Vineyard the Rebel Priest
Vineyard is the hottest new reggae artist. His vibes and lyrics are very uplifting. Reggae definitely struck gold with this artist.
7
songs
1.5K
plays
Thank you Jah Thank you Jah
Giving thanks to the Almighty for helping to overcome certain struggles.
Sak Pase Sak Pase
A party song for the ladies and the rude boys. Big up all Haitians
Show all (7)
TCOOO Productions is proud to present the release of reggae superstar Vineyards debut CD entitled Do You Wanna Live? The CD is a terrific journey into lifes trials, tribulations, obstacles, defeats, will power, endurance, faith and victories. From start to finish the CD is like a story that chronicles the everyday struggles that most of us face during our lifetime. The songs on the CD cover a broad range of topics such as infidelities in relationships, peer pressure, violence in society, injustices, corrupted political systems, single parent households and even abortion. However, the object of the CD is not to burden you with todays problems. Rather it provides a solution to these problems. Simply put, if your answer is yes to the CDs title then the songs provide a blueprint of the necessary steps to make it in a crazy world.
The CD starts off with a remix of Rebel Priest a song that was originally featured on the 18 Karat Reggae Gold CD. The song is smooth and melodic over excellent instrumentals, which includes some addictive playing of the flute. The lyrics speaks of not only the hurt that infidelities and irresponsibility in a relationship can cause, but also how it can have a negative affect on ones progressive growth in life. The artist sings of his love for the queens of the earth and the instant gratification in whoring, but then in a self realization tone, the artist chants I cant sex away my dreams. Lyrics like these are also heard in the title track Do You Want to Live? On this track Vineyard is asking the question, while a female singer answers in the background Yes I Want to live. He then offers words of encouragement to the young lady, although in a scolding manner, Hey careless rose, inside you is a queen and she need to live, we are intelligent beings, stop bringing our Nation down with your careless living. The great thing about this song is that most of us know such a girl of which the song speaks. Hardcore reggae fans will also notice that the beat on this song is very similar to the beat on the classic Tenor Saws song Breaking up is hard to do.
Every parent should want their children to listen and take heed to the track You dont have to be like them. This track warns of the dangers of succumbing to peer pressure. It also takes a pseudo Dr. Martin Luther Kings approach to violence. In this one Vineyards remedy for defeating the enemies is to Kill them with meekness, murder them with sweetness. For all the Bob Marley fans out there, Stolen Legacy will surely remind you of Bobs Old Pirates. This song contains poignant lyrics over beautiful acoustics. The lyrics take direct aim at imperialism when Vineyard chants:
Missionaries claim the came in peace
But the pagans only came to kill and thief
To colonize and loot and preach their beliefs
African youths, dont you be deceived
While the song suggests that a lot of the ills in todays society are actually rooted in imperialism, it also suggest that if the truth is revealed a lot of old wounds can be healed; the way to peace is love, the way to love is truth. While most of the songs have excellent beats by producers from Jamaica, New York and Miami; the CD also contains the beautiful acappella Thank You Jah. This song is a true story about the artists time in Florida after leaving New York on what was supposed to be a short tour in Tampa and St. Petersburg. The artist opens up and allows his fans to live his downfall with him. The song tells of not only the artists material lost but also the regret he felt of leaving his family behind in New York City. The song also talks of the injustices in everyday life; lawless people making laws. As in all the songs though, Vineyard always have a solution to the problem of which the song speaks. He is determined to make it back to the top regardless of the challenges, and as far as the system which is always one of the major roadblocks; we go over and around but never under them.
Well party people, dont think you are left out on this CD. There are also some hot party tracks on this one, especially Sak Passe which features Lil Haiti and D. Blake from the Track Set crew out of Florida. This one is already enjoying tremendous club play in Florida and even got some very influential DJs saying this one will be the hit of the summer.
Do You Wanna Live should definitely be in your music collection, especially if you love inspirational music. It is like a great book, but this great story is told with great rhythms. This one is definitely food for the soul and comfort for the mind. The CD is available for purchase at www.cdbaby.com/vineyard and on Amazon. You can also listen to songs from the album for free at www.myspace.com/tcooo and www.myspace.com/tlvineyard.Band/artist history
Henry St. Hilaire jr. (Vineyard) was born on February 22, 1970 in Kingstown, St. Vincent. As a child Vineyard loved music and enjoyed singing and dancing. He worked in his father’s bar and nightclub DJing and bartending until he was fifteen years old. He moved to St. Croix of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1985 with his mother.
Vineyard was behind in his schooling because in St. Vincent he didn’t attend much school. He still managed to graduate high school in 1991. Now while in high school Vineyard started singing for fun in the corridors and he was initiated in a Pan African Group doing plays about African pioneers and singing. He also he started chanting on sound systems throughout St. Croix. Vineyard became very popular on the small island and exactly one week after graduating High School he bought a plane ticket to Brooklyn, New York, to pursue his music career.
While in New York City Vineyard met a Jamaican lady who admired his ambition for coming to a big city all alone as a young youth, going to school and pursuing what he enjoyed. She invited him to live with her and her children in the Bronx. While living in the Bronx, Vineyard began to meet a lot of people in the Reggae Industry such as artists, sound owners and radio personalities. Vineyard started Djing on different sounds like Down Beat, The Ruler and Shaka Zulu to name a few.
In 1995 after the birth of his first daughter, Vineyard decided he had to take his life on a higher path. He started studying the bible and going to an African Church. While in church he met many people from Nigeria and especially Ghana and thus became very close with a lot of people from the Ashanti Tribe. Vineyard sang in the church band called "Echoes of Praise". He would travel to different churches throughout the East Coast and people loved his vibes and the energy he poured out when he would sing. The band also recorded two CDS that did well in the gospel music Industry.
By 1998 Vineyard had his second child, a son. He then saw a greater fullness within, through the revelations of the scriptures, which led to him putting on the Rastafarian covenant. He did, however, perform one last time at a major church event. According to Vineyard there will never be a night like that. The vibes was so powerful that night, that after singing the church members asked him to be the Sunday school teacher, and the dean from Hezekiah Walkers Love Fellowship Ministries offered him a scholarship to their bible school. But Vineyard denied both offers. He broke away from the church and wrote the songs "Stolen Legacy" and "You don’t have to be like themâ€. In 2001 Vineyard released both songs on his own independent label named Sinai Records. The music got worldwide attention and enjoyed heavy rotation on numerous radio stations throughout New York. He then started doing shows with major artists like Luciano, Morgan Heritage, Buju Banton and Ghost.
Vineyard then migrated to Jamaica the heartland of Reggae and lived in St. Elizabeth. While living in Jamaica he made numerous trips to Bobo Hill where he would reason with the Prophets and Priests. After Prophet Imos heard Vineyard’s songs "Stolen Legacy" and "You don’t have to be like them" he told him that Emmanuel is calling him. A lot of Vineyard time in Jamaica was also spent in Harbor view, the birth place of the Jamaican lady he met in the Bronx who had become his mother figure. He also did shows throughout Jamaica including St. Elizabeth, Harbor View and Flankers. When it was time to depart Jamaica, he was blessed by the prophets and priests from Bobo. They also told him that on his next trip to Jamaica, he should make sure his first stop is Bobo Hill.
Vineyard then went to Florida to headline a major show. What was supposed to be a short visit took some unfortunate turns. He ended up staying in Florida a lot longer than he planned. Vineyard had gotten mixed up with the wrong set of people and even spent some time in jail. The good thing was he got even more inspiration to write more songs about the many tribulations that he faced in Florida.
After three years in Florida, Vineyard linked up with the record company TCOOO (Taking Care of Our Own). Right now he’s currently working on a project called "Do You Want to Live" to be released the first week of April 2006. This project is said to be very promising for him, because it has true messages that everyone will be able to relate to in someway.Have you performed in front of an audience?All over the world
Your musical influences
Rastafari, Life, Love, Joy.
Tampa, FL
Jamaica
ID
549318
Contact
Sorry, this artist currently doesn't accept email messages.
Promoted
Not related to artist
