Rastaboyz.com - The Official Website

February 2010

Reese Badda

Reese Badda (AKA Darren Boothe) was born in the heart of Port Antonio, Jamaica, where his mother ran the local betting shop, and Love Lane, the prime meet-up location, was just around the corner. Dancehall music quickly became a passion. Reese fondly remembers getting his first Buju Banton mixtape in 1994 when he was 12, and with his cousin owning Club Lexus, it was only a matter of time before Reese would get more involved. Reese quickly gained local acclaim for his dance skills, and he soon met some of the biggest players in Portland's reggae dancehall scene. When he moved to Canada to live with his father, an ex-soldier, he stayed true to his roots, and his passion for dancehall culture never waned.

Life in Toronto and Brampton was difficult though, and Reese ended up moving out on his own when he was 18. Without much guidance, or employment opportunities, Reese turned to the crime life to support himself. At the same time though, Reese Badda was always looking at the big picture. He started honing his skills as a deejay, and furthered his overall education by taking college courses. After a brush with the law Reese decided to get serious about his passion, and he put the rest behind him. He hooked up with the Badda Squad through Donovan Flash (AKA Shotta Popsy) a Squad member he'd played football (soccer) with. Reese started by doing design and promotional work, but in short order, due to a combination of some infighting, as well as the squad members' respect for Reese's business skills, he was voted in as the Dadz of Badda. His natural hustle combined with the skills he'd gained in college made him the right man to handle the squad's finances, advertising, and promotion.

Reese Badda always knew that he was destined for an even larger role in the world of dancehall. In 2009 he began singing and producing his own tracks. Since then he's released a music video, Nah Lie, and performed live numerous times. The highlight of his young career was his evening performance at the Ottawa Reggae Festival in August of 2009. Since then more of Reese Badda's tracks have become available on iTunes, and he also released the sizzling mixtape Ladies First, which is getting loads of positive chatter. In February he will release the much anticipated new music video for his song Teardrops. Reese Badda is truly a dancehall artist on the rise. And it's easy to see why. The Badda Sound is an infectious mix of true Jamaican Dancehall, spiced nicely with North American Hip-Hop, and R&B flavours. Reese Badda's mission is to keep true to his Jamaican roots while moving Toronto, and Canada as a whole, to finally get the respect and presence they deserve on the global Dancehall stage. With Reese Badda's confidence and natural artistic abilities this is more than possible.

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