Biggie Irie Bio

Deciding who this edition's featured artiste was going to be was a no brainer for us… With award after award rolling in and an ever-lengthening touring calendar Biggie Irie was the natural choice. Just in case you missed them his accomplishments for 2007 are: Groovy Soca Monarch, Nah Goin' Home is the 'Soca Song of the Year' and 'Favourite Groovy Soca' for a male artiste and the song's music video continues to hold the #1 spot on MTV Tempo's Cross Caribbean Countdown. Add to that the extensive touring in the U.S. , UK and Canada it has been a busy carnival season for the man born Carlton Geoffrey Cordle. With a voice like rich molasses and a commanding stage presence Biggie Irie is perhaps best known to Barbadians as a founding member of The Splashband, the only other group on the Island, besides Exodus, who dedicated their repertoire solely to reggae music.
Within two years of the group's formation in 1990 they were repeat guests at the Stockholm Water Festival in Sweden; seasoned New York with their unique brand of reggae flavour and made their mark in the reggae capital of the world at Jamaica's Reggae Sunsplash. There Biggie and The Splashband shared the stage with the who's who of reggae music – Luciano, Maxi Priest, Beres Hammond, Diana King – and veterans like Byron Lee and the Dragonnaires, Singing Sandra and the Mighty Sparrow. 1995 saw the end of The Splashband but the beginning of Biggie's two year relationship as lead singer with local group SPICE & CO. This also proved to be a successful partnership. The touring stint took him to Trinidad, Jamaica, Antigua, Costa Rica, Martinique and Guyana where he performed for sold out audiences.
Having lent his talent both on and off stage to two big name local bands Biggie then bravely entered waters in which artistes either sink or swim – his solo career. 1998 saw the formation of Biggie Irie and the Israelites – a band whose primary function was to back Biggie in this effort. This collaboration yielded two highly successful regional tours.
But it was the U.S. release of the CD 'An Introduction to Biggie Irie' in 1999 and the Spirit of Unity World Tour that same year that cemented his position as a solo artist in the world of reggae music. The tour began on a high note in Los Angeles where Biggie shared the stage with Steel Pulse, Ras Shiloh, Joseph Hill of Culture, Maxi Priest and Monifah in a reggae all-star band on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In the fast paced world of television entertainment where a few minutes is all you've got a make your mark, Biggie's impact was undeniable. From there he had audiences in Seattle and San Diego eating out of his hands with his dominating yet gentle and soulful presence. 
One would think that after being sought after by Billboard Magazine, Caribbean Billboard Music and TV and other major international media and performing with Steel Pulse and Third World that 1999 couldn't get any better for Biggie Irie. But December of that year brought another treat: he was asked to open for renowned reggae legend ERNIE SMITH, at the Almond Beach Resort in Barbados. Sharing a stage with greats like these is among the highlights of his career.
By then Biggie's was a respected voice on the local music scene and his 2003 album 'Where is the Love' sparked some interest at major record labels VP Records and Jet Star. Yet he is not satisfied with the state of the industry. He believes that 'we have so much talent here in Barbados, most of the time most of it just falls by the way side without being appreciated or even recognized locally or internationally. Some people get caught up with this [idea of] "local artists" [but] I truly believe that at least 80% of our artists here are of international quality. We just need the support of our own to take our careers to the next level.' And with Pyramid's support he has done just that. But Biggie makes our job easy with the quality and staying power of his music… He can move an audience with vintage Splashband tunes like 'Champion Sound' as well as current hits like Nah Goin' Home, Band on Fire and his latest releases the ever popular Big Girlz and the Reggae number Crazy For You.
We applaud this edition's featured artiste Biggie Irie and look forward to more greatness in the future.