Capleton

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Jamaican musician (born 1967)

title: "Capleton" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1967-births", "living-people", "jamaican-reggae-musicians", "people-from-saint-mary-parish,-jamaica", "jamaican-rastafarians", "jamaican-electronic-musicians", "def-jam-recordings-artists", "ragga-musicians", "performers-of-rastafarian-music", "jamaican-dancehall-musicians", "jamaican-male-songwriters", "rocksteady-musicians", "vp-records-artists", "dance-musicians", "greensleeves-records-artists", "member-of-the-bobo-shanti"] description: "Jamaican musician (born 1967)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capleton" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Jamaican musician (born 1967) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
nameCapleton
imageCapleton1 cropped.jpg
captionCapleton performing in 2008
birth_nameClifton George Bailey III
alias
birth_date
birth_placeIslington, Jamaica
death_date
instrumentVocals
genre
occupationMusician
years_active1985–present
label
website
::

| name = Capleton | image = Capleton1 cropped.jpg | caption = Capleton performing in 2008 | birth_name = Clifton George Bailey III | alias = | birth_date = | birth_place = Islington, Jamaica | death_date = | instrument = Vocals | genre = | occupation = Musician | years_active = 1985–present | label = | associated_acts = | website =

Clifton George Bailey III (born 13 April 1967), better known by his stage name Capleton, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician. He is also referred to as King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet. His record label is called David House Productions. He is known for his Rastafari views expressed in his songs.

Early life

Bailey was born in Islington in St. Mary in 1967. As a youth, he was given the surname of a popular St. Mary lawyer and friend of the family, Capleton, as a nickname by his relatives and friends. Capleton rejects the name given to him at birth. He now prefers "King Shango", given its roots in the Yoruba language.

As a teenager, he sneaked out of his home to catch local dancehall acts, eventually leaving St. Mary for Kingston at the age of 18 to work on his career as a dancehall deejay.

Career

Early career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Capleton.JPG" caption="Capleton performing in Germany in 2006"] ::

In 1989, he got his first big international exposure. Stewart Brown, owner of a Toronto-based sound called African Star, gave the untested artist his first break, flying him to Canada for a stage show alongside Ninjaman and Flourgon.

When Capleton first arrived on the scene in the late 1980s, slackness and gun talk were the dominant lyrics in the dancehalls. The pre-Rasta Capleton had a string of hit songs from "Bumbo Red" to "Number One on the Look Good Chart" and "No Lotion Man".

He recorded the song that began to establish his significant place in dancehall, "Alms House" in 1992. The tune became a big hit in the dancehall, followed up immediately by "Music is a Mission" and the hit "Tour". By 1993, he was voicing tunes which became increasingly conscious, such as "Prophet" and "Cold Blooded Murderer".

Tunes such as "Tour" and "Wings of the Morning" earned him a deal with Russell Simmons' Def Jam Recordings, which culminated in the Prophecy and I-Testament albums of the mid-1990s.

Later career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Capleton_(2).png" caption="Capleton in [[Melkweg]], Amsterdam"] ::

In 1999, Capleton headlined Reggae Sumfest's dancehall night, to much fanfare. The performance, which led to a subsequent headliner placement the following year, is credited with "re-bussing", or creating a comeback for, his career. The 1999–2000 period elicited a string of hits, many of which can be found on the album More Fire.

By 2004, some argued the quality of Capleton's music had been downgraded by over-proliferation on numerous riddims, while Capleton himself argued his continued recording over both dancehall and roots reggae riddims created balance in his musical output. Nonetheless, he scored hit singles over one of the most popular riddims of 2004, "That Day Will Come" over the Hard Times riddim.

After a hiatus from the label, Capleton returned to VP Records in 2010 with the release of I-Ternal Fire.

After headlining a U.S. tour which included Romain Virgo, Munga Honorable, and Kulcha Knox in the fall of 2010, Capleton embarked upon a tour of the African continent for late 2010 and early 2011. Stops included Gambia, Senegal, South Africa and multiple dates in Zimbabwe. In December 2012 the music Unite Cape Town International Reggae Festival saw Capleton, plus reggae and dancehall artists including Black Dillinger, and Blak Kalamawi.

Capleton's annual 'A St Mary Mi Come From' live show has raised funds for several charities since it was first staged in 2000, including local schools and hospitals.

Religious views

Capleton makes reference to Bobo Ashanti, one of the various mansions of the Rastafari movement. Yet he frequently mentions there is no separation between the mansions of Rastafari as he sees it. He stated in an interview on TraceTV that he is a vegan, not consuming meat or dairy in any form, but he also rejects anything made from soya. He also touches on the subject of his lyrics regarding fire, saying they are metaphoric references of purification, not violence or murder.

Criticisms

Capleton has faced criticism for anti-gay lyrics in some of his songs though homosexuality remains illegal in his native Jamaica. His manager has argued that some of the controversial lyrics have been mistranslated and do not actually refer to gays.

However, Capleton has continued to sing songs that some see as anti-gay, causing the cancellation of a concert in Switzerland in 2008 and a United States tour in 2010.

Discography

References

References

  1. 0-87930-655-6, pp. 67–69
  2. Walters, Basil (2012) "[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/Entertainment/Capleton-lauded-for-charity-work_11982686 Capleton lauded for charity work] {{Webarchive. link. (23 July 2012 ", ''[[Jamaica Observer]]'', 20 July 2012, retrieved 29 July 2012)
  3. {{usurped
  4. link. (21 July 2011 . ''Foroyaa Online''. 4 June 2008.)
  5. "Capleton." Contemporary Musicians. Ed. Leigh Ann DeRemer. Vol. 40. Gale Cengage, 2003. eNotes.com. 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2011. [http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/capleton-biography]{{Dead link. (November 2025)
  6. (1994). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Guinness Publishing]].
  7. link. (31 May 2012 . VPRecords.com. 30 June 2010.)
  8. [http://www.reggaeweb.com/events/sumfest/1999/sumfest.htm Summer Fest '99 – Dancehall Nights] {{webarchive. link. (15 July 2011 . Reggaeweb.com. Retrieved 2 February 2011.)
  9. [http://www.reggaeweb.com/events/sumfest/2000/index.htm Reggae Sumfest 2000] {{webarchive. link. (15 July 2011 . Reggaeweb.com. Retrieved 2 February 2011.)
  10. Huey, Steve. [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/capleton-p29881/biography Capleton biography] {{Webarchive. link. (12 December 2010 . AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2011)
  11. Smith, Germaine. [http://jamaica-star.com/thestar/20040507/ent/ent1.html REIGN OF FIRE – Capleton still blazes] {{webarchive. link. (12 May 2009 . ''Jamaica Star''. 7 May 2004.)
  12. [http://www.reggae-vibes.com/rev_var/dropleaf.htm Drop Leaf album review] {{Webarchive. link. (18 February 2011 . Reggae Vibes Productions. Retrieved 2 February 2011.)
  13. Campbell, Howard. [http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100630/ent/ent1.html Capleton finds his way back to VP] {{Webarchive. link. (8 August 2010 . ''Jamaica Gleaner''. 30 June 2010.)
  14. [http://www.thestandard.co.zw/entertainment/27427-warming-the-stage-for-capleton.html Warming the stage for Capleton] {{webarchive. link. (27 November 2010 . ''The Standard (Zimbabwe)''. 21 November 2010.)
  15. (3 December 2012). "Capleton Headlines The Music Unite Capetown International Reggae Fest (Dec 8-9 South Africa)". themalaika.com.
  16. Park, Esther. [http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2010/02/capleton_bob_marley_festival_2010_miami.php Bob Marley Movement Caribbean Festival 2010: Interview With Capleton] {{Webarchive. link. (2 April 2010 . ''Miami New Times''. 25 February 2010.)
  17. Mbiriyamveka, Jonathan. [http://allafrica.com/stories/201010180910.html Capleton Show Organisers Hunt Ghetto Rappers] {{Webarchive. link. (18 October 2012 . ''The Herald (Zimbabwe)''. 18 October 2010.)
  18. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/documentaries/gayinja.shtml "Gay in JA: What's it like to be gay in a society where it's illegal to practice your sexuality?"] {{Webarchive. link. (4 January 2012 , ''BBC''. First aired 2008, updated Tuesday 16 June 2009. (Only regionally available))
  19. (17 February 2010). "Hate singer Capleton cancels U.S. tour".
  20. [https://another-green-world.blogspot.com/2008/11/capleton-concert-cancelled-in-basel.html "Capleton Concert cancelled in Basel, Switzerland"] {{Webarchive. link. (1 March 2012 , ''Another Green World''. Thursday, 6 November 2008.)
  21. "Capleton Unleashes his I-Ternal Fire! | United Reggae".
  22. "Relief".

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1967-birthsliving-peoplejamaican-reggae-musicianspeople-from-saint-mary-parish,-jamaicajamaican-rastafariansjamaican-electronic-musiciansdef-jam-recordings-artistsragga-musiciansperformers-of-rastafarian-musicjamaican-dancehall-musiciansjamaican-male-songwritersrocksteady-musiciansvp-records-artistsdance-musiciansgreensleeves-records-artistsmember-of-the-bobo-shanti