Cali P

“from GWADA-DA to SWITZERLAND, from JAMAICA to AMERICA… ”

Reggae sensation Cali P was born 1985 as the son of a Swiss mother and a father from the Caribbean island Guadeloupe (Gwada), who’s an inspired musician from the percussion-group “Akiyo”. Being raised in Switzerland, living the Rastafarian traditions and knowing his heart belongs to Africa; allow him to bridge the gap between first- and third world cultures.

Music had a strong and powerful influence in his life from the very beginning, so Cali P began playing drums at the young age of three. He found his musical inspiration from throughout the vast genres of Reggae, Dancehall, Soul, Jazz, Rock and even from a splash of Pop music. As well as displaying outstanding drumming skills, he began writing lyrics at the age of 14. He kicked off his Dancehall career as MC of the “Gideon Soldiers” soundsystem in the year 2000.

He began appearing throughout Switzerland’s dancehalls, easily winning over the Swiss crowds with his unique confidence and vibrant energy on stage. A winning combination of unmistakable and beautiful vocal talent, a superb lyrical content and an engaging self-esteem, he charms all his audience. Cali P is an artist who – once you’ve seen him perform live - is truly believed and never forgotten!

Soon his international career started taking off and he continued satisfying thousands of people across Europe in up to 200 shows, such as Summerjam (D), Rototom Sunsplash (I) and Zénith (Paris) each with capacity of 40,000 people or more. Cali P has performed at the ESPN Winter-XGames 2008 in Aspen, Colorado (U.S.). He has also been privileged to grace Africa and the place of his birth, Guadeloupe. Spreading his message with his spirituality floating lyrics and sensational vocals.

Since 2004 Cali P performs regularly with live backing bands such as “Soul Fire” (D), “Roots Harmonics” (DK), “The Scrucialists” (CH) and “House of Riddim” (A). But his strong stage appearance also guarantees an exciting night, when he rocks it alongside various Soundsystems.

His first single “Forward” was released in February 2005 on the Pow Pow Productions label, which produced also for Gentleman hits like “Superior”. This song gets international attention followed by more than 30 other songs on 7inch productions or compilations including the soundtrack for the american Freeski-DVD (2007) called “IDEA”, with over 20’000 sales. The success of these works provided him with a solid foundation to build on and the strength for his mission.