Ini Kamoze



Ini Kamoze is a Jamaican reggae artist who began his career in the early 1980s and in 1995 gained international recognition with his signature song "Here Comes the Hotstepper". The single topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as well as record charts in Denmark and New Zealand, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart.

Career
He made his first single, "World Affairs", in 1981. Kamoze then released a 12-inch single "Trouble You A Trouble Me"/"General" in 1983. His self-titled debut album was released in 1984 as a six track mini-LP on Island Records.

The album was recorded with and produced by Sly and Robbie, with whom he toured internationally along with Yellowman and Half Pint. Kamoze was known for his "commanding presence" and "sinuous vocal style". Kamoze founded his own label, releasing a compilation album Selekta Showcase which featured a popular Kamoze single titled "Stress". Four years later he released his next album, 16 Vibes of Ini Kamoze, which sold well.

In 1994, he released "Here Comes the Hotstepper". Kamoze would become known as the "Hotstepper", from the patois for a man on the run from the law. The song was originally recorded with Philip "Fatis" Burrell and later remixed by Salaam Remi, and initially featured on a reggae music compilation Stir It Up, released on the Epic label. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" was not an entirely new composition, having roots in the song "Land of 1000 Dances", which was a number one R&B hit for Wilson Pickett in 1966 and was first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962 and reprised in 1963 by Fats Domino. The remixed version of the track also incorporates the bass line from Taana Gardner's 1981 single "Heartbeat". The song appeared on the soundtrack to the fashion-industry satire feature film Prêt-à-Porter. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" remains Kamoze's only U.S. number one hit (see Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1994).

The success of the single sparked an intense bidding war with several major labels hoping to sign him. Kamoze signed a seven album deal with Elektra Records in November 1994.

Kamoze's career after this high-water mark featured the compilation album Here Comes the Hotstepper which was released in 1995 by Columbia Records (against Kamoze's wishes), around the same time as his first album for Elektra, Lyrical Gangsta. Damian Marley's 2005 hit "Welcome to Jamrock" uses samples from Kamoze's 1984 track "World-A-Music".

In 2005, Kamoze recorded and released a double album, Debut, on which he re-recorded a number of tracks from earlier in his career. Debut was released on his own 9SoundClik label.

In 2009, Kamoze released "51/50 Rule on 9SoundClik. The album includes tracks such as "Rapunzel" (feat. Maya Azucena) and "Hungry Daze". The album also had some guest features from Sizzla ("R.A.W"), and Busy Signal ("Ta Da Bang"). This was his second album released on the 9SoundClik label.

The artist's most recent album release is 2016's Ini Kamoze Meets Xterminator: Tramplin' Down Babylon on his label, 9SoundClik. This is a collection of newly recorded and previously recorded tracks that were originally released as singles on Xterminator Records by producer Phillip "Fattis" Burrell.

Other
Kamoze wrote a book on the history of Port Royal, and a play, Runnings.

Albums

 * Studio albums
 * 'Ini Kamoze'' (1984), Island
 * Statement (1984), Mango
 * Pirate (1986), Mango
 * Shocking Out (1988), RAS
 * Lyrical Gangsta (1995), East West America/Elektra
 * Debut (2006), 9SoundClik
 * 51 50 Rule (2009), 9SoundClik
 * Ini Kamoze meets Xterminator: Tramplin' Down Babylon (2016), 9SoundClik


 * Compilation albums
 * 16 Vibes of Ini Kamoze (1992), Sonic Sounds
 * Here Comes the Hotstepper (1995), Columbia/SMDE