Juakali

Musician

Reflecting an unchallenged edge to his performance style and lyrical content garnered from spotlight tours in India, Holland and Czech Republic, fans from around the world recognize JuaKali as one of the few American ragga vocalists that have been making waves in the bourgeoning global electronic music scene.

Juakali is a Los Angeles resident, Brooklyn transplant and native of Trinidad and Tobago. He has traveled the world in recent years performing, collaborating with cutting edge artists and igniting audiences in Tokyo, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Karlovy Vary, Dortmund, Mumbai, to name a few. In 2006, following his FIFA World Cup performances, EGO Magazine described Juakali as an artist "on the forefront of the Reggae, Jungle and burgeoning Dubstep scene in the US and around the world."

He is the host of North America’s first and premier dubstep event, Dub War in New York City, reviewed and revered by The New York Times, Frank151, URB Magazine, among others. Juakali also brings his talent to Sub Swara, a live electronic crew based in New York City that “deal with the most fascinating melt of sound - beats and bass laced with the elemental voice of Juakali...pure heaven...” (Maryanne Hobbs, BBC Radio 1).

As an in-demand vocalist, Juakali has appeared on commercial recordings from Alpha & Omega, Raz Mesani, Pinch, Dub Gabriel and others, impressing both industry and audiences with his ability to innovate across dub, reggae, dubstep, dancehall, bhangra, electronic, and experimental genres. This lead to him being featured as one of the top 5 US Ragga MCs who are, “launching careers as artists and producers… pushing dancehall beyond its boundries…” (‘Chat Bout’XLR8R Magazine – Issue118).

His debut solo Extended Play release, Breakground on GunJah Records/Foreign Familiar (Winter 2008), integrated Juakali's fresh international aesthetic by incorporating dub, dubstep, and electronic genres with a blend of contemporary and inventive producers. Come From Yard is his latest Extended Play release on Foreign Familiar (Spring 2009), this time including dancehall in his repertoire along with lyrics clearly expressing dissent and those encouraging gratitude, community, and optimism.

COME FROM YARD