Alborosie

Alberto D'Ascola (Italian pronunciation: [alˈbɛrto ˈdaskola]; born 4 July 1977), better known by his stage name Alborosie, and sometimes styled as AlBorosie, is an Italian reggae artist.

Career

Born and raised in Marsala, Sicily, Italy, but now residing in Kingston, Jamaica, he is a multi-instrumentalist, being proficient in guitar, bass, drums and keyboard. His musical career began in the Italian reggae band Reggae National Tickets, from Bergamo city, when he was 15 years old in 1993, in which he was known as Stena.

In 2001 Alborosie decided to try a solo career. He moved to Jamaica to be close to reggae music's roots and Rastafari culture. There, he started working as a sound engineer and producer. He has also worked with artists like Gentleman and Ky-Mani Marley. His first solo album was called Soul Pirate. In the summer of 2009 he released his second album which was called Escape from Babylon. In August 2008 Alborosie played at the Uppsala Reggae Festival.

The name 'Alborosie' comes from a name he was given in the early years after moving to Jamaica. "Borosie was what they used to call me. Let me put it like this. My early experience in Jamaica was… not nice. Borosie was a name they used to call me and it have a negative meaning. So I said “I'm gonna use this name and mash up the place turn a negative into a positive thing!". Basically my name is Albert so I add "Al" – Al-borosie. But I’m not gonna tell you what borosie mean!"

Alborosie's hits include "Rastafari Anthem", "Kingston Town", and "Call Up Jah". Alborosie recently started his own record label, Forward Recordings. He has given concerts all round the world, including most of Europe and Jamaica.

In 2011, he became the first white artist to win the M.O.B.O. (Music of Black Origin) Awards in the Best Reggae Act category.

In 2014, Greensleeves Records released Specialist Presents Alborosie & Friends, a collection of collaborations with other artists. The album entered the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart at number 7. He collaborated with King Jammy on a dub album, Reality of Dub, which is set for release in early 2015.

In May 2016 his album Freedom & Fyah was released by VP records.

Personal life

Alberto D'Ascola was born on 4 July 1977 in Marsala, Sicily, Italy. He is a member of the Rastafari movement. His father is a retired policeman and his mother was a housewife. D'Ascola developed an interest in reggae music and joined the band Reggae National Tickets in 1992 at 15 years old.He is a dual citizen of both Italy and Jamaica.

Discography

• Soul Pirate (2008), Forward Recordings
• Escape From Babylon (2009), Greensleeves
• Escape From Babylon to the Kingdom of Zion (2010), VP
• Dub Clash (2010)
• Specialist & Friends (2010)
• 2 Times Revolution (2011), Greensleeves
• Sound the System (2013), VP
• Dub the System (2013), VP
• Specialist Presents Alborosie & Friends (2014), Greensleeves
• Soul Pirate Deluxe Remastered Edition (2015), Forward Recordings / Evolution Music Group
• Freedom & Fyah (2016), VP
• The Rockers (2016), VP

Awards and nominations