Born Damian Rhoden from Islington, St. Mary, Munga joined the music scene at the tender age of 18 when he entered the Red Label Wine Superstar Competition with the original song “Who Drink Out the Red Label Wine?”. A past student of St Mary High and Tarrant Comprehensive, Munga hustled on the streets doing odd jobs before setting his mind on becoming an entertainer. Since then, he has never turned back.
Munga developed his versatile style as a prodigy of the ‘fireman’ Capleton before grabbing the attention of the nation as a solo act. With an edgy rap style combined with a conscious mind and a ‘gangsta ras’ image, Munga broke into the business with his hit song “No Bad Like I”. Lyrically “Nuh Bad Like I” launched an attack on other upcoming deejays who proved unable to match Munga’s style. Following on the success of the monster hit, “No Bad Like I”, Munga performed on stages all over the island, U.S. East Coast and the Caribbean. His forceful, heartfelt performances earned him a slew of loyal fans. He says: “We start travel in 2001, opening for Capleton in the small islands, and then in 2002, I opened for him on the U.S. tour. The Prophet has been the best teacher I could possibly have. He taught me about presentation, which is your image to the people, and the delivery of your sound and vocals. I commend him for that; he has the presentation aspect locked.”
Coming under the tutelage of David House and Don Corleone then proved a turning point for Munga. Under the guidance of these co-managers, Munga has unleashed an extensive collection of singles on reggae’s hottest riddim tracks such as High Altitude, Sweat, Heavenly, Untouchable, Operation Blaxx, Full Clip, Seizure, Billback, 12 Gauge and Soap Riddim. With his signature ‘Yes! Yes!’ Munga makes his presence felt with every song, whether it is a gangsta vibe or a conscious feel. Having dubbed himself the ‘gangsta Ras’, Munga has allowed himself the ability to slip between a more thug look that and popular in the dancehall now and the more conscious lyrics that are associated with being a Rastafarian. As he says, what you see is what you get, which is simply Munga at his best. Since releasing his hit single Bad From Wi Born in 2006, Munga has become one of the hottest commodities on, stage shows. His Flippin Rhymes, I Came To Take My Place, Not At All and Earthquake are all on heavy rotations at parties and all the radio stations. His high-pitched Sizzla-like singing style has producers clamouring to voice the artiste who hopes to one day be as prolific as a Capleton, Sizzla or Bob Marley. |
