New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On her latest single, Jehovah Tell Me, recording artist Karamanti shines a bright light on Jamaica's hypocrisy, as it relates to the nation's ongoing gun crimes. Done as both a prayer to God and a criticism of man's lack of integrity, the deejay calls out Jamaicans who openly bashes the government for the high murder rate, while simultaneously withholding information about known criminals.
The song is presented on the Harder They Come Riddim, produced and released by Kingston based label,
Jungle Lava Productions. The compilation, which has been categorized as reggae fused with dub, also has new music by History Man,
David Conscious, Vineyard, Jazz
Black and
Jungle Lava Band.
In addition to her tune, Karamanti - who has several titles in the music industry, one of which is songwriter for other artists - also penned Jazz Black's song, Dibby Dibby. Harder They Come Riddim is out now on all streaming platforms.
Though the Reggae-Dancehall industry is dominated by men, Karamanti stands as a strong black woman, (in her hometown of Kingston, Jamaica) raining showers of conscious lyrics to a generation far from reality.
Karamanti has been creating music since she was eight years old. Falling in love first with rap, then embracing Reggae and now passionate about Dancehall. In spite of the fact that she's been making music for most of her life, she only began taking it serious in 2011. Currently regarded by many as one of Jamaica's best female lyricists, Karamanti writes her own songs and operates her own record label and publishing house: Blakkwuman22 Music.
Industry insiders began paying attention to her when she released the single "don't it," produced by Red Boom in 2012. The track exposed her to a hardcore Dancehall audience that was eager to hear more from the self-acclaimed 'God pickney.' Karamanti spent the summer of 2012 engaged in a nationwide media tour which had her performing, and/or being interviewed on most of the major entertainment radio and TV programs in Jamaica. That was followed by a Canadian tour which featured performances on big events such as the Montreal Reggae Festival and the Toronto Rasta Festival.
Since she officially stepped out on the scene in 2012, Karamanti has been consistent in releasing songs which focuses primarily on social, political, religious and spiritual issues. She has done countless music videos and live performances both at home in
Jamaica and overseas.
Karamanti's voice can be heard on some of the biggest Reggae and Dancehall rhythms coming out of Jamaica: Heights Riddim ("Gye Nyame"), Rock Island Riddim ("Fake Rasta"), Life Triangle Riddim ("
Hold On"), Reggae Land Riddim ("Domestic Abuse"), Love Bounce Riddim ("Da One Ya Fi") and that is just to name a few. She has also enjoyed success with singles like "Read," which was produced by Denmark's #1 Dancehall artist/producer, Pharfar. The song got heavy radio rotation and climbed to the #1 spot on the Top Ten Conscious Chart which aired on Jamaica's
Roots FM. It sat there for weeks beating out songs from now popular artist, Chronixx.
Karamanti has collaborated with major Jamaican artists: 3 Starr (from Mavado's Gully Squad), veteran Mikey General, Asante Amen and many others. She has also done recordings with international acts: Iwan, Sonniballi, Blasto, Lise Ranks, Stonebwoy and several others. In her role as executive producer, Karamanti, via her record company Blakkwuman22 Music, has released projects which feature long time dancehall artist Alozade, legendary star, Lt. Stitchie and a lot more respected Jamaican artist.
In April 2013, Karamanti released her first studio album titled Dancehall Retaliates. It was released on her Blakkwuman22
Music label with production credits going to both Ricardo 'Red Boom' Reid and Shamarie 'Digital Sham' Bogle. Karamanti was nominated as best the female solo artist for 2013 by the Dancehall
Industry Awards (held in the UK). Additionally, one of her videos for the song "Rise" (which is on the album Dancehall Retaliates) was nominated as best Dancehall video for 2013. To top it off, Reggae France included Dancehall Retaliates in the WINS REGGAE AWARDS in the category for Dancehall Album of the year for 2013. Here she went up against two Jamaican heavy weights: Vybz Kartel and Mr. Vegas.
On March 21st, 2017 she released a powerful EP titled The
Black God. Produced and Distributed by her own Blakkwuman22
Music label, The
Black God EP features five tracks: three reggae, one dancehall and one hip-hop. It has collaborations with veteran roots reggae singer, Mikey General and mega African hip-hop artist Obibini. With a very strong theme of black empowerment, this project captured the attention of several reggae industry insiders and gave her a wider audience.
In 2018 Karamanti entered into an album deal with New Jersey record label, Arioso Legato Music. A year later, on June 25th, 2019, she released one of her most powerful projects to date, the Hurt People album. This is a ten-track project - three poems and seven songs - with one concept: serving as an inspiration to those that have struggled with abuse and/or depression. With Panamanian-born, American-based producer, Arioso Legato, composing all the rhythms, Hurt People has carved out its own unique genre called ragga-soul. This is a hardcore yet soulful sound from the Caribbean.
Karamanti has performed all over the world. She has graced stages in cities like Gothenburg, Stockholm, Hamburg, Prague, Copenhagen, Roskilde, Aarhus, Paris, Brussels and more in Europe; and Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Seattle, Bellingham and more in North America; and Dominica Republic and of course,
Jamaica in the Caribbean.
She ended 2021 by releasing her third studio album, Spiritual Warfare, which was subsequently nominated for Album of the Year by the 2022 Antigua Barbuda Gospel
Music and Media Awards. Even though she was not victorious, Karamanti - a secular artist - remains both surprised and elated with the nomination.
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