For this week's edition of Don't Sleep On Me, we're proud to tell you the story of soul singer
Kojo "Easy" Damptey. Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, Damptey moved to Hamilton, Ontario at the age of 17 to study chemical engineering at McMaster. It may sound like an unlikely path for a musician, but his undergrad experience allowed him to absorb all kinds of music, and he soon spent his free time creating his own. At first, this meant picking up how to play the piano, which he says led to "countless nights of practicing and watching clips of keyboardists such as Herbie Hancock, Donnie Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye."
By 2007, he began collaborating with other artists in the studio, and since then, he's become a jack of all trades: music producer, songwriter, keyboardist, composer, and poet, all in one. In 2011, he was nominated for Best R&B/Soul Record of the Year at the Hamilton Music Awards for his song "Broken Promises". A year later, he released the matter-of-factly-titled
The EP, and now, he's finally released his debut album,
Daylight Robbery. The album features the likes of
Canadian Winter, Sarah London, Lee Reed, and Tarek, and manages to fuse R&B, soul, reggae, and jazz all into one. Hit the skip to read what Damptey has to say about the album.
Name: Kojo "Easy" Damptey
Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario/Accra, Ghana
Influences: Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Bob Marley, Nas, Tupac, Fela Kuti, Osibisa, Stevie Wonder, Amadou and Miriam
Sounds Like: "Soul music with a purpose."
Latest Release: Daylight Robbery Must-Listen Tracks: "Chasing the Felon" and "In a World"
