NEW MEXICO'S ONLY HARDCORE REGGAE DANCEHALL ARTIST!!!!
Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1979, he discovered his musical talents at an early age. While still only in his teens he played guitar in many local bands of various styles and genres, fluctuating effortlessly between funk, punk, hard rock and many other influences. However, in 1997 when he first sighted Haile I Selassie I, H.I.M, his musical as well as spiritual journey into REGGAE music began. Reggae music took hold and Mister Kali found himself in Boston where in 1998 he enrolled in the Berklee College of Music. For the next two years he honed his musical skills at Berklee while also performing with various regional reggae acts including Journalist Bandoo and Fitzi Niceness.
The year 2000 had a major impact on Mister Kali and his motivation to be a lyrical performer. Pato Banton put Mister Kali on a stage with a mic in his hand for the first time in a crowded venue, The House of Blues in Cambridge, MA. Performing “Don’t Sniff Coke” flawlessly along side Pato (a performance he would bring forth once again in front of a Launchpad crowd in Albuquerque in 2009), it solidified the foundation for what would come next.
Returning to his native New Mexico roots the following year Mister Kali soon joined Brotherhood Soundsystem, the leading soundsystem in the southwest. Under strict mentor ship from German reggae pioneer, Don Martin, he explored other aspects of Reggae music such as selecting, MCing and writing and chanting lyrics. At this time he also began co hosting the local radio session Reggae Runnings on KSFR 90.7fm in Santa Fe.
Again motivated by his passion for reggae music in 2002 Mister Kali relocated, this time to Orlando, Florida to study at the esteemed Full Sail, obtaining an AS in Recording Arts. In his year at Full Sail, he became a skilled sound engineer and this opened new doors for Mister Kali as a reggae artist. Now able to record his “gravel grinding voice” (as noted in one article about Brotherhood Sound in the Albuquerque Weekly Alibi) and spitting his hardcore sociopolitical lyrics over the latest dancehall beats, he created scorching political reality tunes such as “Code Red”. Finally in 2004 the industry as well as fans begin to take notice. In 2007 his "Shake Weh Yuh Have" & "Weed Fi Smoke Up Now" entered a number of international reggae charts; namely the 3 & 20 spots on the October 2007 Kenyan Reggae Charts, put together by METRO 101.9 fm in Nairobi.
As a live performer, he is a force to be reckoned. Normally accompanied by his longtime spar Sgt. Remo, they deliver a fyah blazing live set. Kali and Remo were blessed in March 2008 to accompany legendary performer the Original General Smiley on a Southwestern tour and again alongside General Smiley and Ken Serious in October. The year 2009 brought forth a New Mexico Music Awards nomination for Best Rap Song for the collaboration with Santa Fe hip-hop artist Circumference for the song "Do What I Does" available on Circumference's sophmore album Resolutionary. Mister Kali has also appeared in Los Angeles, CA, opened the main stage of the 1st Annual Santa Fe Muzik Fest in August 2007, at the One Love Music Fest in Tulsa,OK 2008 as well as an appearance alongside Bass Odyssey with Charly Blacks and NY artists Zebulun,Chappa Jan, Slick and others at Chef's Orchid in Queens, NY.
Watch out for the full length album from Mister Kali "Step Fast" dropping late summer 2010!
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