Biography (bi•og•ra•phy)
An account of a person's life written, composed, or produced by another.
Forget a “biography”. This is the official “Life-ography” of Lindo P a.k.a. Lindissimo.
Toronto boasts some outstanding multi-hyphenates. Lindo P is rated among the best.
• Reggae DJ/Selector (read as: rips it both behind and in front of the booth)
• Recording Artist (read as: uses his voice to make di gyal dem bruck out)
• Songwriter (read as: master of lyrics, even the notepad bows in his presence)
• Dancehall/Foundation Ambassador (read as: helps di youth dem nah forget about their roots).
Humble BeginningsHailing
from St. Ann County Jamaica, Lindo and his family (and clearly 40,000
others) immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada in search of “the greener
grass” they always say is on the other side. Not known for
“conformist” education, Lindo attended not one, but several Toronto high
schools which afforded him the opportunity to explore his musical craft
AND anchor himself within the distinct Canadian-Caribbean community
(after all, weren’t 40,000 others trying to do the same thing?) This is
where Greatness began.
The Long Trek into townHaving
teamed up with fellow Toronto reggae artist Blessed in the early 80’s,
they became known as Poison Ivy. By the late 80’s, Lindo P joined a DJ
sound crew called Lone Star which debuted at Club Hollywood in Toronto
(well-known in its day). In the 90’s, Lindo P gained explosive notoriety
with the infamous Red Flame Sound crew (and if by that time, you didn’t
know who he was then you were living under a rock.) As part of Red
Flame, he flattened clubs like “Spectrum”, “Copa” and “The Beat” (which
you young cats know as Sheppard Station or even Pete’s Place) alongside
world-renowned reggae sound crew from Jamaica - Stone Love, Heat Wave,
and recording artist Spragga Benz (Jack it Up, Machine Gun Kelly). When
Heat Wave recruited Lindo P in 1997, the doors opened wide where Lindo
deejayed alongside reggae superstars: Bounty Killa, Sizzla, Luciano,
Lady Saw, Barrington Levy, Coco Tea, Baby Cham and Capleton. We call
this “The Trek” because Lindo performed from as far west as Vancouver to
as far east as New........Jersey. (Easy! We still workin’ on Tokyo,
hush nah man).
The Bend in the RoadJah Cure Sound
approached Lindo, to which a short relocation back ah Yard (read as:
moved to Jamaica) took place. Here, he focused on developing his singing
and performing career in efforts to step out from behind the
turntables. Disk jockey come Singer/Songwriter – enter Lindissimo.
Lindo’s flava was fresh, hype, authentically Jamaican, and his fan base
in his beloved Toronto exploded. Artists of all genres wanted to have
the adrenaline boosting sound of Lindo P’s lyrics and delivery on their
records, and alongside them on the stage. His newfound partnership with
Timeless Entertainment Inc. helped to garner him the 2007 Rogers Stylus
Reggae DJ of the year Award. No small feat for a youth from St. Ann’s.
The Tree that gets water, bears fruitLindo
successfully carved himself out an incomparable niche in the Urban sub
(read as: club) culture. Whether as Lindo P the deejay, or as
Lindissimo the stage controlling performer, he channelled greatness and
inspiration from Bob Marley, Sizzla, Luciano and life itself; Lindissimo
lives in the studio hammering track after track and anthem after
anthem. Now having performed as a singer with his old partner Blessed,
Frank ‘n Dank, Danny O, and home-grown hip-hop superstar, Konvict
Muzik’s Kardinall Offishall. Lindissimo was invited by Kardinal
Offishall to join ‘The Black Jays” which is a group of international top
urban artists, who headlined the 2009 Toronto Urban Music Festival at
the Canadian National Exhibition. Other standout performances include:
The Toronto Reggae Music Festival (invited by Ron Nelson), Dundas Square
(invited by the Scotiabank Caribbean Festival Association) and the
Toronto International Street Festival. Lindissimo has also opened up
for some of the biggest acts in Reggae music such as Luciano, Beenie
Man, Sizzla and Baby Cham, just to name a few.
The FruitsLindissimo’s music has been featured on:
• DJ Whoo Kid (50 cent’s DJ) mixed CD which was released in September 2006 in Toronto and New York
• Riddim Driven Higher Octane compilation album produced by Black Chinney and distributed by VP Records released in 2006.
• Cipher Sounds radio mix show Hot 97 (New York)
• Flow 93.5 (Toronto) in regular rotation
• 88.1 CKLN (Toronto) Friday Nights “Reggae Mania” with Ron Nelson and Monday mornings for “Morning Ride Show”
• 105.5 CIUT Thursday mornings on “The Island Explosion Show”
•
In addition to all of that he can be seen and heard on a great number
of mixed CD’s, albums, radio commercials, music videos and magazines in
Canada and in various parts around the world.
Recent Harvests• In 2008 – Lindo P a.k.a. Lindissimo toured with Kardinal Offishall and The Black Jays
• Performed for MTV Asia
• Performed at Hot 97 Summerfest
• Collaborated with the Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, and Keri Hilson
• March 2009 – First commercial single and video – “Let’s Get Married”
• September 2009 – Official Beenie Man North American tour deejay
Lindo
P a.k.a. Lindissimo is a born Warrior, who when he says “Bun up, bun
up, bun up, bun it up”, I am hastily reaching in my pocket to find a
child-safe lighter to show my love and respect.
Written by Nicky Phillips a.k.a. Darling Nicky