Leroy Young, (born August 7, 1967 in Belize City, Belize), otherwise known as "The Grandmaster", is a Belizean dub poet.
Biography and arts career
editYoung was born to Bernadean Young and attended St. Mary's Primary and the former St. Michael's College, now amalgamated into Anglican Cathedral College (ACC). He briefly starred in rap group Fresh Breeze with the Morgan Brothers, Kenny and Turbo, but eventually became addicted to drugs and got into various misdeeds, resulting in a trip to rehab after twice attempting to commit suicide. In the late 1990s, after spending time in prison and drug rehabilitation, he turned to poetry and received a segment in the news broadcast on Channel 7 television station, improvising poems about stories in the news and whatever else.[1]
He parlayed his time on Channel 7 into two books of poetry, Made in Pinks Alley and Generation X. His debut album Just Like That... was released on Stonetree Records in 2004. In 2017, the Image Factory Art Foundation released a DVD retrospective covering Young's career as a poet.[1]
Young is a supporter of the People's United Party and appears on their radio station every Thursday hosting a show dedicated to the arts, "G2" (the other G standing for cohost Angela Gegg).
References
edit- ^ a b "Grandmaster Going Back To The Start". 7 News Belize. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
External links
edit- the documentary Welcome To My World
- rootsworld.com album review
- belizetimes.bz article
- Description of album Just Like That
