The "Official" Biography of Lindo P a.k.a. Lindissimo

[Darling Nicky]

Biography (bi•og•ra•phy)
An account of a person's life written, composed, or produced by another.

Forget a “biography”. This is the official “Life-ography” of Lindo P a.k.a. Lindissimo.

Toronto boasts some outstanding multi-hyphenates. Lindo P is rated among the best.
• Reggae DJ/Selector (read as: rips it both behind and in front of the booth)
• Recording Artist (read as: uses his voice to make di gyal dem bruck out)
• Songwriter (read as: master of lyrics, even the notepad bows in his presence)
• Dancehall/Foundation Ambassador (read as: helps di youth dem nah forget about their roots).

Humble Beginnings
Hailing from St. Ann County Jamaica, Lindo and his family (and clearly 40,000 others) immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada in search of “the greener grass” they always say is on the other side. Not known for “conformist” education, Lindo attended not one, but several Toronto high schools which afforded him the opportunity to explore his musical craft AND anchor himself within the distinct Canadian-Caribbean community (after all, weren’t 40,000 others trying to do the same thing?) This is where Greatness began.

The Long Trek into town
Having teamed up with fellow Toronto reggae artist Blessed in the early 80’s, they became known as Poison Ivy. By the late 80’s, Lindo P joined a DJ sound crew called Lone Star which debuted at Club Hollywood in Toronto (well-known in its day). In the 90’s, Lindo P gained explosive notoriety with the infamous Red Flame Sound crew (and if by that time, you didn’t know who he was then you were living under a rock.) As part of Red Flame, he flattened clubs like “Spectrum”, “Copa” and “The Beat” (which you young cats know as Sheppard Station or even Pete’s Place) alongside world-renowned reggae sound crew from Jamaica - Stone Love, Heat Wave, and recording artist Spragga Benz (Jack it Up, Machine Gun Kelly). When Heat Wave recruited Lindo P in 1997, the doors opened wide where Lindo deejayed alongside reggae superstars: Bounty Killa, Sizzla, Luciano, Lady Saw, Barrington Levy, Coco Tea, Baby Cham and Capleton. We call this “The Trek” because Lindo performed from as far west as Vancouver to as far east as New........Jersey. (Easy! We still workin’ on Tokyo, hush nah man).

The Bend in the Road
Jah Cure Sound approached Lindo, to which a short relocation back ah Yard (read as: moved to Jamaica) took place. Here, he focused on developing his singing and performing career in efforts to step out from behind the turntables. Disk jockey come Singer/Songwriter – enter Lindissimo. Lindo’s flava was fresh, hype, authentically Jamaican, and his fan base in his beloved Toronto exploded. Artists of all genres wanted to have the adrenaline boosting sound of Lindo P’s lyrics and delivery on their records, and alongside them on the stage. His newfound partnership with Timeless Entertainment Inc. helped to garner him the 2007 Rogers Stylus Reggae DJ of the year Award. No small feat for a youth from St. Ann’s.

The Tree that gets water, bears fruit
Lindo successfully carved himself out an incomparable niche in the Urban sub (read as: club) culture. Whether as Lindo P the deejay, or as Lindissimo the stage controlling performer, he channelled greatness and inspiration from Bob Marley, Sizzla, Luciano and life itself; Lindissimo lives in the studio hammering track after track and anthem after anthem. Now having performed as a singer with his old partner Blessed, Frank ‘n Dank, Danny O, and home-grown hip-hop superstar, Konvict Muzik’s Kardinall Offishall. Lindissimo was invited by Kardinal Offishall to join ‘The Black Jays” which is a group of international top urban artists, who headlined the 2009 Toronto Urban Music Festival at the Canadian National Exhibition. Other standout performances include: The Toronto Reggae Music Festival (invited by Ron Nelson), Dundas Square (invited by the Scotiabank Caribbean Festival Association) and the Toronto International Street Festival. Lindissimo has also opened up for some of the biggest acts in Reggae music such as Luciano, Beenie Man, Sizzla and Baby Cham, just to name a few.

The Fruits
Lindissimo’s music has been featured on:
• DJ Whoo Kid (50 cent’s DJ) mixed CD which was released in September 2006 in Toronto and New York
• Riddim Driven Higher Octane compilation album produced by Black Chinney and distributed by VP Records released in 2006.
• Cipher Sounds radio mix show Hot 97 (New York)
• Flow 93.5 (Toronto) in regular rotation
• 88.1 CKLN (Toronto) Friday Nights “Reggae Mania” with Ron Nelson and Monday mornings for “Morning Ride Show”
• 105.5 CIUT Thursday mornings on “The Island Explosion Show”
• In addition to all of that he can be seen and heard on a great number of mixed CD’s, albums, radio commercials, music videos and magazines in Canada and in various parts around the world.

Recent Harvests
• In 2008 – Lindo P a.k.a. Lindissimo toured with Kardinal Offishall and The Black Jays
• Performed for MTV Asia
• Performed at Hot 97 Summerfest
• Collaborated with the Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, and Keri Hilson
• March 2009 – First commercial single and video – “Let’s Get Married”
• September 2009 – Official Beenie Man North American tour deejay

Lindo P a.k.a. Lindissimo is a born Warrior, who when he says “Bun up, bun up, bun up, bun it up”, I am hastily reaching in my pocket to find a child-safe lighter to show my love and respect.

Written by Nicky Phillips a.k.a. Darling Nicky