Warrior King ADD

Born to Tass and Doreen Dyer in Kingston, Jamaica on July 27, 1979, Mark Dyer aka ‘Warrior King’ has always had an affinity for music.

Like many successful Jamaican entertainers, Warrior King gained his earliest stage experience in talent shows. “I started out with school concerts at first,” he says. “At the time when I just came into music, I used to do some combinations with a youth named Marlon Stewart, his stage name at the time was ‘Likkle Blacks’ and mine was ‘Bounty Junior’. We did Tastee Talent Show among others… so we could really start getting exposure and gain experience.”

In the nineties, Dyer’s sound was infused with dancehall. His stage name ‘Bounty Junior’ indicated his love for then mentor ‘Bounty Killa’, a Jamaican dancehall icon. After changing his stage name to ‘Junior King’ at age 16, it was another popular dancehall entertainer named ‘Frisco Kid’ aka ‘Ancient Monarchy’ that changed his stage name to ‘Warrior King’.

“I agreed, because it has a more spiritual feel to it. Fighting against oppression, fighting against wrong. It represented the growth and evolution I had gone through,” says King. “It’s a natural thing that had grown inside of me, even without me realizing it. People started telling me they love my style of singing now. So, really and truly it was just a natural change.”

Warrior King’s debut single “Virtuous Woman”, produced by Michael ‘Lion Paw’ Johnson was released in 2001. It was an international smash hit. It’s righteous lyrics prompting the Jamaica Observer to declare the singer “one of the artistes who has made a difference” in 2001.

In 2002, his first album entitled Virtuous Woman was released by VP Records spent nine weeks on the Billboard.com charts. That same year, the singer spent three weeks on his first tour across the United States to open for Luciano “The Messenger”. Then, in 2003, Warrior King went on a seven week tour with the Abyssinians all over Europe.

In 2005, his second studio album entitled Hold the Faith, also released on the VP Records label, was also a major international success. The artiste released Love is in the Air, 2009 and Tell Me How Me Sound, 2011 on the Tads Records label. Throughout his career, Warrior King’s compositions have consistently charted in the Caribbean, the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa.

The singer’s hit singles “Never Go Where Pagans Go”, “A Friend Indeed”, “Can’t Get Me Down” and other compositions such as “Empress So Divine” and “Jah Is Always There” – which was a summer smash on Atlanta’s More Fire chart in 2002 have brought Warrior King much favour. Other hits such as “I Love You” released on Tixie’s Label went number one in Japan in the early 2000’s and “Baby Girl” went number one in Ghana in 2005.

In 2008, Barrack Obama, former President of the United States of America (USA) publicly declared “Virtuous Woman” as one of his favourite songs and Warrior King as one of his favourite reggae artistes on CNN Live and NBC. The latter notion was seconded by British Formula One race car driver Lewis Hamilton on BBC Television.

Among his many recognitions and awards, Warrior King received The Marcus Garvey Music Award in 2010 along with Jimmy Tucker for their musical work.

Warrior King has toured extensively across the United States. The holistic singer has also performed at many major festivals, concerts, clubs and special events across the USA, South America, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and the Caribbean. Having performed on numerous occasions across the USA with reggae icons Luciano, the Abyssinians, Sanchez, Bushman and Junior Kelly, Warrior King also joined other legendary acts Lady Saw (Marion Hall) and Jimmy Cliff in representing Jamaica music in 2014 at the Boom Town Festival in the United Kingdom.

Throughout his far-reaching musical career, Warrior King has collaborated with Little Blacks aka Persistence, Jahmali, DYCR, Beres Hammond, Barrington levy, Richie Spice, Max Romeo, Linval Thompson, Bescenta, Turbulence, Black Judah, Decodia and Yunzie.

He has worked with many talented producers including Micheal Johnson (Lion Paw), Sheldon Stewart (Calibud), Bobby Digital, Donovan Jermaine (Penthouse Records), Collin York (Bulby), James Lord (Irie Sounds International), Khabir, Computer Paul, Coco Tea (Roaring Lion), Bread Back, among others.

The singer believes that education is the key to better lives and hopes that his music will serve to convey the teachings of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I. “As a Rastafarian, I understand we must teach religious tolerance, peace between all. I don’t just sing music; I sing music with a purpose, a mission and love. To the four corners of the earth I carry my music, the message of the King…” says Warrior King.

Warrior King’s most recent studio album The Rootz Warrior, released in April 2016 already has a global buzz around “Ain’t Giving Up”, the first single from the new album; with each song on the album bearing a different style and feel. The Rootz Warrior brings forth messages of Purity, Truth, Strength and Love.