Leroy Junior Russell (born 4 November 1987), better known by his stage names Tommy Lee and more recently Tommy Lee Sparta , is a dancehall artist from Montego Bay , Jamaica .[1] Tommy Lee Sparta gained popularity as a member of Adidjahiem Records and the associated Portmore Empire crew under the leadership of Vybz Kartel.[2] He has been a controversial figure in dancehall due to his self-described Gothic Dancehall style, which often features dark and Satanist-inspired subject matter. [3] As of now he has left the Portmore Empire. Career Tommy Lee Sparta began DJing in late 2008 at Snipa Studios in Flankers, where he recorded his first song, Spartan Story. During this time, he performed as an opening act for local shows, including several from Portmore artist Vybz Kartel. Kartel, noticing that the artist was receiving positive responses from the crowd, invited him to move to Kingston and become a part of the Portmore Empire, Kartels music crew. Tommy Lee Sparta, however, was reluctant to leave his family and neighborhood, and declined the offer. [4] According to Tommy Lee Sparta, it wasnt until his performance at Vybz Kartels Birthday Bash on 7 January 2010 that he decided to take the idea of being a musician seriously, and he soon accepted the offer to become an official member of the Portmore Empire together with the gaza team. [5] Warn Dem, released in November 2010, was Tommy Lee Spartas first recognized hit, based on a riddim by Da Wiz, his original producer from Snipa Studios. [6] The accompanying music video, directed by Dk Konsepp, was also a first for the artist. Tommy Lee Spartas breakthrough hit came with Some Bwoy (Link Pon Wi Chain) on the 2011 So Bad Riddim.[7] However, it wasnt until well after Kartels arrest and the release of the music video in 2012, under new management from Junior Heavy-D Fraser, that the single gained traction. The single worked its way to the number one spot of many of Jamaicas informal music charts, including Pree Dis and Entertainment Report, and the video was in heavy rotation on Caribbean stations such as RETV, Hype TV, and Tempo Networks .[8] Some Bwoy, along with follow-up singles such as Psycho, Buss a Blank, and Shook (Uncle Demon), gave Tommy Lee Sparta significant exposure locally, and in 2012 he was a headlining artist for both Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay and the Sting music festival in Portmore. [9][10] [11] In May 2012, Adidjahiem Records was shut down, citing the legal issues of owner Vybz Kartel and lack of ability to represent/ promote artists as reasons for the closure. Along with former labelmate Gaza Slim, Tommy Lee Sparta started a new label called PG13, which would be run by himself until Vybz Kartel was released from jail. The labels roster notably omits Popcaan , the other major labelmate at Adidjaheim. [12][13] In September 2012, Tommy Lee announced that he would be changing his stage name to Tommy Lee Sparta for trademark purposes, and to differentiate himself from Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and actor Tommy Lee Jones . The element Sparta was derived from an informal name given to the part of Flankers where he grew up. The move was suggested by his lawyer as a way to thwart potential copycat musicians from impersonating the artist. [14] Usain Bolt, Warren Weir and several other Jamaican sprinters have stated their appreciation of Tommy Lee Sparta and Adidjahiem Records, going so far as to flash the hand sign for the clique popularized by Tommy Lee Sparta after Jamaica won all three medals at the mens 200 metres in the 2012 Summer Olympics. [15][16] In response, Tommy Lee Sparta released remixes for his songs Psycho and Some Bwoy with altered lyrics paying tribute to the Jamaican sprinters. [17] Deejay Bounty Killer in 2006. Bounty Killer feud In September 2012, a feud formed between Tommy Lee Sparta and Alliance leader Bounty Killer over a series of Twitter posts that were perceived as an insult to Tommy Lee Sparta. One such message from Bounty Killer on 8 September said, Christmas is 4 christ so nuh demon or devil cyaah win we a bloodclaath all a dem a dead a sting!!! [18] This was widely believed to be a reference to Tommy Lee Spartas Uncle Demon persona and a threat against the artist regarding the upcoming Sting music festival on Boxing Day . Bounty Killer, however, denied that the tweet was directed towards Tommy Lee Sparta, stating that the message was against the devil and not any artist in particular. Tommy Lee Sparta said of the slight that he had great respect for the artist as an elder dancehall musician, and that as the statement was probably made to garner publicity, he would not respond with any disrespect. [19][20] However, just a little over a week later, Tommy Lee Sparta released the music video for a new diss track directed towards Bounty Killer entitled Goat Head. Bounty Killer responded the next month with two diss songs of his own, Di Gaad and Nyammy Lee. As a result of the growing feud, the two artists were slated to clash at the 2012 Sting music festival, with Bounty Killer comparing the matchup as equivalent to a giant and an ant. [20] However, when Stings lead promoter, Isaiah Laing, implied that Tommy Lee Sparta might have a chance of defeating the veteran artist, Bounty Killer saw the remark as an insult and cancelled his performance. During Tommy Lee Spartas performance at Sting, he expressed his support and respect for Bounty Killer, and both artists have since stated they consider the feud to be over.[21][22] Personal life Russell was born in 1987 and grew up in Flankers, an unofficial residential community located just east of Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Has 4 sisters and a older brother one sister lives in Allentown Pa names Denise Baker married to Kirk baker, along with Tommy Lee Spartas Older cousins Andrew Henry and his 5 kids the oldest named Darion Deejay, his other cousins Gerard and Donovan Popatime Henry. Tommy Lee Sparta wants a visa to come to America, Which He Obtained June 2014. tommy lee Sparta sayshe only pree music in his 2013 sting performance. Their father died when tommy lee Sparta was 10 years old. [9] He describes his upbringing as difficult, having lost his father at the age of 10. Russell attended Anchovy High School in the nearby town of Anchovy. He had his first child at the age of 14 while he was in eighth grade by his high school sweetheart, Donna who was then in the eleventh grade . [3] In February 2014 he was charged along with four others in connection with a lottery scam. [23] Discography Extended plays 2012: Psycho (Tads Record Inc) 2012: Grim Reaper (UIM Records) [1] 2013: Save Dem Soul (Da Wiz Records) 2012: Some Bwoy (Young Vibez Production) 2013: Spartan Soulja (UIM Records)[1] LPs 2013: Uncle Demon - LP (Guzu Musiq) References 1. ^ a b c Serwer, Jesse (2 Oct 2012). GEN F: Tommy Lee . The Fader (The Fader, Inc.) (82). Retrieved 8 Feb 2013. 2. ^ Morgan, Simone (3 Jun 2012). Tommy Lees mixtape to drop this summer . Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 9 Feb 2013. 3. ^ a b Russell, Leroy (7 Jul 2012). Interview with Winford Williams. OnStage. CEEN. Missing or empty |title= (help) 4. ^ Snoop Lion; Andy Capper ; Codine Williams; Trevor Silmser (5 Feb 2013). Tommy Lee Sparta . Noisey Jamaica . Episode 3. Vice. noisey.vice/ noisey-jamaica/tommy-lee-sparta . Retrieved 9 Feb 2013. 5. ^ Russell, Leroy (8 Sep 2012). Interview with Joel Kruddy Harrison. Pree Dis: Episode 100. Tempo Networks . Missing or empty | title= ( help) 6. ^ Campbell, Curtis (9 Nov 2011). Tommy Lee Sparta happy with career . Jamaica Star . Retrieved 9 Feb 2013. 7. ^ Campbell, Curtis (18 Jan 2013). Tommy Lee eyes intl market . Jamaica Star . Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 8. ^ Tommy Lee, Khago to headline Ochi Seafood Festival August 6 . North Coast Times . 24 Jul 2012. Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 9. ^ a b Tommy Lee with ‘bare’ badness . Jamaica Observer. 14 Sep 2012. Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 10. ^ Walters, Basil (21 Sep 2012). Tommy Lee to headline Sting . Jamaica Observer . Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 11. ^ Frater, Adrian (21 Jul 2012). Dancehall Night Brings Out A Galaxy Of Stars . Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 12. ^ Henry, Davina (24 May 2012). Portmore Empire is no more . Jamaica Star . Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 13. ^ Russell, Leroy (15 Jun 2012). Interview with Young Lion. Dancehall M1X with Young Lion. BBC Radio 1Xtra . Missing or empty | title= ( help) 14. ^ Henry, Davina (28 Sep 2012). Tommy Lee trademarks name . Jamaica Star . Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 15. ^ McLean, Roxroy (18 Aug 2009). Gaza mi seh - Usain Bolt says Vybz Kartel is his favourite artiste . Jamaica Star . Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 16. ^ Williams, Sheldon (11 Aug 2012). Gaza sign a hit at Olympics . Jamaica Star . Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 17. ^ Tommy Lee and Bolt Psycho, reincarnated Snoop and Bugle . North Coast Times . 16 Aug 2012. Retrieved 25 Feb 2013. 18. ^ Price, Rodney (8 Sep 2012). Tweet by @GrungGaadZillA . Twitter . Retrieved 10 Feb 2013. 19. ^ Campbell, Curtis (11 Sep 2012). Bounty lashes out at Tommy Lee - Others also voice concern about demonic songs . Jamaica Star. Retrieved 9 Feb 2013. 20. ^ a b Price, Rodney (8 Dec 2012). Interview with Winford Williams. OnStage. CEEN. Missing or empty |title= (help) 21. ^ Price, Rodney (Jan 2012). Interview with Dj Bones and Kshema Francis. Entertainment Buzz. IRIE FM. Missing or empty |title= (help) 22. ^ Super K Studios (16 Dec 2012). Celebz . Episode 1. BOJ TV. 23. ^ Jamaican dancehall deejay arrested in lottery scam , Miami Herald , 15 February 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014 (archived from the original )
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 13:35:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015