Mecca (musician)

Keen Cotter better known by his stage name Mecca or Young Mecca, is a St. Lucian Hip Hop artist and songwriter. Growing up on the island, he was one of the brave to defy norms and to move towards a more urban musical art form despite the dominance of other genres like Soca and Calypso. Part of his early popularity arose from his performances at stage shows opening for regional and international acts.

Early life and career beginnings

Mecca was born Keen Cotter on July 22, 1983. He grew up in the southern fishing village of Laborie, St. Lucia and While in secondary school, Mecca began to pursue a music career. He started off by performing dancehall tracks by Red Rat and then moved on to hip hop tracks by Puff Daddy, Mase and Biggie Smalls. He was invited to perform alongside toasting champion Dj Grinch and this led to a healthy songwriting relationship for a few years. Mecca's first original single and release was "Punk Daddy" in 1998.

2001-02: Riddim Rydez

Teaming up with fellow Laborian artist Shepp Dawg, the duo formed Rhymaz Inc and released two mixtapes within six months - Riddim Rydez Vol. 1 & 2. These mixtapes allowed for Mecca and Shepp to open for Elephant Man, Wayne Marshall, Kyprich and Assassin.

2003-06: Rhymaz Inc Presents

During the years 2003 to 2006 were the true initiation years for Mecca. Under the Rhymaz Inc umbrella he executive produced three mixtapes; Mixtape 1 (2004), Mixtape 2 (2005), White Smoke (2006), all of which featured Rhymaz Inc counterpart Shepp Dawg, Dj Grinch, Dj Kapish and production from Sherwinn "Dupes" Brice. In 2004 Mecca saw his first hits with "In Da South" which featured his first ever music video and "Don't Cry," a tribute to Jany Williams, calypso queen, who died that same year. Both tracks were produced by Dupes and featured Shepp Dawg.

2005 was another major hit year for Rhymaz Inc with "Yes Garcon" performed by Shepp Dawg and co-written by Mecca. "Impossible" was released in 2006 and was seated at number 1 on local charts for twelve consecutive weeks. This hip hop - zouk fusion featured Dupes and production from French producer Dj Lams. White Smoke mixtape was released the following year.

2007: Catch Me If You can

The first solo mixtape effort from Mecca in 2007, Catch Me If You Can, received over 3,000 downloads in its first nine days of availability online. This 17 track endeavour features Dupes, Shepp Dawg and Texas based rappers Hoodhefna and Ill-Tactics with"Stay Fresh" being the radio single.

2008-09: Presidential Media

Rhymaz Inc was rebranded in 2008 under the banner Presidential Media. Under this new brand Mecca and Shepp Dawg released yet another collaboration mixtape - Certified Royalty. Riding off this mixtape's success Mecca went on to release "Never Enough" and "Hello (What It Do)" in 2009. Later that same year he was crowned Youthstar 2009.

2010–Present

To date, Mecca has produced and co-written albums, mixtapes, singles and compilations for other artists in genres ranging from Gospel to Hip-Hop, Dancehall to Soca, Pop and Rock. In 2010 he was nominated for five Underground Music Awards in Bermuda including Song of The Year and Best Music Video for "Never Enough".^[1]

References

External links

• meccamusic.net