Nicodemus (musician)
Encyclopedia
Cecil Wellington better known as Nicodemus, was a Jamaica
n reggae
deejay
who released a string of albums in the 1980s and 1990s.
and Prince Jazzbo
. He had a big hit with "Bone Connection" in 1981, and remained popular throughout the first half of the 1980s, becoming regarded as a dancehall veteran. His influence was clear on younger deejays such as John Taylor, aka Nicodemus Junior, who later had greater success after changing his stage name to Chaka Demus
. After a lean period between the mid 1980s and the early 1990s, when his releases were less frequent, he re-emerged in 1994 with the album The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Crazy, which was followed by Cabbin Stabbin in 1995. In 1996, he died from complications related to diabetes, aged 39, with a posthumous album, Dancehall Greats, issued two years later.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
who released a string of albums in the 1980s and 1990s.
Biography
Born in Jamaica in 1957, he began his career in 1976 as a deejay with the Socialist Roots sound system. He moved to Prince Jammy's sound system in 1978 and towards the end of the decade also made his first studio recordings. His style was compared to Prince Far IPrince Far I
Prince Far I was a Jamaican reggae deejay, producer and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics against measures initiated towards violent crime.-Biography:He was born Michael James Williams in...
and Prince Jazzbo
Prince Jazzbo
Prince Jazzbo is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay and producer.Prince Jazzbo began recording with Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label in the early 1970s...
. He had a big hit with "Bone Connection" in 1981, and remained popular throughout the first half of the 1980s, becoming regarded as a dancehall veteran. His influence was clear on younger deejays such as John Taylor, aka Nicodemus Junior, who later had greater success after changing his stage name to Chaka Demus
Chaka Demus
John Taylor , better known as Chaka Demus, is a jamaican reggae musician and DJ.-Biography:Taylor was a regular attendee at Kingston dances and was given a chance by Prince Jammy to deejay on his sound system...
. After a lean period between the mid 1980s and the early 1990s, when his releases were less frequent, he re-emerged in 1994 with the album The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Crazy, which was followed by Cabbin Stabbin in 1995. In 1996, he died from complications related to diabetes, aged 39, with a posthumous album, Dancehall Greats, issued two years later.
Album Discography
- Gunman Connection (1982), Cha Cha
- Dancehall Style (1982), Black Joy
- She Love It in the Morning (1982), Channel One
- DJ Clash (1983), GreensleevesGreensleeves RecordsGreensleeves Records & Publishing is a record label specialising in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick and started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975 and is based in Britain....
/Volcano - Nicodemus and Ranking Toyan - A Nice Up the Dance (1983), Clappers
- The Very Best Of Nicodemus (1983), Serious Gold
- Nuff Respect (1986), Skengdon
- Mr. Fabulous (1986), Music Master
- Old Veteran (1992), VPVP RecordsVP Records is an independent reggae record label, located in Queens, New York. It is best known for producing Caribbean singers.-The foundation:...
- The Good, the Bad, The Ugly, and the Crazy (1994) - with Super CatSuper CatSuper Cat is a deejay most popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall movement. Super Cat was born in Jamaica and was nicknamed Wild Apache. His nickname, the "Wild Apache" was given to him by his mentor Early B...
, Junior Cat, and Junior Demus - Dancehall Giant (1994)
- Cabbin Stabbin (1995)
- Fatha Demus (19??), Massive B
- Dancehall Greats (1998)
- Nicodemus and Dean Fraser (2003), Cactus
- D.J. Clash (3 The Hard Way) (2007), Greensleeves - with Billy BoyoBilly BoyoBilly Boyo was a reggae artist, was probably the most prolific of the early-80’s child MC’s. He is famous for his song "One Spliff a Day".-Biography:...
and Little Harry - Serious Nicodemus volume 1 (2007), Sound System
- Serious Nicodemus volume 2 (2007), Sound System
External links
- Nicodemus at Roots Archives