I was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, and currently reside in Los Angeles, California, where I am a musician and bandleader of the internationally recognized reggae ensemble, Jahmark & the Soulshakers. I am a Rastafarian who loves life to the maximum and being an artist I have a deep appreciation for beauty in all its glorious forms. I'm very down to earth and yet extremely fun loving, with a great sense of humor.
I love meeting all kinds of people from different cultures as I feel that the more we learn about each other as real people (and not just some distant "foreigner" on the news) is the less that our so-called leaders can fool us into warring with one another in order to satisfy their own selfish aims.
In my life I have come to know that God-Consciousness and "religion" are two completely different things, for while our leaders cunningly use religion to divide and conquer us it is only the Iniversal realization of God-Consciousness that can truly Inite us. This in a nutshell represents the driving force behind who I am as a person. If you care to know more about me be sure to visit my website at "jahmark dot com" and sign my mailing list as I send out a monthly newsletter on all the current Jahmark happenings, as well as my personal view on the "scheme of things" in the world today!!!
HISTORY
Around the mid 70s throughout the 80s there was a mass exodus from the Caribbean island of Jamaica to the four corners of the earth due to intense political turmoil on that island state. Out of this turmoil arose the singer, artist, songwriter and performer we know today as Jahmark, whose craft began to emerge around the legendary Marley family.
As fate would have it, Jahmark's path crossed with Bob Marley's sister, Pearl, in Miami, Florida around 1979 and they became very good friends, even dating on and off for a couple years. He was around Mother B's home (Bob's mom) one day and remembers Bob writing one of his songs around 2am one morning, "Music got you dancing on the floor, begging for more..." which Ziggy later recorded with the Melody Makers. He witnessed various impromptu sessions with the Wailers at this time. It was around that time also that Jahmark appeared in an episode of the then popular TV series, Miami Vice.
Before Jahmark & the Soulshakers were formed, Jahmark was one of the founding members of Redemption Posse. Along with his good brethren, Emanuel Walsh and Anthony "Big Dread" Ross, they took the honors for Best Songwriter and Best Performer in the 1986 Jamaica Festival Song Competition competing against such icons as Stanley & the Turbines, the Jamaicans, Faith D'Aguilar and Tinga Stewart to name a few. That same year they backed up and coming DJ Tiger on his first major public outing at the Jamaica Sunsplash Beach Party.
In 1987 they were approached by a Japanese promoter, Katsuya Abe, to play in Japan on a six month contract after he had seen them at S.O.B.s in Manhattan performing with Leroy Sibbles of the mighty Heptones. After their contract was up half of the band returned to New York while the rest stayed in Tokyo. In 1988 Jahmark & the Soulshakers were born at first consisting of all Japanese musicians, the core of which was recruited from an upbeat group of musicians known at the time as Index. In 1989 they had recorded a song entitled UNITY at CBS Sony Studio in Tokyo along with Sly & Robbie and Tyrone Downie of the Wailers for a compilation CD of the same name. This was followed by another compilation CD entitled JUS PASSIN THRU, and later came their full length debut CD tribute to Nelson Mandela simply entitled VIVA MANDELA.
By 1991 Jahmark had re-located to Los Angeles where he re-shaped the Soulshakers band and performed at such venues as the San Diego Street Scene, Oxnard Reggae Jam on the Coast, Hemet Reggae Fest, and on and on. They have played alongside such artists as the Wailers, Third World, Pato Banton, Wailing Souls, Eek-a-Mouse, Jimmy Cliff, Lucky Dube, etc. always leaving those in attendance begging for more. Jahmark has appeared on two compilation CDs since in L.A., THUMPN REGGAE JAMZ and REGGAE WORSHIP, vol II.
