|
DEVONTE Wayne Passley was born in
Rockfort, Kingston, Jamaica. His mother's beautiful
singing ability and the writing skills of Beres
Hammond and Michael Jackson
inspired him to become a singer. Now at the age of 27
Devonte, as he's better known to the music listening
public, has made a name for himself as a singer to watch.
Prior to his involvement in music Devonte worked in an oil refinery as a process technician. He began his singing career using his real name until Dave Kelly commented that his name sounded like that of an altar boy. Kelly went on to christen him Devonte and the name stuck. Devonte writes about 95% of his own lyrics and lends his writing talent to other artists. He said that his writing has been aided by the fact that he completed high school and went on to tertiary education. He believes that in his position, it is his duty to be a positive role model and he always influences children to go to school. Devonte has been a member of the Shocking Vibes crew since 1995. When he first joined Shocking Vibes, Tanto Metro was always on the road performing alongside Beenie Man, Kirk Davis, Silver Cat and Snagga Puss while Devonte was back at the studio. The manager of Shocking Vibes Patrick Roberts noticed this and said that somebody should take the new recruit on the road. Tanto decided he would be the one to show Devonte the ropes and they worked well together and began to jointly release songs. Then came the big hit 'Everyone Falls In Love' which led to an album release of the same name on the 550 Music record label in 1999. From that day the dynamic duo have never looked back. Devonte has also worked on song collaborations with Beenie Man, Mega Banton and Kirk Davis and had his music produced by Donovan Germain (Penthouse), Steely & Clevie (Studio 2000), Dave Kelly (Madhouse) King Jammys, Jeremy Harding and many more. In the past Devonte and Tanto have worked on a song while in San Francisco with a group called Interlude, entitled 'I like your smile'. They have been showered with awards including a Tamika Award for Best Duo, Reggae Soca award for Best Duo and Song of the Year. Devonte is in agreement with the Jamaican government in terms of clamping down on bootlegging because as he put it, "a lot of things going on, when I say robbing what we should rightfully get". Most singers would be happy that they managed to tour England, the majority of the States, the Caribbean and Japan but Devonte won't be content until he has performed in Africa. Devonte is happy with what he has achieved although many times he has had, "Sleepless nights, hazardous days" but it seems that he is now reaping the seeds he has sowed. When Devonte gets away from the studio and touring he likes to stay at home with his little daughter and her mum. He also likes to play a lot of football and be around the rest of his family. Devonte is working on getting new singles released. There are also plans for the second joint album with Tanto to be released entitled, 'The Beat Goes On' which fuses Reggae with both R'n'B and Hip Hop. Watch out for the album but in the meantime Devonte wanted to send out a message to his fans, "Tell them sey we love them still. Keep loving us the way you did before because our love for them never change. Tell them fe keep peace inna them heart and try to love each other everywhere they go". If you would like to book Devonte please contact Shocking Vibes Production Ltd, Tel: (876) 941-1408 Fax: (876) 931-6220 or email: shocking@colis.com and don't forget to check out the web site at http://www.shockingvibes.com |
|
|
|
||
