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Lion King Original Swamp King
It is not very often that one gets to see and hear a truly Rastafarian Dancehall Selecta that knows how to please the crowd while at the same time never failing to live up the Rastafarian principles and in his own words “reveal the truth through the music and keep the ‘ever living fire’ burning.†Swamp King is a name that is synonymous with the dancehall circuits especially in the area of selecting. A Rastafarian by faith and a Selecta by profession, Swamp King has no doubt that he was born for the purpose of spreading music by any means necessary.
Born Dwayne Lawrence on July 3, 1976, in the lush parish of St. Thomas, Swamp King had his eyes on the prize and never took it off. He attended the Stokes Hall Jnr High School though he never made it to grade nine (9), his love and fascination with music has led him down a path of greatness. After dropping out of high school he began to follow a local St. Thomas sound called “Stereo Faith†and got his first taste of selecting at a dance in Bath in the same parish, this was at age thirteen (13). Of course for him this was a great feeling though he said, “it was before the dance full upâ€, but it never fazed him it was his moment to shine and he did so with pride.
He then moved from St. Thomas to our local place of ‘opportunity’, Kingston into the violence riddled community of Spoilers were he quickly latched on to the Ninja Force family. He admires Chief, the owner of the sound, and had credited him for what he knows today, stating that “him teach mi everything mi know†and for that he is ever grateful. At this time he was living with his grandmother but the war in spoilers only allowed him to live there for seven (7) years. At this time he knew no other trade but to juggle with the sound, because for him it was all about the music.
After leaving spoilers he moved to Portmore and this is where his fame propelled. From there he spent seven (7) illustrious years spanning from 1996-2003 as one of the top Selectors for Stone Love International and yes he quickly rose to the one number spot as the Selecta for Stone Love. Locally, he performed everywhere and gaining momentum for the long haul; internationally, he was almost everywhere, from Japan to Canada, Europe, North America, The Cayman Islands, Barbados, St. Kitts, US Virgin Islands and Bahamas just to give an idea how far the music has taken him. For him Ninja Force and Stone have been the stepping-stones of his career, with the experiences he gained along with his calling from Jah, he realized that he needed to get it together and that he did.
It was during this time that he received his divine calling from Jah. “Jah call I through a vision and I realize I am special.†Now he gets more inspiration and has even gotten more conscious of what he puts out there and plays for the people. “I read dem heart and give dem what dem need, and by this I choose the best music fi play fi dem. Mi get more love as a Rastafarian Selecta.†This is a much different task considering the level of slackness and violence within the dancehall music, he has separated himself from the common and by doing the works of Jah he has stood out and withstood the tests of time. Swamp King has developed a keen interest in the patrons he plays for, he has always tried to reach early to observe the people so he is better able to give the people what they want. Sometimes he even rehearses in the order that he plays, “mi and Jah†and he gets great amount of inspiration and preparation to deliver what the people are craving for: good, clean, conscious music.
By 2003 Swamp King had decided to launch out on his own and become more self-reliant. Since it was strictly music for him and the business can be saturated at times, he does not follow but develop his own delivery and the people have loved him for it. But it was in 2004 at ‘Fully Loaded’ that the whole world got to view to Swamp King. He stole the show by winning the Selector Competition, the reward: the dominant Selecta for the year. Though he has not entered into any world-class tournament’ he has played at Fully Loaded; ATI Weekend; Marguerita Ville; Jr. Gong Birthday Bash- Ft. Lauderdale, Stone Love Anniversary, Rise to the Ocassion-Sizzla; Asylum; Blaze Blaze; Uptown Mondayz; Hot Mondayz; St. Mary Mi Come From- Capleton among others.
Wondered where the name ‘Swamp King’ came from; he credits this to Rory of Stone Love and Bounti Killa. He said that he used to go by the name ‘Swamp Thing’, which is a nature name, as Jamaica is one big swamp, but it was one night when he was selecting that Bounti Killa observed him and was wowed by his delivery and “sey, no man, him caan be a thing, him is a King;†from there he became known a ‘Swamp King.’ These days Swamp King has rejuvenated himself and has now transformed into ‘Lion King’. This name change was sparked by a vision he received from the King of Reggae, Bob Marley himself, in which The Gong told him that he should use the name Lion King and that he has done. Now Lion King Original Swamp King has began his new phase of his musical career with a renewed vision of what he is about. This has spawned a new height to his musical journey seeing him actually recording lyrics. He has so far done a cd track entitled “Bun Dem Out,†on the “Rapid Fire†rhythm, which is soon to be released on the Builders Music Label, and he is very enthused about it. “I just come to the studio and Dia, (who he calls a musical genius) tell mi fi dj and him jus start play the riddim and mi love it.†He is looking to bring more truth to the music and to talk to the people; he leaves the judging of his new level to the people he plays for.
As for the future, he plans to take it one day at a time, this humble, peaceful Selecta, who tries to refrain from the hype, just sees himself aiming to make some good songs and loving Jah everyday more and more.
