FORMER STUDENT OF CLARENDON, JAMAICA BASIC SCHOOLS…GIVING BACK…AND PAVING THE WAY TO A CHILD’S EARLY EDUCATION & FUTURE…1 SCHOOL AT A TIME!
ARTIST/SONGWRITER…… “NAPTALI”
The first mention of the name Napthali is made in ancient Hebrew and biblical texts. In the book of Genesis Napthali is declared as the sixth son of Jacob and founder of the great tribe of Napthali. According to the ancient text his biological mother was Bilhah, but is regarded as the son of Rachel. Rachel overjoyed at the birth of her son says “I will have a great struggle, and I have won” Genesis 30 verse 8. She then names him Napthali, which means my struggle. As quoted from Genesis 49 verse 21, “Napthali is giveth goodly words”. As such the name Napthali signifies an ancient ancestory and it is the devine legacy which reggae singer Naptali has inherited to continue.
In this modern era, we see the rebirth of this great son of Jacob in singer Naptali. The man hailing from Delacree Park, Kingston 13 was born and raised in Spaulding Clarendon in the month of January. From an early age he was destined to explore his musical talents. With greatness preordained and a keen sense of purpose he chose to spread his message of righteousness through music, in the hopes that his words would one day touch the hearts, minds and souls of all mankind and force us to look within and re-evaluate our purpose in existence. His passion for music first emerged when he was very young and in 1995, then 19 years old, he decided to nourish this passion by becoming a singer. Then going by the name Redneck he began crafting melodic harmonies fused with a powerful message. In 2000 this man from Clarendon made the trip to the Mecca of Jamaican music, Kingston, a place he would call home. It was here that he became acquainted with the legendary Jah Messenger Luciano in 2003. After beholding the young singer’s gift and infinite potential Luciano provided the youngster with guidance and encouragement, which helped him nurture his talent. It was luciano who upon realizing that this young prodigy was born in the month of January and was thus a Capricornian, bestowed upon him the moniker Naptali marking an important step in his musical journey.
Over the next few years he would encounter many on his journey, but found encouragement and inspiration at Gambling House Recording Studios where he recorded his poignant and insightful lyrics, in songs such as “Hungry for real”, “Clean Heart and Pure Mind” and his resounding call for freedom and liberation “Equal Rights and Justice”. Local film makers and music video gurus, Alique Archer aka “Sluggz” and Jason Lannaman aka “Zed” collectively known as Flim House, captured Naptali’s powerful words in visual form and created a music video for “Equal Rights and Justice”, shot on location in Kingston, Jamaica. Equal Rights and Justice continues to get major rotation on local TV stations and Naptali is beginning to be both seen and heard.
Armed with a firm belief in righteousness he chose to embrace the livity of Rastafari, in his own words “Rastafari is life, I a Rasta from birth.” His influences both musically and in life range from Sizzla and Jah Cure to Dennis Brown and Bob Marley, and it is obvious the role that Rastafari and the teachings of Hailie Selassie have played in his life. The echo in his view that life can be challenging at times but the challenges don’t make it hard, what is important is how you live. With hundreds of songs in his repertoire, you can expect to hear a lot more from Naptali in years to come. He’s featured on a variety of the music coming out of Gambling House Recording Studios and displays his versatility with music that transcends all genres and musical boundaries.
In 2007 Naptali made his first musical trip to Germany where he made quite an impact with the people. This impact got the attention of German record label Oneness Records who produced his first live album titled “Long Journey”. The album features live production from the Oneness band and songs like “Grandma” and “Black History” a combination with his onetime mentor Luciano is receiving heavy rotation on the European airwaves. The album was released on the 12th of March in 2010 and is also available on iTunes for download. Countries that Naptali has appeared in concert are Germany, Italy, Austria and Slovenia.
2011 would be Naptali’s next musical trip to Colombia South America where he performed before thousands and thousands of fans at the Manizales Grita Rock Festival, which turned out to be an amazing event which all the fans in Colombia will never forget or the name Naptali! The humble artist that Naptali is was seen by not only the fans in Colombia but his fans world wide as he took all them on his musical journey while in Columbia which made his fans world wide not only appreciate his musical talent but his true and sincere love for each and every fan. He took his fans through the hillsides of Columbia….the culture and people of Colombia and eventually to the stage where he gave his all with a massive performace that did not stop there….but he then again performed at other locations after that major show…the people of Colombia just could not get enough of Naptali and his music! Naptali taking all of us on his Colombia journey made us feel like we were right there with him as we viewed the post he made everyday with beautiful pictures…Naptali is truly a blessed and humble man loved by fans…friends…family…and people world wide.
Also Naptali has been blessed to have radio segments on various radio stations such as Reggae4us.com and MadVibez.com where he spinned the tunes for hours for the fans new and an existing….intereacting with each and every fan in the chat rooms. Again this shows the true and sincere love Naptali has for his fans and his appreciation for their support. He has done a number of talk interviews with radio stations in Ghana and Senegal West Africa…Virginia in the United States….UK….Jamaica just to name a few.
What is next for Naptali……he has been in the studio night and day…non-stop working on his 2nd album which will be his most accomplished masterpiece yet!!! How do I know?….because Naptali keeping that close connection and communication with his fans has been sharing bits and pieces of each new song with his fans….which to date is approx.10 wonderful and powerful songs….The album name…..UNIVERSAL MESSAGE……what a statement!!! Giving the fans a little taste of each song has everyone of them sitting on pins and needles awaiting the next song and finallly…the completed album. Naptali’s 2nd album has already proven to be a hit and it is not even complete!!! So…family…friends…fans…and all the people around the world stay tuned for the coming of Naptlai’s 2nd album UNIVERSAL MESSAGE…already a great masterpiece in the works.
STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES ON NAPTALI’S TOUR TO BRAZIL APRIL 21, 2012!! MAAAD TING !
Naptali can be contacted by email at naptalithegreat@yahoo.com or naptalithegreat@gmail.com and can be found on social networks Facebook and Twitter@naptalithegreat @savetheyouths
Keep eyes and ears open for this rising star a true giant among men, Naptali the Great delivering that healing music, sure to ease your mind and sooth your soul. Providing you with that mental and emotional food you deserve.
http://www.reverbnation.com/thegreatnaptali
http://soundcloud.com/naptali-the-great
http://www.youtube.com/user/THEGREAT1414
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/long-journey/id353469957?i=353469970&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=LONG+JOURNEY+NAPTALI
http://facebook.com/Naptali.The.Great
Twitter:
@naptalithegreat
@savetheyouths
naptali.the.great (Skype)
naptalithegreat@yahoo.com
naptalithegreat@gmail.com