Kingston, Jamaica:- Armed with a passion for music and an equal desire for his talent to take him to the highest level, fast rising Reggae/Dancehall artiste, Marlando St. John Vassell contends that he is not satisfied with the direction that the genres have been taking. As such he is using his gift of a superb sound to propel him on the right path.
Inspired by a genuine love for the art form while at the same time quenching satisfying his desire to be different Marlando aims to be different. After simply dabbling in music since high school the artiste believes that now is the right to take his talent to the world and make it a viable career. He has educated himself about the trends in the entertainment industry and is revving and rearing to go.
Known more popularly as Marlando St. John, this 2002 winner of the Caribbean Face of Fashion competition and former Saint International model is working to etch a dominant place in the entertainment business for himself. Now residing in London, Marlando says he sees great potential for what he deems as authentic Jamaican music and desires to be a catalyst for change by taking his style to the international market.
Marlando left a rewarding career in the fashion industry to pursue music and is confident that he will make it, having taken valuable lessons from many of the founding fathers of Reggae and Dancehall. He is no stranger to challenges having grown up in the economically challenged inner-city community of Central Village, in Jamaica’s former capital Spanish Town.
Even after setting a solid academic foundation by reading for a BSC in Hospitality-Marlando at UWI, Marlando believes that success in the entertainment industry will be the icing on the cake.
He has observed that Jamaica is indeed the rock when it comes to many musical sounds and is perturbed that many talented artistes become so involved in lashing out against each other that they lose the essence of the art form. He adds that many international acts are benefitting from the genre and sees this as a worrying trend for the local industry: “If you look at what is coming out of America and Europe these days a lot of it is infused with our music. These artistes are taking advantage of our styles and innovations. There is nothing wrong with that but we as Jamaican need to once again be leaders in our own music. I hope with my style I can help to lead that charge”
The artiste has not limited himself to the aforesaid genres but has recorded on hip hop, house, garage beats and funky tracks. He welcomes the appeal that he has created as a result of his diversity and is busy promoting his latest videos for his songs New Style and What You Want.
Like the freshness of the morning dew, this emerging artiste takes lovers of true talent and diversity down an aesthetically pleasing musical journey.
Watch “New Style” HERE
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