Alberto D'Ascola, better known by his stage name , is an Italian-Jamaican reggae artist. He is sometimes called the "Italian Reggae Ambassador."
Career
Born and raised in Marsala, Sicily, Italy, but now residing in Kingston, Jamaica, he is a multi-instrumentalist, being proficient in guitar, bass, drums and keyboard. His musical career began in the Italian reggae band Reggae National Tickets, from Bergamo city, when he was 15 years old in 1993, in which he was known as Stena. In 2001 decided to try a solo career. He moved to Jamaica to be close to reggae music's roots and Rastafari culture. There, he started working as a sound engineer and producer. He has also worked with artists like Gentleman and Ky-Mani Marley. His first solo album was called Soul Pirate. In the summer of 2009 he released his second album which was called Escape from Babylon. In August 2008 Alborosie played at the Uppsala Reggae Festival. The name 'Alborosie' comes from a name he was given in the early years after moving to Jamaica. "Borosie was what they used to call me. Let me put it like this. My early experience in Jamaica was… not nice. Borosie was a name they used to call me and it has a negative meaning. So I said “I'm gonna use this name and mash up the place turn a negative into a positive thing!". Basically my name is Albert so I add "Al" – Al-borosie. But I’m not gonna tell you what borosie mean!" Alborosie's hits include "Rastafari Anthem", "Kingston Town", and "Call Up Jah". Alborosie recently started his own record label, Forward Recordings. He has given concerts all round the world, including most of Europe and Jamaica. In 2011, he became the first white artist to win the M.O.B.O. Awards in the Best Reggae Act category. In 2014, Greensleeves Records released Specialist Presents Alborosie & Friends, a collection of collaborations with other artists. The album entered the BillboardTop Reggae Albums chart at number 7. He collaborated with King Jammy on a dub album, Reality of Dub, which is set for release in early 2015. In 2015, his classic album Soul Pirate is re-mastered and released in Deluxe Remastered Edition with 4 never-before-released bonus tracks – Call Up Jah, Slambam, Streets and Jamaica. It was released by Evolution Music Group. In May 2016 his album Freedom & Fyah was released by VP records. In the end of 2016, Evolution Music Group released his classic album Soul Pirate in acoustic version,. The title was released on CD and CD+DVD formats. His 2018 album Unbreakable: Alborosie Meets the Wailers United peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. He collaborated with Roots Radics on the 2019 album Alborosie Meets The Roots Radics: Dub For The Radicals.
Personal life
Alberto D'Ascola was born on 4 July 1977 in Marsala, Sicily, Italy. His father is a retired policeman and his mother was a housewife. D'Ascola developed an interest in reggae music and joined the band Reggae National Tickets in 1992 He is a dual citizen of both Italy and Jamaica.
