Biography
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hailing from the trenches of maxfield avenue kingston 13 jamaica and the concrete jungles of toronto city canada | d'bi.young stands firm as the hybrid-oasis where roots-rock-reggae meets dub-poetic-politix | infused by dangerous dancehall riddims and funked out punk [rock]. she is the future of dub poetry today.
from headlining at the international reggae festival [havana cuba '02 | '03 | '04], co-billing with saul williams / michael franti [calgary folk festival '04] and opening for antibalas afro-beat band [montreal '02] to starring in canada's hit musical 'da kink in my hair which earned her a dora nomination [princess of wales theatre '05 | san diego repertory theatre '05] and lord have mercy [1st afro-canadian tv sitcom] to also being featured on bravo's playwrights & screenwriters, hbo's def poetry jam lll, cbc's zed tv | artspots | spinoff, and cuba's cuerda viva. d'bi.young is a worldclass roaring torrent who leaves her audiences awed and inspired.
she has independently produced four dub albums | a demo | and a single: [when the love is not enough...'00 | xperimentin dub with dub trinity reggae band '01 | xperimentin dub in havana cuba '02 | ky.ky '06 | blood demo '03 | animal farm single '05], and written a trilogy of plays [bloodclaat l featured at danny hoch's nyc hip hop theatre fest '03 | androgyne ll | chronicles in dub lll] which are being supported by theatre passe muraille | buddies in bad times theatre | and nightwood theatre respectively.
her music has been highlighted on compilations such as: lost tribes of the sun: renewal | ribsauce: a cd anthology of words by women | wordlife: tales of the underground griots | and la vache enragee. and she co-produced the cuban-canadian feminist documentary blood based on her poem of said title featuring political exile nehanda abiodun and las krudas [one of havana's leading feminist hip hop groups] with filmmaker judy singh.
in mar '06, d'bi.young launched her first book of poetry art on black [by women's press] | in june she began a two-year theatre arts residency at soulpepper theatre academy | in aug she launched a bilingual [english/spanish] edition of her critically acclaimed play blood.claat [playwrights' canada press] | in sept she remounted blood.claat at theatre passe muraille [nominated for five dora awards two of which it won - best new play and best female performance] | in october she was shortlisted for the toronto arts council emerging artist award | and now she is preparing to premiere with 'da kink in my hair in london england in november 2006. all this while mothering her sun: moon.
'best dub poet and storytelling actor...she calls herself a storyteller but who cares about titles when you're so mesmerized by the heartfelt truths she communicates.' - jon kaplan, now magazine
d'bi.young and dubbin.revolushun.gangstars
dubbin.revolushun.gangstars is a 7 member dancehall.rock.band mouth-pieced by the fierce | punk rock | political | word warrior | dancehall queen | d'bi.young.
this explosive new branch of reggae music channelled by ms.young and da gangstars retains the fiyah | pashun | and hardcore downbeat of dancehall; however repositions as a lens through which to de-frame oppreshun, challenging misogyny | homophobia | gender typecasting | etc.
while rock and roll guitar rifts flirt with dutty basslines, ms.young's scorching performance energy burns the house down to it's very foundations; acting as the glue that binds dark pashun to her rebel-resistance music.
lyrically d'bi.young's dancehall.rock is profoundly feminist | humanist | analytical | spiritual | sensual | and sexual. in short: revolushunary. as capitalist oppreshun increasingly globalizes | resistance necessarily needs to do the same. this music is a celebrashun of global resistance. survival. hope and love!
da gangstars: lyrix: d'bi.young dbiyoung.net | drums: greg roy dubtrinity.com | bass: beau dixon beaudixon.com | percussions: amina alfred rahjudah.com | drums & percussions: rakesh tewari rakesh_tewari@sympatico.ca | beatbox: da original one daoriginalone.com | guitar: selam michael saltychips@gmail.com
'what is so incredible about d'bi. is that she simultaneously combines the positive vibration of dub poetry and the rawness of dancehall in each amazing performance...she takes charge of the mic, busts a sharp-edged rhyme and shapeshifts into a ball of fire...' - ron sakolsky, beat magazine
