Respect | King Kong

Irie Magazine | Respect | King Kong

King Kong

Jamaica

Dennis Thomas aka KING KONG is an iconic 1980s Jamaican artist such as Tenor Saw and Nitty Gritty. He began his career in 1982 and was noticed very early by producer King Tubby for whom he recorded many singles such as ‘Step On Dem Corn’, ‘Aids’ and ‘Babylon’ on the label Firehouse. In 1985, when digital music took over the instrumental music, King Kong recorded the famous duo ‘Two big Bull Ina One Pen’ with
Anthony Red Rose. At the end of 1985 and in 1986, he worked with King Jammy and recorded the hits ‘Legal We Legal’, ‘Trouble Again’ and ‘Mix Up’. At the same time, King Kong recorded for Black Scorpio, Bunny Lee and Prince Jazzbo. In the late 1980s, he moved to the United States and Canada, where he founded the label Conscious Music.

In 1989, he recorded the single ‘He Was A Friend’ in tribute to Tenor Saw. A few years later, he left for London and worked with Mafia & Fluxy, Fashion Records and Gussie P. He also collaborated with the label Massive B, based in New York. He recorded a dubplate called ‘Call Mr Madden’ in 1990. Two years later, Bobby Konders decided to release this dubplate single and the song became a hit on the dancehall scene. A few years later, the Fugees used this title for their biggest hit ‘Fu-Gee-La’. Despite all the presence of King Kong in the world of reggae was sporadic.

In 2012, King Kong released his 10th album in collaboration with the Netherland label King Shiloh entitled ‘Ethiopian Dream’. After a few singles like ‘Sweet Rub A Dub’ and the cover of the ‘Door Peeper’, King Kong realized in 2017 an EP called ‘In The Old Capital’ composed of 5 tracks and 5 dub version produced by Old Capital Records. 2018 marks a renewal for King Kong as he prepares to release his latest work, ‘Repatriation’, alongside the label Irie Ites Records. King Kong’s discography includes no less than 12 albums and hundreds of singles in his 35 years of career. This latest opus will surely mark the minds of fans of the artist!