Biographie
CALI P - UNSTOPPABLE BIOGRAPHY
Every so often, an artist comes along who is destined for greatness – the reggae sensation, Cali P, is one such artist.
1. PERSONAL HERITAGE
Possessing an interesting heritage which sees him being the son of an Swiss mother from and a Rastafarian father from the Caribbean island Guadeloupe, Cali P grew up with the African culture, spirituality and tradition which has been intrinsic to the overall moulding of his mind and his music.
2. MUSICAL STEPS
By the age of 14, the teenager (christened Pierre Nanon by his parents) was already hailed as a talented writer and a singer who flowed easily from reggae to dancehall, soul to jazz, rock - and even a dash of pop music. He launched his dancehall career at the age of 16 as MC of the Giden Soldiers Soundsystem.
Blessed with a winning combination of distinctive vocal talent and thought-provoking lyrical content, Cali P released his first single in early 2005: “Forward” - on the Pow Pow label. The track generated international attention, paving the way for Cali P to release more than 30 other songs on 7 inch vinyl, mix tapes or compilations. In 2008 he released his debut album “Lyrical Faya”, as well as the soundtrack for the American Free Ski DVD "Idea", the latter selling over 20,000 copies. This was also the beginning of a new adventure: Cali P and Tanner Hall (the Freeski Legend) collaborated together to produce the award-winning soundtrack for the Red Bull ski movie “The Massive”.
2010 was a big year for Cali P. In one hand you have the founding of his label Inspired Music Concepts wich released the award winning Like A Lion - Original Movie Soundtrack for the Award winning Documentary movie about Freeskier Tanner Hall and on the other side moving his homebase to the Caribbean Island of Jamaica in order to further establish himself within the international (and especially reggae) music scene.
3. UNSTOPPABLE
Since 2007, Cali P has been working closely with Swiss - Irish producer Riga (Hemp Higher Productions), one of Europe's leading dancehall producers.Together Riga and Cali P have recently completed the “Unstoppable” album, to be released in early 2011. “Unstoppable” includes featurings with Swiss multi-platinum artist Stress, Swiss Reggae-Star Phenomden as well as the UK rapper, poet and activist: Lowkey. The album contains the best Songs that Cali P and Riga made together in theyre very creative Studio Sessions over the past few years.
Riga himself has produced for billboard artists like T.O.K. or Serani from Jamaica, German Rapper Massive, French Rapper Ol' Kainry and of course the top Song "Jah rule the world" the title track of Tanner Hall's movie "The Massive",which will be re-released officially as a single for the album.
While Cali P’s first album “Lyrical Faya” had a strong reggae “feel” to it, the “Unstoppable” project demonstrates Cali P's outstanding talent and versatility, as he passes easily from Hip-Hop, to R’n B to Dancehall. With “Unstoppable”, Cali P takes on the challenge of crossing musical boundaries and proves once more that his music is eclectic and defies categorization.
Cali P’s multi-cultural Swiss and Guadeloupian heritage, coupled with his exposure to Rastafarian and African traditions have helped him bridge the gap musically from first to third world cultures. To date, he has given over 300 concerts in more than 25 countries and 4 continents, generating a rapidly growing fan base.
In Febuary and March 2011 he will be touring Europe for the OAKLEY LIKE A LION TOUR including stops at the European X-Games in Tignes (france) and the European Freeski Open in Laax (switzerland) as well as many other shows.
For Cali P, the journey continues - and he keeps our musical fires blazing!- UNSTOPPABLE!