Garnett "Silk" Smith was born in 1966 in the village of Manchester, Jamaica. He began his musical career at just 12 years old as a DJ. In 1986, he decided to pursue a career as a singer and the following year recorded his first track, called "Problem Everywhere". In 1988, he moved to the capital Kingston and recorded the song "No Disrespect". He then recorded some demos at the studio of the duo Steely and Clevie, but unfortunately nothing was officially released.
In the early 1990s, the great Tony Rebel gave Garnett Silk a boost, taking him to the city of Ocho Rios, and the young Silk began to emphasize Rastafari culture, composing strong and highly politicized lyrics in a more modern rhythm, a "ragga-gospel". By late 1992, he recorded the beautiful album "It's Growing", produced by Bobby Digital. The album was declared one of the best ever released within ragga/dancehall and many comparisons were made in the press, saying Garnett Silk would be "the new Bob Marley of the island", due to his lyrics and rebellious style. Songs such as "I Am Vex", "The Rod" and the title track formed a vocal style that gave his music an almost religious atmosphere.
He signed with Atlantic in 1993 and many Garnett songs that had not yet been released were re-edited and released to the market for the first time. Songs such as "Hello Africa", "Oh Me, Oh My", "Zion In a Vision" later became huge successes, reaching the top of Jamaican and UK radio charts.
In 1994, Garnett Silk participated in important festivals, including REGGAE SUNSPLASH and SUMFEST. At Sunsplash, Silk lifted the crowd singing songs such as "Fill Us Up With Your Mercy", "It's Growing", "Splashing Dashing", "Mama", "Let Them Talk" and others.
This Sunsplash show earned him a CD, which sold very well and to this day many say Garnett's performance at Sunsplash was one of the best ever seen. That same year, in mid-October, Garnett Silk entered the studio to finish his new work, releasing beforehand the single "Lion Heart", and his popularity on the island was growing ever greater.
Unfortunately, on December 9, 1994, in the city of Mandeville, in the interior of Jamaica, a major fire caused by a gas cylinder explosion at the house where he lived took the life of the singer and his mother. Two of Garnett's brothers who were also inside the house at the time of the fire managed to escape alive. In 1997 and 2000, compilations of his greatest hits and unreleased tracks were released; songs such as "Slave", "Consider The Garden", "Life Is Like a Piano", "Love" show that if he were still alive, he would have continued enchanting everyone with his music and beautiful voice. For those who do not yet know Garnett Silk's work, it is worth checking out, especially the album It's Growing.