International Dancehall Superstar Khago Signs with US Based Concepts Artist Group

Khago, was off the island for 2-Week Northeast tour to promote new single “Road Dawg,” announces signing with new management team, Concepts Artists Group, to handle all management decisions and booking for his live appearances. Khago gained worldwide acclaim for his universal friendship anthem “Nah Sellout Mi Friend Dem,” along with the smash hit "Blood Ah Boil" and underground hits like “Caan Cool Caan Quench” and "Tax."

Ricardo Gayle aka Khago is a Jamaican music superstar with a unique sound that fuses the hard hitting rhythms of dancehall with the traditional cultural sound of reggae, announces this week his new management team, Concepts Artist Group (CAG), to handle all his management interests and bookings for his live appearances. Concepts Artists Group is a full Management company encompassing Artists Management, Bookings & Appearances, Touring, Merchandising Management, Label Distribution, and Consulting Services. CAG embraces the trend of one stop artist management where all of the artist’s interests are strategically aligned under one roof by aggressively pursuing smart and innovative music concepts, touring and performance schedules, and merchandising opportunities that will allow Khago to grow as an international artist and to better connect his brand with fans across the globe. 

The value of reggae artist’s intellectual property has declined significantly in the age of digital distribution and file sharing. Khago is determined not to lose control over his intellectual property rights and music. “Every song I write, artist I collaborate with, producer I work with, venue I play, promoter I work with, all these decisions including when I tour and what songs I perform, I want my own management to be in charge of that whole decision making process to insure that those decisions are all being made with my best interest in mind both as an entertainer, artist, and musician,” says Khago while taking pictures and signing autographs for fans during his recent 2-week Northeast run to promote his latest single “Road Dawg.”

On the road through May 6th, Khago made stops in New England for two shows with Boston’s Hot97Boston starting in the vacation town of Yarmouth, Cape Cod-Massachusetts before continuing on to Boston-Massachusetts where he visited the Boston Marathon Bombing site on the one week observance of the terrorist attack to deliver flowers to the memorial site on behalf of the people of Jamaica. Khago then headed to New York City for a show in Brooklyn with New York powerhouse radio station, Power 105.1 and DJ Norie before trekking to the Midwest for selected shows in Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis.

“I could not come to the United States and not visit the Boston Marathon memorial site to show solidarity with the people of Boston and to let them know that all of Jamaica stood with them during these difficult times” says Khago. Khago went on to say “Boston is a very special place for me and other Jamaican artists.” “As one of the biggest reggae markets in America, Boston was one of the first places to embrace “Nah Sellout Mi Friend Dem” which became my first crossover hit that allowed the rest of America to know who Khago is, so my love for Boston is genuine and personal.”

“Boston is the biggest college town in North America and traditionally has been the biggest supporters of reggae music since the days of Bob Marley & the Wailers until today. Boston consistently ranks in the top 5 US markets for reggae music sales. Boston has been a part of breaking many of dancehall’s biggest hits over the years like Tanto Metro & Devonte's “Everyone Falls In Love,” Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley's “Welcome To Jamrock,” Sean Paul's “Gimme The Light,” ,” Beenie Man's “Who Am I,” and Gyptian “Hold You,” just to name a few. So, it was very important that someone from the reggae artists’ fraternity like Khago visited Boston to show back the support that historic city has shown reggae music over the years.” says music industry executive Cristy Barber.

Concepts Artist Group (CAG) is the brainchild of veteran music industry concert heavyweight Paul Parara and Ingenius Concepts, a New England firm specializing in live concert solutions and North America’s largest independent minority owned Concert Promotion Company as well as Live Nation joint venture partners. “I have known Khago since 2009 and I have seen few artists as committed and dedicated to pushing music as Khago” says Parara of CAG. “He possesses a natural talent and ability to communicate through music in ways few artists possess.” “We have taken the industry’s best practices and proven management principles and structured them in ways that will allow Khago to be the well rounded artist he wants to be, without boundaries, distractions, and limitations.” “Over the past few years in particular Khago has accomplished so much without any real structured management working exclusively on his behalf, so the sky is the limit for what to expect from him moving forward” said Parara.

Khago is a global artist and a global approach will be taken when making management decisions about his career. We have already enlisted Jerome Hamilton and Headline Entertainment to represent Khago’s booking and touring interests throughout the Caribbean on a nonexclusive basis along with similar agreements with other leading industry agents and representatives in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, South and Latin America.  Khago will have the best management support team of any reggae artists in the industry today.

Khago will be releasing his first official US mix-tape entitled “Road Dawg” in July 2013 and his debut album “Push Music” to follow in the fall of 2013. The mix tape and album will continue to move the pendulum of what a reggae-dancehall artist is supposed to sound like. Khago, who credits Mr. Vegas and Spragga Benz as two of his greatest influences in the music industry, will undoubtedly continue to captivate generation dancehall with the genre’s newest slangs and catch-phrases like “Slap Weh,” “Tun Up,” and “Clip Off,” while always showcasing versatility as he seamlessly flows between hard hitting dancehall rhythms and roots one drop beats. Khago’s manager, Paul Parara, of CAG had this to say about Khago’s new music, “For his freshman release it’s what industry insiders will call a game changer: his approach to music making is a return to the authentic reggae feel that stateside fans and reggae fans the world over have been yearning for from Jamaican based acts, it will usher in a return to dancehall’s origin as urban protest music, it will not only speak to those from the inner-cities, but struggling classes everywhere; his music is made from a perspective of someone from humble beginnings who speaks about a brighter tomorrow. Khago’s freshman mix tape and album will provide a soundtrack for today’s youth by letting them know that someone finally understands them and that they are not alone. Its music sent from the sky.” Parara also commented on what reggae fans should expect from Khago in the coming year, “in the future fans should expect Khago to continue to push music, push reggae music, push dancehall music, push good music, while becoming a superior brand on the cutting edge of an ever-changing music industry. He will emerge as Jamaica’s preeminent international music ambassador for a new generation of reggae fans.”

Watching Khago as he performed recently on Jamaica’s Magnum Kings & Queens nationally televised TV program, it was clear that despite all the controversies and management missteps that have plagued his career in recent years; that nowhere is he more at peace with himself than on a stage in front of his fans. As he flashes his trademark smile hidden beneath his signature baseball fitted as he addressed the audience and proudly accepted the mantle as Jamaica’s poor people success story, it was clear that at that moment, it marked a new chapter in a music career that will focus on just pushing music.