Rupee (musician)
Encyclopedia
Rupert Clarke best known by his stage name
Rupee, is a soca music
ian from Barbados
. He was born in military barracks in Germany
to a German mother and a Bajan
father, who was serving in the British
armed forces at the time. He later migrated to Barbados. He is signed to Atlantic Records
.
Spending his first years in England
, he was exposed to a contrast of sounds which reflected his parents' diverse backgrounds: calypso
and reggae
on the side of his West Indian father, pop and rock and roll from his European
mother. He and his siblings would often perform on stage, coming up with all sorts of chants, rhymes and antics to tease the audience. Rupee eventually moved to Barbados
in 1985. He had his first major break after winning the Richard Stoute Teen Talent Competition in 1993, when he was a schoolboy at Harrison College
.
oriented, Rupee would find himself settling into the soca genre, a genre indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago
. This was marked by the release of his first hit single "Ice Cream".
, Miami, Boston
, and Toronto
. "Tempted to Touch
," from his second album, enjoyed over two years of international club play, spreading to urban and pop radio in Toronto and Miami. It became the catalyst for Rupee’s worldwide deal with Atlantic Records
– as well as the first single from his newly released 1 On 1.
Before deciding to pursue music full-time, Rupee explored other careers. After completing an associate degree in Graphic Arts from the Barbados Community College, he remained in that field for some time, working with two public relations/advertising agencies in Barbados.
and in most of Europe. Furthermore, "Do The Damn Thing" (DTDT), a bonus track from his latest album, 1 On 1, recently featured in an episode of the American TV series, Desperate Housewives
.
Over the years Rupee has amassed a number of Party Monarch and Road March titles not only in Barbados, but also at West Indian Carnivals
in the United States
and Canada
. His most popular hits have included "Ice Cream", "Jump" and the internationally released, "Tempted to Touch" and "What Happens In De Party".
In 2007, Rupee along with Jamaican Shaggy
and Trinidadian Fay-Ann Lyons recorded the official song for the 2007 Cricket World Cup
- "The Game of Love and Unity" - written by Rupee.
He has worked with artists such as Shaggy
, Sean Paul
, Thara Prashad
, Fay Ann Lyons, Alison Hinds
, T.G E.N.T, Lil Kim, Kevin Lyttle
, Daddy Yankee
, Wisin & Yandel
, Rihanna
, Khatera, Shirin and Elisha.
In 2011 during the Crop Over
festival season Rupee won the Starcom Network
group of radio station's title of "People's Monarch" with his song "I Am A Bajan.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Rupee, is a soca music
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
ian from Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. He was born in military barracks in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to a German mother and a Bajan
Barbadian people
Barbadians are people originating on the Caribbean island of Barbados whether they live there or in the Barbadian diaspora.Rihanna is by far the most popular Barbadian on the planet.-Diaspora:...
father, who was serving in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
armed forces at the time. He later migrated to Barbados. He is signed to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
.
Early life
By the age of nine, Rupee had lived in three different cultures - German, English, and Barbadian.Spending his first years in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he was exposed to a contrast of sounds which reflected his parents' diverse backgrounds: calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
and 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...
on the side of his West Indian father, pop and rock and roll from his European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
mother. He and his siblings would often perform on stage, coming up with all sorts of chants, rhymes and antics to tease the audience. Rupee eventually moved to Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in 1985. He had his first major break after winning the Richard Stoute Teen Talent Competition in 1993, when he was a schoolboy at Harrison College
Harrison College (Barbados)
Harrison College is a co-educational grammar school in Bridgetown, Barbados. Founded in 1733, the school takes its name from Thomas Harrison, a Bridgetown merchant, who intended it to serve as "A Public and Free School for the poor and indigent boys of the parish".It thereafter has evolved into...
.
1997–2000: Coalishun
Rupee emerged on the local soca scene after being invited to join the then popular Bajan band, Coalishun, along with singers like Terencia Coward-"TC" and Adrian Clarke in 1997. Though initially more dancehallDancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
oriented, Rupee would find himself settling into the soca genre, a genre indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. This was marked by the release of his first hit single "Ice Cream".
2000-present: Solo
"Ice Cream" was followed by a string of hit songs from three self-released solo albums. "Jump," from his first album, won Rupee repeated Road March titles at carnivals in Barbados, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Miami, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. "Tempted to Touch
Tempted to Touch
"Tempted to Touch" is a hit single by Caribbean artist Rupee. A remix of the song features Daddy Yankee.- Charts :...
," from his second album, enjoyed over two years of international club play, spreading to urban and pop radio in Toronto and Miami. It became the catalyst for Rupee’s worldwide deal with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
– as well as the first single from his newly released 1 On 1.
Before deciding to pursue music full-time, Rupee explored other careers. After completing an associate degree in Graphic Arts from the Barbados Community College, he remained in that field for some time, working with two public relations/advertising agencies in Barbados.
Achievements
Apart from dominating the charts in the Caribbean, Rupee has also gone gold in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and in most of Europe. Furthermore, "Do The Damn Thing" (DTDT), a bonus track from his latest album, 1 On 1, recently featured in an episode of the American TV series, Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
.
Over the years Rupee has amassed a number of Party Monarch and Road March titles not only in Barbados, but also at West Indian Carnivals
Caribbean Carnival
Caribbean Carnival is the term used for a number of events that take place in many of the Caribbean islands annually.The Caribbean's Carnivals all have several common themes all originating from Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, based on folklore, culture, religion,and tradition, not on amusement...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. His most popular hits have included "Ice Cream", "Jump" and the internationally released, "Tempted to Touch" and "What Happens In De Party".
In 2007, Rupee along with Jamaican Shaggy
Shaggy (musician)
Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...
and Trinidadian Fay-Ann Lyons recorded the official song for the 2007 Cricket World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
- "The Game of Love and Unity" - written by Rupee.
He has worked with artists such as Shaggy
Shaggy (musician)
Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...
, Sean Paul
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques , who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican pop rap and reggae singer.-1973–1996: Early life:...
, Thara Prashad
Thara Prashad
- External links :* - South Asian Life style* MoraFire - July/August 2007* about.com...
, Fay Ann Lyons, Alison Hinds
Alison Hinds
Alison Hinds is a Bajan female soca artist based in the Caribbean island of Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world and has been given the nickname the "Queen of Soca".-Biography:...
, T.G E.N.T, Lil Kim, Kevin Lyttle
Kevin Lyttle
Kevin Lyttle is a soca artist hailing from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who had a worldwide hit with the interpellative soca ballad "Turn Me On", which was recorded by Lyttle and the dancehall artist Spragga Benz.-Career:Previously, Lyttle had subsisted on day jobs, such as customs officer...
, Daddy Yankee
Daddy Yankee
Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez , known artistically as Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican Reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in baseball,...
, Wisin & Yandel
Wisin & Yandel
Wisin & Yandel are a Puerto Rican reggaeton Duo, consisting of Juan Luis Morera Luna and Llandel Veguilla Malavé Salazar . They started their career in 1998 and have been together since, winning several awards during that time....
, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, Khatera, Shirin and Elisha.
In 2011 during the Crop Over
Crop over
Crop Over , is a traditional harvest festival which began in Barbados, having had its early beginnings on the sugar cane plantations during the colonial period. The crop over tradition began in 1688, and featured singing, dancing and accompaniment by bottles filled with water, shak-shak, banjo,...
festival season Rupee won the Starcom Network
Starcom Network
Starcom Network began its life as Radio Distribution Limited, with the introduction of the first broadcast station then located at Wildey, St. Michael in 1935. At that time, the company transmitted its broadcast signal using a cable network system, known as subscription radio...
group of radio station's title of "People's Monarch" with his song "I Am A Bajan.
External links
- Rupee profile, Toronto-Lime.com