae Sumfest
Reggae Sumfest is the largest concert festival in Jamaica, taking place each year in mid-July in Montego Bay. Sumfest, started in 1993, is officially sponsored by Red Stripe....
and Reggae Sunsplash
Reggae Sunsplash
Reggae Sunsplash is a reggae music festival first staged in 1978 in the northern part of Jamaica. In 1985 it expanded with the addition of an international touring festival...
festivals. He recorded the anti-drugs song "Blow Your Nose" with Everton Blender
Everton Blender
Everton Blender Everton Dennis Williams, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is an award-winning reggae singer and producer, known for his smooth, crooning, tenor vocals, up-tempo arrangements, and spiritually uplifting themes, successfully bridging the gap between roots reggae and...
, and "Wrong or Right", which received international daytime radio play. He was also featured on "Black and Proud" on the Steel Pulse
Steel Pulse
Steel Pulse is a roots reggae musical band. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, in Birmingham, England, composed of David Hinds , Basil Gabbidon , and Ronald McQueen .-History:...
album Rage and Fury. He collaborated with Anthony Red Rose and Anthony Malvo on "Red Alert", which topped the Jamaican singles chart, and his continuing success saw him sign to Chris Blackwell
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
's Island Jamaica label, although an album recorded for the label was never released.
He toured the United States in 2002, playing 46 shows including an appearance at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, and toured the US again in 2009.
Discography
- Big Bad and Talented (1995), X Rated
- Original Blue Print (1996), Digital B
- Prezident Selection (1996), Runn Records
- To Jah Only (Praying for the World) (1999), Kariang
- Showcase Volume One, Jahmani
- Showcase Volume Two, Jahmani
- Generation Next (2003)
- Common Prosperity (2009), Tomorrow's Children