Papa Dee
Encyclopedia
David Christopher Daniel Wahlgren (born 13 July 1966), better known by the stage name
Papa Dee, is a Swedish
rap
, ragga
and dancehall
musician. His most commercially successful track is his version of the Cat Stevens
song "The First Cut Is the Deepest
".
and became the group's rapper. This was followed by a few years of cooperation with Rob'n'Raz
. Wahlgren then went solo, and had his breakthrough in 1990 with the album Lettin' Off Steam, which was predominantly hip hop and dancehall. His next album, One Step Ahead, had elements of soul
and reggae
, mixing song and rap. His 1994 release, Original Master, produced by Denniz Pop
at Cheiron Studio, incorporated eurodisco into his music.
During the 1990s and 2000s he released several albums, often in cooperation with Desmond Foster and a couple with Soundism
. 2001, Soundism also produced the Papa Dee song "Hottie Hottie Girls" featuring Lady Saw
, Jamaica's prime female dancehall star. Kent (Gillström) Isaacs
also produced a couple of Papa Dee's more dared and innovative albums. One of the albums they did together was the cover album, recorded in Jamaica, with all the classical reggare-musicians like Horse-Mouth, Flabba Holt and Chinna Smith which has played on numerous classical reggae-albums.
He is also a member of The Brooklyn Funk Essentials
and recorded Walking Down Memory Gap Lane with David Barratt
as Dubchek.
, Sweden
, to a Swedish mother and a Ghana
ian father. His father left the family when he was a small child.
On 14 September 2008 Wahlgren was arrested; three days later he was charged (Swedish: Häktningbeslut) with grave assault (Swedish: grov misshandel) with bodily harm to his wife. On 20 October 2008, a Swedish lower court found him guilty of a lesser charge of assault (Swedish: misshandel), and he was fined. His wife categorically denied that maltreatment had taken place.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Papa Dee, is a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
and 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,...
musician. His most commercially successful track is his version of the Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
song "The First Cut Is the Deepest
The First Cut Is the Deepest
"The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold in the spring of 1967. Stevens' own version of the song is technically a cover, and originally appeared on his album New Masters in December 1967....
".
Music career
Wahlgren debuted in 1988 with the single "Funky Raggamuffin/Let the Music Play", a mixture of dancehall and hip hop. He then joined the StonefunkersStonefunkers
Stonefunkers is a Swedish funk, go-go and live hip hop band started by brothers Emrik and Torsten Larsson that was one of the first Swedish bands to play "urban"-style music.-Career:...
and became the group's rapper. This was followed by a few years of cooperation with Rob'n'Raz
Rob'n'Raz
Rob'n'Raz were a Swedish musician duo of Robert Wåtz and Rasmus Lindwall.After some years of disc jockeying in the late 1980s, they decided to start performing and composing together. They worked on production, remixing and scratching...
. Wahlgren then went solo, and had his breakthrough in 1990 with the album Lettin' Off Steam, which was predominantly hip hop and dancehall. His next album, One Step Ahead, had elements of soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and 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...
, mixing song and rap. His 1994 release, Original Master, produced by Denniz Pop
Denniz Pop
Dag Krister Volle , better known under the artistic name Denniz Pop , was a Swedish DJ, music producer and songwriter....
at Cheiron Studio, incorporated eurodisco into his music.
During the 1990s and 2000s he released several albums, often in cooperation with Desmond Foster and a couple with Soundism
Soundism
Music producers and sound engineers Soundism, with a music recording studio located in Västerås , are part of the Swedish hip hop culture. Not only have new artists emerged, but also other actors in the hip hop culture that are less visible to the general public...
. 2001, Soundism also produced the Papa Dee song "Hottie Hottie Girls" featuring Lady Saw
Lady Saw
Lady Saw is a Jamaican reggae singer, known as the queen of dancehall.-Biography:...
, Jamaica's prime female dancehall star. Kent (Gillström) Isaacs
Kent (Gillström) Isaacs
Kent Isaacs, a Swedish producer, mixer, musician and entrepreneur, is owner and operator of Cosmos Music Group, an independent Scandinavian music company...
also produced a couple of Papa Dee's more dared and innovative albums. One of the albums they did together was the cover album, recorded in Jamaica, with all the classical reggare-musicians like Horse-Mouth, Flabba Holt and Chinna Smith which has played on numerous classical reggae-albums.
He is also a member of The Brooklyn Funk Essentials
Brooklyn Funk Essentials
Brooklyn Funk Essentials is a music collective who mix jazz, funk, and hip hop, featuring musicians and poets from different cultures. The band was conceived in 1993 by producer Arthur Baker and bassist and musical director Lati Kronlund...
and recorded Walking Down Memory Gap Lane with David Barratt
David Barratt
Born in London England Barratt worked in New York and composed music for TV and radio commercials for, amongst others, Michelin, BMW, Coke, LA Gear, Dr Pepper, Revlon, Verizon, Sony, Kodak, 7Up, Pepsi/Star Wars, USA Today, Bridgestone, Hasbro, and H&M....
as Dubchek.
Personal life
Wahlgren was born in GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, to a Swedish mother and a Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian father. His father left the family when he was a small child.
On 14 September 2008 Wahlgren was arrested; three days later he was charged (Swedish: Häktningbeslut) with grave assault (Swedish: grov misshandel) with bodily harm to his wife. On 20 October 2008, a Swedish lower court found him guilty of a lesser charge of assault (Swedish: misshandel), and he was fined. His wife categorically denied that maltreatment had taken place.
Solo
- Lettin' Off Steam (1990)
- One Step Ahead (1993)
- Original Master (1994)
- The Journey (1996)
- Island Rock (1998)
- The Man Who Couldn't Say No (2001)
- Live It Up! (2004)
- A Little Way Different (2008)