Prodigal Son (musician)
| Prodigal Son | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Calvin Curtis Whilby |
| Born | June 2, 1976 |
| Origin | St. Catherine, Jamaica |
| Genres | Reggae, Gospel, Dancehall |
| Years active | 1998-current |
Calvin Curtis Whilby (born 1976), better known as Prodigal Son, is a Jamaican Gospel singer.
Biography
Whilby was born in St. Catherine in 1976. He was raised by his grandmother. Following his grandmother’s death he moved to Kingston and settled in the notorious Rema district where he was drawn into the gang violence that plagued the area. He returned to the fold when he was invited to attend a church service and inspired by the biblical parable he became known as the Prodigal Son.[1]
Although he had no previous secular experience in music, he soon realized he was blessed with a gift he decided to use it for the glory of God. He was introduced to fame producer Danny Brownie who soon became both mentor and friend.Brownie guided Prodigal through his musical career and continues to his ministry partner. Prodigal Son has gained the respect of both fans & critics and is one of the only Jamaican gospel Artist who is appreciated in both the Christian arena and mainstream/secular and as such was the only Gospel Artist that appeared on the 2006 BMobile 'No Violence' school tour in Jamaica.
He has subsequently received several mainstream awards including: Jamaica Federation of Musicians, best new gospel artiste for 2001, the Xnews award, artist of the year 2001, Jamaica Federation of Musicians best male gospel vocalist 2002 and Irie FM's Gospel Artiste of the year ('06), other accolades are Marlin Awards for Outstanding Reggae Recording of the year and Outstanding DJ Vocal Performance of the year for the year 2003, Marlin award for Best Dancehall Recording for 2004, U. S. Urban Gospel Award, best Producer 2005, Urban Gospel Award best Caribbean Artiste, Canadian Maja Award album of the year 2006, he has copped and maintain numerous number one spots on charts like UK's United by 1, Love 101 FM Jamaica, Flow FM Canada, Mystic 98, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and UK's Soulcare.
He was interviewed and featured on the US network CBS on the 700 club programme 'Turning Point' where he shared his life changing testimony, to date he is the first gospel artiste to be interviewed by WLIB radio station in New York.
His debut album Radikal Prodigal produced by Danny Brownie featured crossover hits I Wish, Woe and Radikal Style, all three songs were the first dancehall gospel songs to be played on mainstream radio in Jamaica such as RJR, Irie FM and Hot 102. His second album Still Standing which was self-produced was voted best gospel album of 2005 by Love 101 and track #10, Journey voted song of the year, a second song Track # 5 Still Standing is nominated by the International Reggae & World Music Award as best gospel song.[2]
Discography
- Radikal Prodigal (Main Street Music, 2001)
- The Remains (Stay Up, 2002)
- Home Where I Belong (Holy Hip Hop (INSP Media Group), 2005)
- C.E.O. Christ's Executive Officer (Holy-Wood, 2006)
- Genesis (Prodigal Son Records, 2006)
- My Block (Holy-Wood, 2007)
- Rhythm & Street (Holy-Wood, 2008)
- Kingdom Swagga-Nomics (Holy-Wood, 2009)
- Half Way There (Radikal Yawd Music, 2010)
- 76 99 (Radikal Yawd Music/VPAL, 2012)
References
- Footnotes
- ↑ "Prodigal Son". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Prodigal Son dancehall reggae gospel artiste official biography". dancehallreggaeworld.com. Retrieved June 11, 2012.