Olaf Blackwood

Olaf Blackwood (born 5 November 1980) is a Jamaican singer-songwriter and record producer.[1]

Olaf Blackwood
Blackwood in 2019
Background information
Born (1980-11-05) 5 November 1980
Lacovia, Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Record Producer
  • Composer
  • Songwriter
  • Vocalist
  • Entrepreneur
Years active1995–present
Associated actsArmin van Buuren, Shaggy

Early life

Born and raised in Lacovia, a small village known for cashew cultivation on the south coast of Jamaica in Saint Elizabeth Parish. Blackwood endured a hardscrabble childhood growing up. He would work on his family's’ farm and walk 6 miles to fish for food with his grandfather in order to feed the household. As a child, his two passions were soccer and music.

His biggest musical inspiration is his uncle Errol Blackwood lead singer/founder of the reggae band Messenjah. Blessed with a unique voice and a talent for writing, he dropped out of school at 16 and ventured to Kingston with the determination to use music as his avenue out of his humble beginnings.

Music career

He recorded his first single on Reggae Legend Garnet Silk's label in 1995. Later for Mario C Productions[2] on the Artillery rhythm. He recorded for the likes of Steven Ventura of Celestial Sounds, Shiah Coore, Jason Chantrell and many other Jamaican Producers resulting in several unreleased tracks.

Failing to achieve the success he desired Olaf migrated to the United States in 2002. Since then he has either written and/or produced songs for several high-profile entertainers, the likes of Shaggy, Tessanne Chin and more.

Olaf landed major commercial success in 2017 with the Billboard Charts hit, 'I Need You'[3][4] garnering an impressive 56 million streams in total on Spotify. The single, was produced by Trance music king Armin van Buuren and Fernando Garibay, and written by Olaf Blackwood with Fernando Garibay.The Single was certified Platinum and it won a BUMA[5] award for the best International song of the year in the Netherlands. The single peaked at #7 on Billboard Digital[6] songs sales, # 9 on the Billboard Dance/Airplay charts, and remained on the Billboard Dance/AirPlay top 40 chart for 3 months. It was also added to Spotify's viral 50 Songs in 23 countries, and voted #5 on the BPM top 51 Songs of 2017 [7] by SiriusXM. Contestants on The Voice of Holland (season 7) performed a cover of "I Need You"[8] during the 2017 finale.

Olaf is also developing young talented writers to help them realize their dream just as he had. First addition to his publishing company Holland Bamboo Publishing is Shannon Rani,[9] who he discovered through Instagram. He has been working with her in his studio in LA.

Production discography

2016

2017

2018
  • Right With Me[11] (with Naked Koala)
  • Reasons[12] (with Naked Koala)

2019
  • Keep On Calling[13] (featuring Olaf Blackwood)
    • Niiko x SWAE
  • Love Me Now[14] (featuring Olaf Blackwood)

Co-Writes

References
  1. "Cloud 9 Press Release".
  2. "Mario C Jamaica Observer Article".
  3. "Billboard Article1/6/2017".
  4. "Trini Jungle Juice Article".
  5. "7 BUMA Awards for Cloud 9 Music".
  6. "Billboard Netherlands Chart History".
  7. "SirusXM BPM Top 51 (2017) YouTube Playlist".
  8. "Voice Performance".
  9. "Rani Website".
  10. "Billboard Safaree "Can't Lie" Premiere Interview".
  11. "Official Music Video for "Right With Me"".
  12. "Official Audio for Reasons".
  13. "djTimes Single Release article".
  14. "Album Track Listing on Discogs".
  15. "Official Music Video for "Lay Your Head On Me"".
  16. "Official Music Video for "Use Me"".
  17. "Genius Lyrics "For You Only"".
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