Michael Livingston

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Michael Livingston (b. 1966 in New York City) is an American singer of reggae and roots music.

[edit] History

Livingston started singing at the age of five at City Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist Church. He has since performed at the Apollo Theatre; Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Marley Fest in Alajuela, Costa Rica.

He has also been featured in newspapers and magazines such as the Village Voice, New York Post, The New York Times and Billboard magazine. He has recorded for many labels such as BMG, Bull Wackies, VP Records, and CBS Records. Born to Jamaican and Hispanic parents, Livingston was the first to record reggae in Spanish with his album Bob Marley en Español.

Livingston had the first black-owned recording studio in Harlem and was also the youngest business owner in Harlem in the 1990s. He has worked with Augustus Pablo, Sister Carol, Nardo Ranks, Action Fire, KRS One, Chicho Man, Culture Runaway, Az, Bunny Brissett, El General, Turbulance, Junior Reid, and Judy Mowatt.

He participated in a Latin-Reggae group called Kazamba, one of the first groups where he experimented with the blend of Latin music and reggae which is now called reggaeton; this sound was very popular in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in the '90s. He also performed in concerts with groups such as D.L.G and Elvis Crespo.

Livingston was owner and host of two T.V. shows in New York, Hip Hop Connections and Conversations With Livingston; the first one was a music program, and the second one was an interview and talk program with guests, including Bennie Man, Spragga Benz, Capleton, Sugar Minott, KRS One, Jim Rogers, and Ralph Cooper. For more info check: www.myspace.com/michaellivingstonmusic