Ka'Shon Anderson (born February 3, 1990 in Miami, Florida) known by his stage name Sean Kingston, is an emerging reggae, rap and pop hybrid musician of Jamaican descent.
Sean Kingston was born in Miami, FL and was raised in Jamaica for his first 6 years. He is the first artist to be signed to Beluga Heights, the upstart record label owned by Jonathan "J.R." Rotem in a joint venture with Epic Records. Sean Kingston is the nephew of reggae artist Buju Banton. Kingston, whose grandfather is Bob Marley & the Wailers producer Jack Ruby, discovered his affinity for music at the age of 10, when he wrote his first song over an Alicia Keys beat. His mother was so impressed that she started to invest in studio time for Kingston. With her support, Kingston spent the next few years penning tracks and recording music, hoping to catch his big break. 'I used to go to different studios, barbershops, skating rinks, flea markets . . . you name it. I was always ready to show talent and hand out my CDs."
At the age of 14, he saw his mother and sister sent to prison. His sister was in prison for four months.
His rise to fame began when he discovered MySpace, and decided to "hit J.R. up 3 times a day for weeks." Jonathan "J.R." Rotem flew him out to LA, which lead to his debut single, "Beautiful Girls", which samples Ben E. King's "Stand by Me".
While enjoying success on the charts, Kingston has also a "street single", entitled "Colors", which features The Game, along with a fellow Miami native, Rick Ross. The remix features Kardinal Offishall and Vybz Kartel. Many of the lyrics on 'Colors' are based on his experience as saw his mother and sister wrongfully incarcerated. Andre 3000 has said that he wants to make a verse for a remix of the song "Beautiful Girls"[citation needed].
A product of both American and Jamaican cultures, Sean Kingston is known for switching between an Urban-American dialect and a Jamaican patois in his music.
