Born as a lion from St. Mary's parish in Jamaica, Junior Toots-- whose given name is Clayton Hibbert-- was born on December 7th to Gloria Tate and one of Reggae music's founding fathers, Toots Hibbert. Like so many other great Reggae singers, Junior Toots began singing as a youth in his hometown church. As his father toured extensively, young Clayton lived with his grandparents in the mystical mountains of St. Mary's countryside, where he learned the importance of man's relation to the Almighty and nature, and responsibility and love for other living beings.
As he grew older, he ventured into Kingston to take up residence with his father. While in Kingston, he was witness to the harsh realities of city survival, which would prove influential on his music in coming years. After experiencing the daylong rehearsals of his father’s group the Maytals, young Junior Toots was struck with an insatiable longing to entertain people. Already beginning to develop his voice, his attendance at these rehearsals provided him with a living classroom only few musicians can say they have attended. Through the Maytals’ hard work Junior Toots was shown how to polish his craft and he masterfully integrated this knowledge throughout his entire career.
In the early 80's Junior Toots migrated to Connecticut in the United States to live with his mother where he worked, went to school, and ran varsity track for Greenwich High School. During this time, in addition to choreographing & teaching dance lessons for Paula Appleby, he was broadcasted daily on MTV with hostess Downtown Julie Brown as a dancer on her show. This led to performing locally at The Cafe and various events in Connecticut.
During that time Junior Toots further developed his father’s Vocal Style, performing hip hop and rapping. Equipped with his father's characteristic features and trademark legendary voice, his first release was a dub plate single entitled Praise Jah in 1989. Four EP's soon followed including: Harder and Harder, Dangerous Living, Poor People Feel it, and Nothing to Gain, produced by Mahroon for Wild Lyfe fe Muzik. In 1997, Junior Toots recorded with Everton Blender, Mickey Spice and Jack Radics on the acclaimed Reggae Mood Swingz compilation. In the late 1990s Junior Toots won Home Jams, an award given from FM 92.3 the Beat, which gave him the opportunity to open for Biggie Smalls and Nate Dogg.
From 1997 until 2004, Junior Toots toured with Toots and the Maytals, opening shows with his original tunes Holding Firm, Jah Give Us Victory, and other tunes. He continued touring on and off with Toots and the Maytals, as well as working on compilations with various musicians in California and recording Reggae/Hip Hop singles with Toots in Jamaica.
After years of touring, Junior Toots decided to take time to develop and define his own style and launch his solo career. This began with the album Living Roots in 2006, released with KCA Productions, which introduces his powerful roots message of righteousness and goodness with upbeat dancehall style original rhythms. The same year, he released the single “Dangerous” with Northern California Hip Hop/Reggae artist Wisdom, which blew up on the underground scene, and the single “Jah is Real”, which went number one on many stations including KLRN in Miami, Florida.
Intent on taking his career to the next level, Junior Toots established his own independent record label, Crown of Fire Records, on which he released the album Crown of Fire in 2006. For a couple of years he toured on the West Coast & worked on the next album, Reggae Got Soul, which was written for black history month and includes singles “Herbsman”, “Keep Jah by Your Side”, and “Reggae Got Soul”. Although the album was finished in 2008, it was not released until 2010. After years of training and then finding his own artistic expression, Junior Toots is now releasing his latest album, “A Little Bit of Love” in March of 2012. This album sets into motion the upful message so many are searching for & delivers this positive light with high tempo, conscious, roots Reggae, Ska, and R&B all together in one package. The music of Junior Toots makes you want to dance, move, be aware, think, and do well for others at the same time.
"Reggae music & music business in general was impacted by the recession. So I was inspired more than ever to reincarnate the spirit & the feeling of good Reggae music and up-tempo Ska and to include lots of crowd participation at live performances. Also my father's contribution to Reggae music has been a great inspiration. My children are my greatest inspiration for me because I want to be an inspiration for them and for the next generation of Hibberts."
~ Junior Toots
