| Ini Kamoze | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 9 1957 |
| Origin |  Saint Mary, Jamaica |
| Genre(s) | Reggae, Dancehall |
| Website | www.inikamoze.com |
Ini Kamoze (pronounced /ˈaɪni kəˈmoʊzi/) (born 9 October 1957, in Port Maria, Saint Mary, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer. His self-titled debut album was released in 1984 as a six track mini-LP on Island Records. In the album notes he describes himself as a "pencil thin... disentangled... six-foot vegetarian". The album includes the song "World a Music" which was to be sampled by Damian Marley on his 2005 hit, "Welcome to Jamrock". The album was recorded with and produced by Sly and Robbie, with whom he also toured internationally along with Yellowman and Half Pint. By 1988, however, Kamoze had effectively disappeared from the music scene following lukewarm reactions to his intermittent releases. In 1994, Kamoze released the song which would become his signature, "Here Comes the Hotstepper". Adopting his nickname from the song title, Kamoze would become known as the "Hotstepper", from the Patois for a man on the run from the law. The song appeared on the soundtrack to the fashion-industry satire film, "Prêt-à-Porter". "Hotstepper" still remains one of dancehall's more well-known hits, with its call-and-response chorus of "Here come de hotstepper - Murderer" (often misheard as "Word it up") - "I'm de lyrical gangsta - Murderer" lighting up clubs worldwide. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" remains Kamoze's only U.S. number one hit (see Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1994). Kamoze's career after this high-water mark featured the album Here Comes the Hotstepper which was released in 1995.
Trivia
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- The continuing "na" sequence in the song "Here Comes the Hotstepper" is derived from the song "Land of a Thousand Dances" by Wilson Pickett.
- "Here Comes the Hotstepper" also samples a song entitled "Heartbeat" by disco artist Taana Gardner.
- The hook 'Out On The Street They Call it Murder', from Kamoze's song "World-A-Music" (1984), is sampled in Damian Marley's Grammy Award winning single, "Welcome to Jamrock" (2005).
