Capleton

Long before he was a recording name, Clifton George Bailey III was a teenager in St Mary, Jamaica, slipping out of the house to catch local dancehall sets. At eighteen he moved to Kingston to become a deejay, and a nickname borrowed from a popular local lawyer stuck. Under the name Capleton, and with King Shango, King David and The Prophet among his other titles, he has built a voice that pairs dancehall delivery with Rastafari views at its core, his fire imagery framed as purification rather than violence.

His break came in 1989, when Stewart Brown of the Toronto sound African Star flew him to Canada for a stage show alongside Ninjaman and Flourgon. 'Alms House' in 1992 gave him a significant place in dancehall, and 'Tour' and 'Wings of the Morning' brought a deal with Def Jam Recordings, which produced the Prophecy and I-Testament albums. A 1999 headline slot at Reggae Sumfest is credited with reviving his career. He returned to VP Records in 2010 with I-Ternal Fire, and his annual 'A St Mary Mi Come From' show has raised money for local schools and hospitals since 2000.