BLASS
Portmore, Saint Catherine, Jamaica | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | INDIE
Music
Press
HAVING dabbled in rugby and athletics while attending Bridgeport High, fast-rising singjay Blass said he’s aware of the importance of home support.
Therefore, he felt it was apt to pen the ode We Are Winners for the Jamaican contingent ahead of the summer Olympics in Rio.
“With Usain Bolt announcing his impending retirement - Jamaica Observer
BLASS talks music, plans and inspiration with Selecta Jammy of Zion Highness Radio. - Zion Highness Radio
BLASS on his Rio 2016 ode to Team Jamaica, 'We Are Winners' and Jamaicans' attitude towards the athletes; likes of Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Yohan Blake, Warren Weir and more. - Dara Sweatt Show
Emerging dancehall artiste Blass is enjoying a growing fan-base across Africa, thanks to the, release of his Wine Gyal track on the 'Avatar' rhythm, produced by Kenya-based label, Rebel Liberation Records.
"Since the release of the track, I have been receiving numerous requests to record for other Africa-based labels. My followers are growing and now it's likely that my first independent tour could be in Africa, and real soon too," said Blass.
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The rhythm, released in 2014, also features Busy Signal, is again in high demand this summer in countries such as Kenya, Mali, Botswana, Seychelles and Uganda where Wine Gyal is enjoying heavy rotation.
The song is a "hit here in parts of Africa," reiterated King Rebel, founder and producer at Rebel Liberation Records. Riding on the Wine Gyal buzz, Rebel plans to do more recordings with Blass in the very near future.
Already they are working on the follow up, Easy For Me on the 80 Minutes rhythm.
Blass first came on the scene collaborating with the likes of Vybz Kartel, Demarco and Delus and toured the Caribbean early in his career.
He has collaborated with a number of international acts, including pop star and Russian actress Belka, with whom he recorded Whenever You Want. - Jamaica Star
CARNIVAL season is in high gear and singjay Blass has thrown his hat in the ring with the latest single Wine Gal.
“It’s done on a dancehall-carnival ‘riddim’ and has a small island flavour. The song is about seeing a girl dancing and becoming interested in her because of how she moves her body,” Blass, 34, told the Jamaica Observer.
Released a month ago, Wine Gal is produced on the Kenya-based Rebel Liberation Records and his own-Blassmusic Collectively. The single is distributed by Zojack Worldwide.
An accompanying video — shot in Portmore, St Catherine by Taylor House Concept — is slated to be premiered at the Triple Century Sports Bar in New Kingston, on March 17. - Jamaica Observer
PORTMORE-BASED dancehall deejay Blass launched the music video for his latest single Wine Gyal at the Triple Century Sports Bar in New Kingston, on Thursday night.
“The song has been out for a while, with limited rotation locally and international,” Blass told the Jamaica Observer.
However, the song, which focuses heavily on the familiar female gyrations in the dancehall scene, has had a strong enough response for a video. The song itself has an unusual genesis being based on the Avatar rhythm from Kenya-based Rebel Liberation Records.
“We connected via social media. They liked what I was doing and sent the rhythm for me to voice on,” he explained.
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His international aspirations don’t stop at Wine Gyal, as Blass has several other such collaborations on his resume, combining with Russian songstress Bella for Whenever You Want and Spain’s Profecia Crew for Hustler’s Anthem.
With the video’s launch, Blass hopes to tour Africa, Russia and Spain ahead of working on a soon-to- be released unnamed EP.
— Rory Daley - Jamaica Observer
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
BLASS is undoubtedly one of the most
dynamic dancehall artiste of his time. His ability to switch from a very
hardcore dancehall sound to a reserved and inspiring
“Rootical” Reggae sound; even, a gyrating inducible soca or salsa vibe, is
unmatched by his peers. His production though diverse, are mostly reminiscent
of personal life experiences.
Born Omari Carlington Thompson, BLASS’ passion and
ambition for music and entertainment began at a juvenile stage where he began
writing poetry, singing and dancing; pulling huge crowds at his Primary school.
His talents and pulling power was further developed during his years at
Bridgeport High School, where he would entertain his fellow schoolmates, who
were willing to give up every dollar of their lunch money just to hear him
sing. This further lead to him collaborating with some of his schoolmates who
would provide him with harmonies and utilize the school desks, books and
pencils to create the instrumentals for his songs.
Right after graduating from high school, BLASS
along with six of his high school friends decided to pursue music
professionally hence they formed the group Cell Block Crew. With the help of
Vertex Records, the group managed to voice a number of songs with high hopes of
creating an album however their plans were thwarted when a key member of the
group died suddenly. This plunged all the group members into a serious state of
depression, forcing four members to quit doing music, BLASS and Slash however,
decided to continue in the pursuit of their musical careers.
BLASS and Slash maintained the remaining semblance
of the group by operating as a duo, doing a number of recordings with Vertex
Records and Clive Hunt. The duo’s first breakthrough track came in 2008 at the
hands of a collaboration done with Vybz Kartel called “Gal Know Fi Wine”. The
collaboration culminated into BLASS and Slash travelling to Trinidad and
Tobago, Antigua, St. Martin, St. Vincent and Barbados in an effort to promote
the song and future projects.
Despite the success BLASS and Slash gained from
their collaboration with Vybz Kartel, both members mutually agreed to pursue
their musical ambitions as solo acts; since then, BLASS has recorded numerous
songs featuring a number of local and international artistes. In 2012 he
recorded “So Many Girls” with Delus, the brother of Konshens and “Hustlers
Anthem” in 2013 with Profecia Crew a Dancehall/Reggae group from Canary Islands
(Spain), followed by a well-received video. Early 2014 BLASS released his
mixtape “Have A BLASS”, mixed by Netherlander DJ, DJ Dreman. Then in late 2014
came his collaboration "Whenever You Want" with Russian pop sensation
Belka.
The summer of 2015 saw BLASS’s most acclaimed solo release yet in “Eyes On Me”; a track produced by emerging Jamaican producer Reeko Don and distributed by Zojak Worldwide. After picking up some buzz locally, this opened further interest for BLASS in Jamaica, USA, Canada, Africa and Europe. The video for “Eyes On Me” was premiered on CVM TV’s D’Wrap, Hype TV and featured on many prominent Dancehall and Soca Youtube channels. His follow up to “Eyes On Me” was “Wine Gyal”, an instant favourite across Africa, particulary in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Seychelles, Mali and South Africa.
BLASS is currently working with numerous emerging
and established producers in Jamaica, USA, Africa, Italy and Poland, to prep his
debut project for release in 2016.
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