Born Christopher Palmer and raised in the Mountain View area of Kingston, Lexxus has been performing, as he says, “since the day I was born”. A former student at Kingston’s (now defunct) Fox Drama School, Lexxus is an accomplished actor who has appeared in several plays and earned a Best Actor award in 1992. Lexxus also distinguished himself as one of the finest dancers in Jamaica when he joined the popular dance troupe Squad One. For the past seven years he has pursued an extremely promising career as a deejay (rapper) whose electrifying stage performances are enhanced by his vast experience in dance and theater. Lexxus first displayed his deejaying skills in 1992 at the popular Sunday night dances held in Kingston’s Harbor View area, featuring the Super Dee sound system. Representatives from the New York based label Natural Bridge Records heard Lexxus’ impressive lyrical flow and brought him to Kingston’s Mixing Lab recording studios where the 16 year old recorded his first single, “Own A Home”, his tribute to women who aren’t dependent on men for financial support. Subsequent single releases including “Unification” and “Ghetto Man Slam” yielded little fanfare for the aspiring deejay. He persevered and in 1997 is efforts were rewarded with three hit singles, “Runaway Train” (X-rated label), “Fade Away” (2-Hard Records) and “Boogie Woogie” for producers Steely & Clevie. Lexxus also received several concert bookings including an invitation to perform in New York City where he decided to live for an entire year. Lexxus’ popularity lagged in Jamaica due to the time he spent abroad, so he returned home in 1998 and re-established himself through a series of successful stage shows. The determined entertainer advantageously utilized his acting and dancing capabilities to support his microphone skills at Kingston’s largest annual Dancehall concert, STING, in December 1998. This event marked a turning point in Lexxus’ career. “I wasn’t so hot then, so coming back performing at STING wasn’t really the glamorous thing it was supposed to be,” confides Lexxus, “but I performed at 3 AM, after a lot of the artists got booed (and bottled); I did my thing and it was wicked. It was like they were waiting for me to come on and start the show. No one knew my music because all of it was new but because I projected my songs, danced and used up the stage, I was getting the crowd into my act.” Many of the unknown songs Lexxus performed at STING became Jamaican radio hits while his performance in August 1999 at Montego Bay’s Reggae Sumfest Dancehall Night has amplified the Lexxus buzz to a near deafening decibel! Attired in an outrageous leather outfit, Lexxus energetically delivered a hit filled set which included his first #1 single, “Get Wid It”, produced by King Jammy$ and subsequent hits “Yuh Nah”, featuring 1999’s most popular dancehall riddim, the Street Sweeper and “Cook”, urging women to brush up on their culinary skills to keep their men happy (“cook!…here…recipe book!) both produced by Steely & Clevie. Other Lexxus tunes dominating radio air play in Jamaica (and in Caribbean enclaves throughout the United States and England) include his first number one single “Ring Mi Celle”, “Real Age” featuring sidekick Kiprich and imaginative “Divine Reasoning” (King Jammys), Lexxus’ conversation with The Creator: “every night mi go to mi bed mi haffi pray, thank Father God for letting mi see another day\gimme the health, gimme the strength to let mi sing and deejay, don’t care what nobody say”. The deejay thanks God for everything in his life including “the gal that gimme sex”; while the Almighty’s hallowed voice reminds him, “Lex, don’t forget your Durex!” “If I’m drinking a Heineken I say all right God, drink it with me. I was in a jam and God got me out of it, so I want to build a nice church because I promised God I would.” |
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