Arguably one of Jamaica’s most achieved talents, Robert Ffrench has never gotten the true recognition he deserves. Born in the heart of Kingston, Jamaica, he seemed destined for success growing up around some of Reggae’s greats who frequented the tenement yard in which he resided. Interaction with and exposure to individuals such as Freddie McKay, Monty Morris and Desmond Dekker and the Aces served to ignite Ffrench’s interest in music and inspired his desire to be involved in the music indus...
Arguably one of Jamaica’s most achieved talents, Robert Ffrench has never gotten the true recognition he deserves. Born in the heart of Kingston, Jamaica, he seemed destined for success growing up around some of Reggae’s greats who frequented the tenement yard in which he resided. Interaction with and exposure to individuals such as Freddie McKay, Monty Morris and Desmond Dekker and the Aces served to ignite Ffrench’s interest in music and inspired his desire to be involved in the music industry and peruse it seriously as a career choice.
Ignoring the opposition of family, Ffrench allowed nothing to deter him from his dream and through his continued exposure to the ever growing and evolving Jamaican music scene via the influential sound system began to hone his skill. At the age of seventeen, he recorded his first single, Car Girl, and despite its limited success his love for music never wavered and to gain more experience Ffrench began frequenting dancehall sessions to further his understanding of what the people loved to hear. This led to his appearance on sound systems such as Metro Media, Killamanjaro, and Gemini amongst others and soon he released the catchy and fast paced single Ruff and Tuff. Having secured a place for his single as a dancehall favourite, he followed big with On the Dance Floor written by Beres Hammond and several others including Too Young, Secret Admirer, Bad Boy Posse, Joker Family and More Love featuring rapper Heavy D.
The release of his single Bun & Cheese continued his rise as an artiste and opened up many doors for Ffrench. Soon he was doing extensive tours of the Caribbean, the United States and Europe, performing in back to back shows. As such he became a crowd favourite and an artiste loved and respected by show promoters. With an ever growing fan base, Ffrench was awarded with the 1994 Artiste of the Year Award in New York and went on to win Gold and Platinum awards in Europe after completing a successful tour with Junior Reid.
Ffrench’s musical career has been complemented by his irrefutable talent as a producer and he is able to boast of collaborating both on stage and in the studio with some of reggae and dancehall’s biggest names. Included in his catalogue as producer are Buju Banton’s The Ruler, Beres Hammond’s Over You, Sizzla’s Be Strong, Luciano’s Moving Out of Babylon and Jah Cure’s Girlfriend. Along with his role as artiste and producer, Ffrench has put together stellar compilation albums of old favourites and new hits, including the album Yesterday & Today and the Platinum Reggae series. The latter featuring some of Reggae’s biggest hits and garnering worldwide recognition as a masterpiece.
With his many contributions the music industry, Robert Ffrench is undoubtedly a veteran in the game, with many contributions still to be made.
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