Raphael & Lion D

Raphael & Lion D

LION D - BIOGRAPHY

Lion D (David Andrew Ferri) was born in London of an Italian mother and a Nigerian father and was raised in Pesaro, Italy where he moved at a very early age with his mother. After getting familiar with reggae music when he is very young, he soon grows a deep passion for it and starts writing songs in jamaican patwa. As time goes on, his passion for reggae gets deeper and stronger, leading him to take part to several dancehall all over Italy with various sound systems in occasion of concerts of national and international artists, introducing  his show in a peculiar 'conscious' style.

As from 2007 he starts releasing his first singles ('Keep The Fyah Burnin'', 'Real Warrior', and 'You Know That I Love You') and in 2009 his first album titled 'The Burnin' Melody' is out under Bizzarri Records label.

Lion D style is a combination of several sounds having as common origin reggae: from dj style to new roots, to modern dancehall. His songs written in excellent jamaican patwa face major topics as social justice and spirituality with a positive attitude typical of  jamaican roots. Fascinating melodies and rhytmics make of Lion D a real champion, able to charm different massives with his unique voice.

In 2011 a second album is released, titled 'Reap What You Sow', a collection of his best singles released for different european labels and of brand new songs recorded for Bizzarri Records. As a result of the success of his albums, his live performances grow in intensity, leading him to perform all over Europe and in Usa too for two years, getting a very good feedback as far as audience and critics are concerned.

In 2013 'Bring Back The Vibes' is out, a further confirmation of his collaboration with Bizzarri Records. It is is a roots reggae album including the singles 'Nuh Ramp' featuting reggamaffin veteran Skarra Mucci and 'Try Afta You', an original revisiting of Inner Circle hit titled 'Sweat - A la la la la long', entering in the top ten reggae all over Europe. In summer 2013 Lion D opens the concerts of many reggae stars such as Lone Ranger, Israel Vibration and Snoop Dogg, too.

In 2014 he spends three months in Jamaica recording his new album with Alborosie and, when back, he opens all his concerts in Italy. In summer 2014 he also performs before Alpha Blondy at Gusto Dopa al Sole in Salento.‘Heartical Soul’ unites the talent of two excellent Italian artists who have combined their great passion for music and for reggae with a very ‘Jamaican’ sound. The album features great jamaican artist as Ken Boothe, Mr. Vegas and Alborosie of course. The video of ‘Heartical Luv’ has now more than 1 million of views on youtube and is played by radio and sound system all over the world.

In 2016 Lion D spent the summer in California touring with the american singer Jah Sun, the italian Raphael and the jamaican band Dubtonic Kru. He’s ready to release his brand new album with the californian label Sugar Cane Records.

Raphael - BIOGRAPHY

With "Reggae Survival" Raphael considers reggae his immortal language. This new album is a real cultur-al meltin pot made strong by the powerful vibrations of the reggae music; recorded and mixed in Jamaica, US and Italy, produced by Don Sugar (Usa) and by Raphael too, supported by Bizzarri Records (Italy) and French label Irie Ites Records.

The album is composed by 10 brand new songs and a dub version of the single "Dread inna Babylon". The album features the veteran Triston Palma (who also took care of some sessions in his studio in Kingston), Lion D, well known international artist from Italy featuring in "Who Dem a Pree" and the young Lasai, new upcoming artist from Spain, featuring in "Fallin".

All brass sections were run and supervised by Dean "Cannon" Fraser, legendary Jamaican saxophonist and producer. Raphael faces themes mainly related to social rights and human values, with a strong appeal to Africa and to his personal origins analyzing the world and his life in a very intense way. That's why Raphael decided to put some fragments of public speeches of two personalities who have deeply influ-enced the artist : Fela Kuti, the unforgettable king of Afrobeat and Josè "Pepe" Mujica, Uruguay's revolu-tionary ex president.

Back from the album tour, who had him touring all over Europe, Mexico and Jamaica, Raphael is now getting ready to step forward in his career. A new live tour with a new band is near, Rototom 2016 already confirmed him on the main stage.