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Spotlight on Christopher
Born on Christmas Day twenty-something years ago, Mark Williams is better known to his fans as just Christopher. He was given the nickname due to his birth date.
Having been raised in Trelawny and Falmouth in Jamaica, Christopher attended Falmouth All Age and when he was 12 years old, he moved to New York. He then started attending Evander Childs High School.
At just 13, Christopher decided he wanted to be a singer after hanging out with friends who were multi-talented as singers, DJs and playing on sound systems. He says, "I tried it once and people said you sound good, you know".
Obviously there were some influences in Christopher's life and he quotes Sanchez and Wayne Wonder as inspirations. He says, "I love Sanchez voice you know".
It wasn't until 1995 that Christopher started singing professionally. He went to vocal training and also took piano lessons before hooking up with Flabba, his producer and manager, and recorded his most successful single to date, 'That Way', on the Headache rhythm.
Christopher has since done other recordings and feels "real good" about his accomplishments to date because he believes, "Not many artists get a break this soon, but I really think I work for what I accomplished".
There is always a debate on whether singers buss easier in the Dancehall Reggae industry than DJs and Christopher agrees citing, "A singer can hold go on a stage and do a cover version and as long as you have a nice voice, people will relate". On the flip-side, he believes a DJ has to have more originality and might not be able to get the crowd to listen.
writes his own lyrics and uses personal experience with a "little exaggeration" as his basis for songs. He admits he does cover versions, but says, "The reason for the covers was you grab people's attention quicker that way".
He has definitely managed to capture people's attention and has performed at stage shows such as Delano's Revenge and Summer Jam. He felt he got his best response at Reggae Culturama in New York in 1997.
Christopher has worked with a number of artists and producers including Delly, Shy-Shy and Don One. He also likes to listen to Renaissance, Tony Matterhorn, Stone Love and Bass Odyssey, but he says, "I mostly listen to Dancehall singers".
As yet Christopher hasn't had an official tour, but he has been to Virginia, Boston, other areas of the USA and all over Jamaica. He is also working on an album.
For the future Christopher wants to take his time and "realise" what he wants to do. He advises young up and coming artists not to rush into things, "Have a lot of faith and you will make it one day".
His message to his fans was, "I just wanna thank all of them for all their support and I wish I could be everywhere at one time, but I can't. Just keep on supporting Christopher".
If he wasn't a singer, Christopher says, "I think I'd probably still be working for FedEx".
Luckily for us, he decided to take the singing route and we are blessed to have this young talented vocalist on the Dancehall Reggae scene.
To book Christopher contact Jade Promotions on jadepromotions@cwjamaica.com or call 876-908-4258. Email Christopher on christopher4music@hotmail.com.
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