Notch (artist)
Encyclopedia
Norman Howell better known as Notch is a R&B
, reggae
, dancehall
and reggaeton
artist. He was the former lead vocalist and one of the creative force behind the hip hop
-reggae act, Born Jamericans
.
He has been featured on hit
album
s such as Mas Flow 2
, Mas Flow 2.5, Chosen Few II: El Documental
, Barrio Fino
, and The Cosmic Game
. His first solo album, Raised by the People, was released in May 2007.
descent, his father was born in Jamaica
and is of Afro-Cuban and French
descent. His parents separated while still an infant. He spent his early years with his mother living in Hartford, Connecticut. He grew up in a multicultural neighborhood. Notch learned how to speak Spanish because most of his friends at that time were of Hispanic descent. He went to go live with his father in Washington D.C. when he was nine years old. Notch also spent a short time in Bermuda
before moving back to Washington D.C. where he lived until his early twenties.
. Some songs can be heard with him mixing all three, a mixture he calls 'Spatoinglish'. He has worked with Daddy Yankee
, Luny Tunes
, Voltio
, Baby Ranks
, Thievery Corporation
, Sublime
, and Rascalz
.
Notch provided the vocals on the songs "The Richest Man in Babylon", "Amerimacka" and "Blasting Through the City" produced by Thievery Corporation.
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
and reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
artist. He was the former lead vocalist and one of the creative force behind the hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
-reggae act, Born Jamericans
Born Jamericans
Born Jamericans was a reggae/hip hop duo formed in Washington, D.C., popular in the 1990s.The group comprised Norman "Notch" Howell and Edley "Shine" Payne. Notch's voice is smooth and melodic, while Shine's is rougher and tends more toward rapping...
.
He has been featured on hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s such as Mas Flow 2
Mas Flow 2
Mas Flow 2 is the second compilation album by reggaeton producers Luny Tunes. The album was a joint venture with reggaeton artist Baby Ranks as he was featured in virtually every song in the album. Many of reggaeton's biggest names were featured in the album, such as Daddy Yankee, Wisin & Yandel,...
, Mas Flow 2.5, Chosen Few II: El Documental
Chosen Few II: El Documental
-Track listing:Disc One: Classics# This Is the Chosen Few - Boy Wonder, Divino, Zion & Lennox, Yaga & Mackie, Voltio, TNT, LDA, Don Omar, Amaro, Plan B, Bimbo, Cheka, Don Dinero, Jowell & Randy, Ro-K, Getto, Reychesta Secret Weapon, Varón, Chingo Bling, Notch...
, Barrio Fino
Barrio Fino
Barrio Fino is the third studio album and first commercially released album by Puerto Rican rapper performer Daddy Yankee, released on 13 July 2004, by Machete Music and El Cartel Records....
, and The Cosmic Game
The Cosmic Game
The Cosmic Game is the 2005 album release from the downtempo group Thievery Corporation. It features various styles of music, including club, future-bossa, breaks, rock and more. It debuted at #74 in the UK Albums Chart. After the success of their previous album, Richest Man in Babylon, the guest...
. His first solo album, Raised by the People, was released in May 2007.
Early life
Notch's mother is African American of Native American, Portuguese, and Puerto RicanPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
descent, his father was born in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and is of Afro-Cuban and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
descent. His parents separated while still an infant. He spent his early years with his mother living in Hartford, Connecticut. He grew up in a multicultural neighborhood. Notch learned how to speak Spanish because most of his friends at that time were of Hispanic descent. He went to go live with his father in Washington D.C. when he was nine years old. Notch also spent a short time in Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
before moving back to Washington D.C. where he lived until his early twenties.
Career
Notch is fluent in American English, Jamaican Patois, and SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Some songs can be heard with him mixing all three, a mixture he calls 'Spatoinglish'. He has worked with Daddy Yankee
Daddy Yankee
Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez , known artistically as Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican Reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in baseball,...
, Luny Tunes
Luny Tunes
Luny Tunes are a Dominican reggaeton production duo consisting of Francisco Saldaña and Víctor Cabrera , who have been known for creating unique musical rhythms for some of the most popular reggaeton artists since the early 2000s.-Biography:...
, Voltio
Voltio
Julio Voltio is one of the reggaetón genre's best-known artists.His nickname came to be as the result of an accident. Before joining Karel, he worked as an electrician. One day, he stuck his hand in the wrong place and got shocked...
, Baby Ranks
Baby Ranks
David Luciano Acosta, known professionally as Baby Ranks, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton artist. He was born and grew up in Carolina, Puerto Rico to Dominican parents. He has co-billing on the Luny Tunes album Mas Flow 2, and sings on multiple tracks including the single "Mayor Que Yo"...
, Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C. based recording artist and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, and their supporting artists, including current drummer Jeff Franca...
, Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
, and Rascalz
Rascalz
The Rascalz are a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, who played a crucial role in the artistic and commercial development of Canadian hip hop. The group consists of MCs Red1 and Misfit, and DJ Kemo. Breakdancers, Zebroc and Dedos were also part of the group.Formed in 1991, the...
.
Notch provided the vocals on the songs "The Richest Man in Babylon", "Amerimacka" and "Blasting Through the City" produced by Thievery Corporation.
Solo work
- Raised by the People (2007)
- Intro/ Hay Que Bueno
- Dale Pa' Tra (Back It Up)
- Algarete
- Guaya Guaya
- Que Te Pica
- Layaway Love
- Layaway Love Remix (feat. Fatman ScoopFatman ScoopIsaac Freeman III, better known by his stage name Fatman Scoop is a hip hop promoter and radio personality famed for his on-stage rough, raw, loud voice....
) - Rosalinda
- Traemelo
- Tocame
- Más De Ti
- Ella Se Fue
- Castigo
- No Problema
- Jah Mexi Cali
- Mano y Mano
- Verme (Remix) - (with Baby RanksBaby RanksDavid Luciano Acosta, known professionally as Baby Ranks, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton artist. He was born and grew up in Carolina, Puerto Rico to Dominican parents. He has co-billing on the Luny Tunes album Mas Flow 2, and sings on multiple tracks including the single "Mayor Que Yo"...
& Jabba) - Chévere (Remix) - (with VoltioVoltioJulio Voltio is one of the reggaetón genre's best-known artists.His nickname came to be as the result of an accident. Before joining Karel, he worked as an electrician. One day, he stuck his hand in the wrong place and got shocked...
) - Bailar Reggae
- Bun Out Bad Mind
- Hay Que Bueno
- Tú 'Tá Loco