American author Napoleon Hill once said that, “The world has the habit of making room for the man whose actions show that he knows where he is going” so even though Wayne Mitchell faced initial rejection from music producers and was told point blank “yuh no ready yet”, his drive, persistence and tenaciousness ensured that the world heard him sing.

With a large fan base here at home and an even wider fan base in the United States and Japan, one would never believe that Wayne ‘Wayne Marshall’ Mitchell’s talent was ever in question.

In 2006 alone, the man who delivered ‘Astronaut’ on the Dem Time Deh Riddim, ‘Forgot Them’, ‘Marry Juana”, ‘Make them Come’ and ‘Happy Days’ has been featured on multiple stage shows including Fully Loaded, Saddle to the East, Solid Agency’s School Tour, Campfire, Sting, Tempo anniversary show in St. Croix and countless stage performances in Japan, US, UK, Canada and the rest of the Caribbean.

Marshall’s abounding self-confidence allows him to freely acknowledge his skill, and he recognised his own talent for lyrical construction as soon as he started penning soulful lyrics at 14. “From I was 7 years old I always dreamed of performing in front of huge crowds of people,” smiles Marshall.
Marshall is definitely going places and cemented himself as one of Jamaica’s respected song writers and crooners.

He has recently shot a video for the single “Forgive Them Please”, a video directed by prodigy Ras Kassa. The video sees Marshall depicting as a religious effigy asking the Father above to forgive those that go against his will. The video is currently being rotated on the local entertainment stations as well as MTV TEMPO.

Besides “Forgive Them Please” Marshall is also enjoying rotation from “Polly-Tics” on the March Out Riddim a clever pun on Jamaican politics and the popular “Cocky” on the Untouchable Riddim.

His greatest achievement to date has not been the money, the fame, the exotic places he gets to visit or the recognition but in fact is his likeness Giovanni; a life-changing event, a catalyst that has transformed his career and his life.

His devotion to his son caused him to be selected as the spokesperson for the National Family Planning Board (NFPB). Marshall has come on board with the NFPB's new campaign, which will focus on safe sex, and family planning, targeting various age groups. Add that to his Western Union and Cable and Wireless endorsements and Marshall’s career and credibility is obviously booming.

“I don't want people to guess if Marshall was a good artiste... I want to be recognized as an established artiste, a bonafide hitmaker," says a smiling Marshall. Operating out of Solid Agency in Kingston, Marshall is determined to achieve more things in 2007 startin with Rebel Salute this weekend. Marshall has definitely sang his way into the hearts of many fans.

Wayne Marshall's story is one of a rites of passage. Born Wayne Mitchell, one of Dancehall's young giants recently celebrated his 21st birthday. The roller coaster ride that has made up his young life is what drives Wayne Marshall the artiste. His early years were spent in the Barbican area of Kingston, until his father - a self-made successful businessman - relocated the family uptown.

Destiny moved the Mitchell family three doors away from the front gate of the father of digital Dancehall, Lloyd 'King Jammy' James. The King had some sons of young Wayne's age group, so the Waterhouse studio soon became a preordained second home for the music-loving teenager. "Automatically we get a piece of the ghetto inna we too," he tells me from my passenger seat, trying to absorb the fast-fading cool of the A/C in my whip. " We deh deep inna di ghetto a day time at the studio, so we get to realize the livety and we get fi soak in wid the ghetto people and ketch dem mentality to a level," he adds, acknowledge the importance of the ghetto education he received at 'Jammin's' studio.

Sparring with the big man's offspring meant that the studio was at their disposal, causing Wayne to "start checking music on a serious level" from an early age. It was early '94 and Bounty Killer was as hot as hell.

Marshall recalls Elephant Man in tear-up clothes, and Determine begging. Big artistes came and went all day long. "At King Jammy's, I got to know the ropes in the deep heart of Dancehall - dub plate style!"

Using his pass to the Mecca of Dancehall wisely, Wayne began copying Bounty Killer's style and pattern at school. "Because I was at Jammy's, I would always have strictly pre-released Bounty Killer material and done the place! Any new tune that Jammy's released for Bounty I learnt it straight away and was ready to pop it off anytime anyone asked me at school - all day, every day, 1st verse, 2nd verse, anything you want."

The fruits of that labor are tangible in Wayne Marshall, the acclaimed songwriter. "From young, I saw the channel of originality, I should run through," enthuses Marshall. "That desire to be original, to be an artiste, was directly from Bounty Killer. His levels of meditation and the standard he brought the lyrics to made me realize it was something I should be a part of." Age difference and Bounty's fearsome rep for being unapproachable kept the two entertainers' paths apart. For the time being.

Marshall's abounding self-confidence allows him to freely acknowledge his skills, and he recognized his own talent for lyrical construction as soon as he started penning soulful lyrics at 14. "From I was 7 years old I always dreamed of performing in front of huge crowds of people," smiles Marshall, "until I realized I could sing and make the girls dem cry, so I just sang and made the girls dem cry!"

Uptown aspirations dictate that children grow up to become lawyers, doctors and pilots but Marshall's parents let his free spirit express itself. "As an uptown yute, you are convinced that you should strive for something your schooling can bring you, not something that your natural talent can bring forth," he explains. "I look on it as a sin for me to neglect my natural talent and force myself to do something else." Marshall isn't trying' to imagine what he would be doing if he wasn't doing music. "Nothing else could make me feel happy, only music. I couldn't work and be happy. When I was young I used to listen to music and sit down and wonder how I used to feel this way." As with most things, it didn't take Marshall long to work it out: "Musicians feel and hear music differently from people who just listen to music. When you have the vibes to write and create music you feel the real musicians around you easily. Sade - I felt her deeply growing up. We used to get vibes from all different places - Sanchez, Atlantic Starr, Bel Biv Devoe, Baby Face, Bares - all dem cats."

For Bookings, contact:

Solid Agency
11 Merrivale Close
Kingston 8
755-4042, 969-1119
solidbookings@cwjamaica.com
solidmgmt@cwjamaica.com

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