Mr. Killa Biography

"Crowd-pulling”, “musically versatile”, “electrifying” and “energetic” are some of the adjectives that best describe this young song-writing rhythm-building, amazing Caribbean artiste, who the world knows as Mr. Killa. Blessed with a fantastic voice and the ability to suitably alter the range and tone for many genres of music, he has mastered jaw-dropping trademark stage theatrics that mesmerize his audience, time and time again. His unique bounce and ability to whine while standing on his hands, and the “Animal Dance” are must-sees.

Mr. Killa's first composition was titled “Gouyave Alone” - a song about carnival in his hometown. In 2002, he entered Grenada's premier Soca competition - the National Soca Monarch - with his debut hit song 'The Wood Can't Done', placing 7th. It was the official start of this amazing phenomenon and his ambassadorship for his pride-filled home-town called Gouyave.

After another unacceptable 7th place in 2003, Mr. Killa undisputedly outperformed all his competitors and won the much-pursued prestigious title with his lyrical composition “Thunder Rags” in 2004. An unforgettable performance from an artiste who, under great caution, was allowed to leave the hospital with severe injuries experienced from a horrific car crash on the same day of the competition. Forced to calmly perform in a neck-brace, Mr. Killa moved the audience like no other, soliciting an unrepeated crowd reaction with his presentation and delivery.

That 2004 winning earned Mr. Killa the privilege of competing in the popular International Soca Monarch competition in Trinidad and Tobago in February of 2005. There, he placed 5th with his exhilarating instructional dance tune titled “Gyal Whine If You Whining”, leaving the multi-national mix of spectators - young and old - in “shock and awe” of his delivery, and with a taste of some of his signature dance moves. It was then that he made his establishing mark in the twin republic.

Since then, the Grenadian public at home and in the Diaspora expected more from him, alerting promoters of his crowd-pulling capabilities. Mr. Killa became a regular headliner for shows on the sister isle of Carriacou, the Grenadines, Trinidad, Barbados, St. Lucia, Tortola, the United States (New York, Miami, Texas), and other international cities including Toronto, Montreal and London.

Songs like “Carnival”, “Ivan”, “Mad Like That”, “Rag It Up” and the Soca Monarch tune “The King Returns”, topped the charts in 2005; however, his defense of the title was unsuccessful due to issues with preparation for the major event that were beyond his control.

In 2006, Mr. Killa returned with a vengeance, launching his first album “Balance”, which comprised 5 hit songs. He won the Groovy-Soca Monarch title with “Spice Isle Rock” - a song that, up to today, promotes Grenada and fun spots with people in his hometown. Mr. Killa also went on to win the Soca Monarch title with “Warrior”, and raised the bar for his contenders, and for years, with a stunning, picturesque and presentation, showcasing himself as royalty. He was also the 1st Runner-Up for the Road March title with the ever-popular instructional title song from the album – “Balance”.

The successes of 2006 meant no turning back for Mr. Killa, and inspired a plethora of hits from the 2007 “Forward Ever” album. The album comprised 12 new songs including hits like “Ride”' - a clever blend of Soca and Country & Western; “Hunting Cat” - a witty well-composed Calypso with all pun intended; “Gone Mad Again” - an electrifying merger of Soca with Dancehall; “Forward Ever”, “J'ouvert Down De Road”, “Revellers”, “Island Paradise”, and “Turn It Up”. Mr. Killa consistently earned close 2nd places in the 2007 and 2008 National Soca Monarch competitions with “Turn It Up” and “I Will Never Give Up”, respectively.

It was in 2008, that he collaborated with another electrifying performer - Brother B of Grenada with the still-requested, loved-by-ladies groove - “Whine and Go Down”.

In 2009, he did a rare double again, winning the National Soca Monarch title with “Swing It Away”, delivering another ground-shaking performance and unmatched cliff-hanging presentation that the Caribbean had never seen before; and capturing the Road March title with the same song. In that year, he produced many hits including “More Rum”, “The Boom”, and “My Water Come”.

That year, he introduced the now highly expected annual mash-up tunes, which commanded the crowds to carry out the actions in the songs. In 2009, it was “The Fence”, a song feared by most promoters due to the behavior of the audience, which caused a number of shows to be shut down during the performance. His bookings brought on meetings with major control authorities and promoters, where he was constantly asked not to perform the song. However, Mr. Killa showed promoters and authorities that he had control over the actions of the crowd.

One such occurrence was at Moonlight City, where he successfully commanded the audience to pack back every item that was moved! During his 3rd place performance at the OECS Soca Monarch competition in St. Lucia, he commanded the same reactions from the control authorities, promoters and crowds in St. Lucia. A new plan for installation of fences, tents, stages and music systems for such public events arose, as a result.

In 2010, taking the Caribbean and the wider world by storm; Mr. Killa dominated the airways, workplaces, homes and entertainment venues with his versatility, producing yet another string of hits. He placed 2nd in the National Soca Monarch competition with what is rated as his best Soca Monarch song to date – “See Dem Fly”. He sang his second mash-up song, “Mr. Mash-Up”, successfully commanding the crowd again, and ventured into the Jamaican market, doing collaborations with Sizzla Kalonji called “Gal You Bad”, and another dub-beat song called “Fling It Up”.

In 2011, Mr. Killa was still the one to beat again, placing another 2nd in the National Soca Monarch competition with “All Gettonnas”.

True to form, he produced the most requested groovy hit “Sugar Pot” - a unique Soca/Dancehall piece, which skyrocketed in popularity and was ranked number one on the musical charts in Tobago for quite a while. His third mash-up song was done in collaboration with St. Lucia's Pringles, titled “More Mash-Up”, and again he produced a number of lyrically pulsating, melodic hits like “Take A Shot” and “Plug It In”, among others, including the original version of “Stink and Dutty”.

In 2012, Mr. Killa crossed many boundaries, creating a wild stir with an electrifying retro dance tune entitled “Do You Wanna Party” - a song with international appeal, propelling him to capture the Radio Monarch title in Grenada. It was the most requested song of the year, and is still one of the top disco tunes today. Also heating up the airways in 2012 was his sensational mash-up song “Born to Mash Up”, a sequel with Pringles. Another great year for Mr. Killa, merging different genres which created dance- hits like “Love How You Whining”, “Ay Ay”, “Me Never Lapse”, and “Rudeboy” - three captivating Soca/Dancehall tunes, and the fun-filled “Film A Movie” Parts 1 and 2, which he competed with. He also collaborated with Trinidad’s Blaxx, producing a remix of his hit song “Stink and Dutty” that year.

Another major heartfelt highlight of 2012 was the production of the tribute song and music video for fellow Gouyave-man, and 2012 World 400M Champion, Kirani Z. James, entitled “Kirani City”. This production was filmed in a few days, including the Fisherman’s Birthday Celebrations on June 29th – a signature annual festival held in Mr. Killa’s Hometown. Groups and individuals from far and wide showed up to be part of the music video, which depicted the cultural practices and folklore, community- spiritedness, sporting attitudes and immense pride of its people for their two (2) most popular stars and ambassadors: Kirani “D’ Jaguar” James and Hollice “Mr. Killa” Mapp. Sports Ambassador James went on to win the 2012 400M Olympics title in August that same year.

As most artists, Mr. Killa has faced delays and defeats in his career but has acquired many achievements, comprising his journey. After 2012, Mr. Killa made the tough decision to step out of local competitions to focus on promoting his brand and music regionally and internationally. While working with selective producers, Mr. Killa constructed his studio, and operates under Constant Spring Productions, producing Stone Hill Records. He continued to establish himself as the pre-eminent Soca performer, leading the way in Grenada with his versatility in creating and entertaining with multi-genre fusions with Soca.

In 2013, Mr. Killa produced another collection of songs, including “Something About You” and “Bacchanal Start”. He did a number of collaborations too; including “Wine On Me” with Brooklyn’s Disa Dandridge and “Legend Meets the Warrior” with Grenada’s King Ajamu. Most telling was his production of the hit-single “Rolly Polly”, which took Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique like a raging storm. His composition and onstage performances which focused on heavy curvy women, literally pulled crowds to the edges of the stages to witness his performances that comprised of serenading, dancing with and lifting of heavy women, weighing sometimes over 200 pounds – whether randomly or planned.

In 2014, he participated in the International Soca Monarch once again with his captivating “Rolly Polly”, making him the most requested and looked-forward-to artiste for shows in Trinidad and Tobago during the Carnival season.

At that point, Mr. Killa was not only controlling crowds with his mash up tunes but he brought on a new focus, sense of pride and self-esteem for women with curves and extra pounds, successfully getting them to appear on stage in front of large audiences without fear, and allowing him to lift them – some over 300 pounds, compared to his obvious light-weight and small stature...and this he has been doing from 2013 to present!

That simply-put song created a positive change in the views of what constituted a beautiful woman; and coupled with his performances, “Rolly Polly” earned him the “Break-out Artiste of the Year” while in Trinidad – a people’s choice type of title, determined by voters. The official “Rolly Polly” music video became highly anticipated; and thus far, has accumulated over 5 million views on YouTube.

These accolades gave Mr. Killa’s career a positive leap within the entertainment industry, beckoning impossible-to-fill requests for seasonal and non-seasonal performances from promoters of the north to the south of the Caribbean, North America and the United Kingdom. So too, over the years, Mr. Killa has earned growing respect among fellow performers and producers within the Caribbean, North America, the United Kingdom, and as far as the Asian and African continents. Most attentive, though, is his ever- growing fan-base who would get into a mad frenzy from the mention of his signature intro: “Mammaye!”

While still soaring on the achievements of “Rolly Polly”, Mr. Killa released another set of dance-music for the airwaves and clubs in 2014: “Pepper Whine”, “Climb Up”, “Cock It Up” and “Engine Room”.

In 2015, Mr. Killa was the artiste much was expected from; and, again, he didn’t disappoint. Deciding that 2015 would’ve been his last year for competing in the Trinidad-based International Soca Monarch, he released the sensational “Panty-Dropper”, coupled with “When We Reach” which he competed with. Thereafter, escalating to musical heights, he paid tribute to his beloved country with a song called “Grenada”; followed by dance-hits, like “Pump-Up The Pipe”, “Never ‘Fraid”, “Seῆorita”, the riveting “Sewing Machine”, and the infectious “Fever” for which he did a music video.

Already In 2016, Mr. Killa has begun the year’s contributions with a New Year’s Day release of “Nothing To Something” – a feel-good, uplifting piece that encourages individuals to pursue their dreams and aspirations, despite the struggles and “fight-down” brought on by others. Subsequently, he released collaborative pieces with Skinny Banton called “We Pumping” and “Party Bad” with Mr. Legz. Versatility is the word for 2016 with his releases of his rock-style “Bang It On A Wednesday”; and his reggae-based “This Is Who We Are” - a community service release, focusing on the protection of marine life – all in the first quarter of the year.