MENTAL STATUS

Kareem-Khori McLeggon a.k.a “Mental” was born on June 13th, 1985 in Kingston Jamaica. Khori was always a natural born performer, stealing the spotlight in every situation from an early age. While in primary school, he and his friends would simulate sound clashes “DeJay-ing” against each other where Khori would always impress with his free-styling skills. During his high school years Khori became an avid athlete playing; soccer, rugby, basketball and track & field. He excelled in all sports particularly soccer where he was team captain and was later recruited to play for a club team; the Meadhaven United Soccer Club. During his senior he tore his ACL in his left knee, forcing him to put his athletic career on hold for an entire year. Although athletics was a strength of his, Khori’s passion for music was always visible. He was called to perform at many school events such as socials and his high school graduation. The name “Mental” was given to him by his peers during high school. They account this to his outlandish questioning in class and in the school yard. For example: “If a man was born blind, does he dream and if so does he dream in color?” These types of questions earned him the reputation of someone who thinks “outside the box”, thus the name “Mental”. After high school Khori recorded his first demo CD at Big Ship studios while working a regular job to pay for studio time. In September 2004, Khori enrolled at the University of Technology in Kingston, Jamaica where he majored in Marketing and Business Management. In between his studies, Khori would perform regularly at many “garrison” (inner-city) events gaining his “street-cred”. He and his friends independently distributed the demo in the streets. Their efforts gave him the exposure he needed to move on to recording dub-plates for different sound systems and performances at many local stage shows. His first big performance was at the 2005 Fully Loaded stage show in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Where he, as they say in Jamaica, “mash it up” opening the door for him to be asked to perform at many other shows such as Spectrum and the Smirnoff University Tour. In 2005 he took a leave of absence from college to further pursue his music career. He began recording his second demo CD with various producers such as Supa-Hype, Stephen McGreggor and Jahnoi Nunez. In July of 2006 he had an encore performance at the Fully Loaded event. In October 2006 Khori filmed his first music video in Kingston, directed by Simion of Endless Productions for his first single “Rhymes upon Rhymes. He is currently finishing up his degree at U-Tech, to be graduating in June of 2008. You can hear his music on such mixed tapes as Jay & Bobo Vol.1 and Imperial Sound System 2006 mixes. Khori continues to work his way up in the Jamaican Dancehall scene recording and performing while balancing his studies which are equally as important to him. His raw talent, determination, and education make Khori a triple threat bound for success. Dancehall’s got a new sound “it’s Mental, anything less is uncivilized!”(“Mental”).