Sizzla
Sizzla Kalonji, born Miguel Orlando Collins on 17 April 1976 in St. Mary, Jamaica, is a reggae and dancehall musician raised in a Rastafarian family, whose work emphasizes spiritual and social themes including resistance to oppression and praise for African heritage.[1][2] Emerging in the mid-1990s amid the dancehall era, he debuted with singles on the Caveman Hi-Fi sound system and released his first album, Burning Up, in 1995, quickly gaining acclaim for blending roots reggae consciousness with rhythmic innovation.[1][2] Sizzla's prolific output includes over 45 solo albums and numerous collaborations, with 21 entries on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart, such as Words of Truth peaking at No. 5; standout releases feature Black Woman & Child (1997) and Praise Ye Jah (1996), which solidified his influence in redirecting dancehall toward Rastafarian-rooted content.[1] He received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album for The Messiah in 2014, his first such recognition after decades of consistent production, alongside a 1998 MOBO Awards nod for Best International Reggae Artist.[3][2] Founding Kalonji Records, he has maintained independence while collaborating with figures like Luciano, contributing to a revival of conscious reggae themes.[2] Despite commercial success, Sizzla has encountered significant backlash for lyrics in early tracks that explicitly call for violence against homosexuals, prompting tour cancellations, entry bans in countries like the UK in 2004, and scrutiny from platforms such as Spotify as recently as 2024.[4][5] In response, he signed the 2007 Reggae Compassionate Act, committing artists to renounce homophobic content and avoid promoting anti-gay violence in performances.[6] These incidents highlight tensions between cultural expressions in Jamaican music and international norms, though Sizzla has continued touring and releasing music aligned with his Rastafarian worldview.[7]