Mr. VEGAS

This singjay seem to have the Midas touch when it comes to producing hit songs. Ever since he bombarded his way to the top in 1997 with 'Heads High' and 'Nike Air' he has not looked back.

Vegas has maintained a steady presence on the music scene with chart toppers such as 'Hot Wuk' which dominated all three major charts in Jamaica and also enjoyed a dominant presence on both New York and South Florida charts.

It all started for the Kingston born Clifford Smith aka Vegas from an early age when he developed an affinity for music. But his love affair was temporarily stalled early on in his career over an unfortunate dispute over the ownership of a DAT which resulted in Vegas being hit in the jaw with an iron pipe and had him sipping food through a straw for six weeks.

Vegas was energized to action once again upon hearing 'Beenie Man's 'Who Am I' playing. That prompted him to go to his doctor and demanded that he removed his facial hardware. It freed his jaw but Vegas would soon find out that voicing on the Playground riddim for producer Jeremy Harding was not as easy as he thought. Unfazed by the challenge Vegas improvised and the result was 'Nike Air' - an instant hit!

In 1997 Vegas released his debut album 'Heads High' for Greensleeves Records and it made the world stood up and take notice. It displayed his creativity and versatility in songs such as 'Jacket', 'Sweet Pineapple' and 'Everywhere I Go'. To top it off it earned the singjay a British Music of Black Origin (MOBO) award as Best Reggae Artist, thus effectively establishing his fan base beyond the Jamaican dancehall. And if that were not enough the title track off the album 'Heads High' was the biggest selling single ever for Vegas. It also enjoyed huge rotation on mainstream television MTV.

To prove that the success of his first album was no fluke Vegas followed up with his sophomore album for Greensleeves, 'Damn Right'. Laced with a strong R&B and hip-hop flavor on songs such as 'Girls Time' and 'She's A Ho' and the very hot 'Hot Gal Today' a combination with Sean Paul the album was a big success.

Incidentally the 'Hot Gal Today' song was voted one of the all time combination by Vibe Magazine.

With his move to the Los Angeles-based independent label Delicious Vinyl Vegas released his third CD 'Pull Up'. The title track which was recorded on Scatta Burrell's hugely popular Coolie Dance riddim entered the Billboard Charts and catapulted Vegas into worldwide attention. Other tracks on the album that helped in giving Vegas international attention were 'Pull Up' and 'Tamale'.

Last year Vegas recorded and released the very sizzling album 'Constant Spring' named for the title track, the lead single topped all the major charts in Jamaica boosted by a very creative video that had the interest of the dancehall community.

In between putting out albums Vegas has appeared on all the major shows year after year. Among them are Sting, Reggae Sumfest, Fully Loaded and last year he totally devastated at the return of Reggae Sunsplash.

He blasted his way through the Caribbean, went on to create havoc in Europe and totally massacred the States. This singjay is unstoppable.

Mr. Vegas will be releasing his next album "Hot It Up" distributed by Delicious Vinyl/Fontana in the USA, Five Man Army in Japan and Cargo throughout selecy countries in Europe. Among the tracks that will be includedare 'Tek Whey Yuhself', 'Hot Wuk', 'Lean Wid It','Nuh Friend From Dem' and 'Do You Know'.

Produced by Vegas the album will contain the works of several producers such as Stephen McGregor, Leftside & Esco, Sly & Robbie among others.

Vegas' fans can also look out for the latest video from him for the combination single recorded with Jovi Rockwell 'You Gonna Need Me'. The video was shot on location in Los Angeles, California.