Bio IATANA INY PHILLIPS was born in Kingston Jamaica West Indies and grew up in the Spanish town side of the Island in St. Catherine. He was raised in a large Rastafarian cultured family of eight, mother and father Ronald and Navlett Phillips. Iatana’s musical journey started at age of seven, inspired by his older brother Donavon. Captivating audiences became an ambition for Iatana as he rocked stage shows in and around his community, he soon had a reputation for placing in the top three of a...
Bio IATANA INY PHILLIPS was born in Kingston Jamaica West Indies and grew up in the Spanish town side of the Island in St. Catherine. He was raised in a large Rastafarian cultured family of eight, mother and father Ronald and Navlett Phillips. Iatana’s musical journey started at age of seven, inspired by his older brother Donavon. Captivating audiences became an ambition for Iatana as he rocked stage shows in and around his community, he soon had a reputation for placing in the top three of any talent contest he entered. Iatana came to the United States in 1988 settling in the Oranges, NJ, where he attended High School. His idle reggae chanting in the school cafeteria had a way of drawing crowds even though his foreign accent was hardly understandable. Impressed with Iatana’s chants and singing his tenth grade English teacher Ms Fuqua organized the school’s first Reggae Festival, and made Iatana the star attraction. The festival was such a success that the school made it an annual event practiced to this day. Iatana graduated Orange high school in 1992 and joined up with a local sound system as a reggae DJ, while he worked part time. In 1993 Iatana entered the annual Guinness Stout competition and took first place, he was awarded a short term record deal on the Bee Cat Label, owned by Rula Brown. He recorded two singles, “Bom Ball and Everyday People,” which was promoted only in the Islands but never went mainstream. From then he performed in countless charity shows, for the Cultural Africana community at Newark’s Symphony Hall and the annual park festivals where he’s invited to perform every year. In recent years Iatana made appearances with Wyclef Jean and Spida, members of Refugee Camp at countless show and underground nightclubs in Manhattan and other places in NY and Jersey Cities. November 1999 Iatana under the name Culture Root released his debut album “Faith and Grace,” an inspirational album with a variety of songs, mostly reggae chants for a reggae oriented audience, mixed with Hip Hop and R&B soul singing, all with a positive message. Since the beginning of the millennium Iatana has worked continuously on a way to crossover his music, he’s created a whole new style of reggae chanting more understandable to the general public; he calls this style “Rap J”. He’s written soul searching inspirational songs that will carry on his legacy long after he is gone. Iatana and his mgmt/producer Drew MAC are finally ready to take the world by storm, fusing reggae, hip hop and R&B into one artist. IATANA’s music will speak for itself, his new motto; “if it isn’t a hit then no one will ever hear it.” Uptop Entertainment LLC Management Contact K.D. (609) 851-3200 Office: (609) 695-4313
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