Richie Stephens, Gentleman, Zebra, Copper Cat, at “Riding West” Montego Bay, Jamaica.
2022
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“Riding West” was a stage show produced by popular music producer/promoter, and Bob Marley’s cousin, June “June Star” Hayles. The stage show was held at Pier One, Montego Bay, Jamaica, and this video clip feature, Richie Stephens, along with his now-deceased protege, Copper Cat, Gentleman, and, popular dancehall DJ, Zebra. I don’t remember what year this but it seems to have been the very late 90s or early 2000s.
Richard Stephenson (born 5 December 1966), better known as Richie Stephens is a Jamaican R&B, dancehall, and reggae singer and producer.
Born in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica, Stephens worked in the early 1990s as part of the twice Grammy Award-winning act Soul II Soul. He recorded at Motown and recorded for the VP label before establishing his own label, Pot of Gold Records. Later that decade he released dancehall singles such as “Winner”, “Bus the Place” and “Slop Dem”. His tracks “Legacy” (Mad Cobra featuring Richie Stephens, 1993) and “Come Give Me Your Love” (Richie Stephens featuring General Degree, 1997) peaked at numbers 64 and 61 respectively in the UK Singles Chart.
In 1998, Stephens’ album Winner was released by Greensleeves, produced by himself, Frenchie, Danny Brownie, and Donovan Germain. Since then, Stephens has focused his music on Christian-related themes.
In 2006 Stephens received the Jamaican Governor-General’s Achievement Award for contributing to civic, social, and recreational projects in and around the parish of Westmoreland.
In January 2011 Richie’s adopted son Demar Graham, who went by the stage name Copper Cat, was shot and killed outside his home in Kingston.
He released a new album God is on My Side on 22 May 2012, under Pot of Gold/VPAL. He also released a collaboration album with German reggae singer Gentleman on 27 November 2012. In 2014, following the growth of EDM in Jamaica, Stephens sought to capitalize on this by launching a new riddim called ‘Skatech’ which was an amalgamation of Jamaican ska and EDM. Stephens believed that due to ska not being at the forefront of Jamaican music for many years, combining it with something fresh could bring it back into the spotlight.
On 16 March 2013, he sang the Jamaican national anthem at the WCQ between Jamaica and Panama at the National Stadium, Kingston.
In 2015 he began working with the Italian ska ensemble the Ska Nation Band while continuing to work as a solo artist. In November 2015 he was reportedly working on a new solo album set for release in early 2016.
