Lee, Ras

Websites:  http://www.raslee.com/about.htm
Origin: Montego Bay, Jamica - Ottawa, Ontario
Biography:

Ras Lee, born Lee Morris in 1952, in Montego Bay Jamaica, comes from a family of rich musical credentials.

Growing up in Montego Bay, his mother Mertella Morris was a choir leader in the Church of God of Prophecy where a young Ras Lee started singing in Sunday School. He would later sing for the church in various locations around the island.
His father, Thomas Morris, known as Anancy, was a well known lead singer of a Calypso band and worked at the various resort hotels in Montego Bay. Again a young Ras Lee started working with his dad appearing in some of the shows.

As a young adult Ras Lee emerged as a solo entertainer and performed in numerous venues and festivals throughout Jamaica. This included him singing and DJing with well known reggae sound systems of the time such as Tommy's Hi Fi, Tubby Hi Fi, Daddy Roy sound and King Darby. During his teens and early twenties, he also took an avid interest in water sports which lead him to become a licensed scuba diver working at various resorts as an instructor. With this new passion for water sports plus his musical talent he would also work at the hotels as an entertainer.

Throughout Ras Lee's childhood American R&B and Soul was always playing on the radio so was a constant influence. Jamaican Rock Steady and Ska was also an influence which later evolved into "rasta rebel music" which we now call reggae. Ras Lee was immediately inspired by reggae music and its message. In 1976 he became highly involved in the making of the famous Bob Marley documentary film "Heartland Reggae" where he co-wrote and narrated the film.

Ras Lee moved to Canada in 1979 and never left his love for reggae music. He continued his musical career and performed with many top reggae acts including Heaven's Radio, Roots Revival (led by Ernie Smith), Toronto's Reggae AllStar and Ottawa's Magic Circle. In Ottawa, Ras Lee founded the band Roots Movement which continues today lead by bassist Owen Brown.

During the 1980's Ras Lee recorded an EP where he released two singles, "Moonlight Lover" and "Lovers Violence" This lead to a Canadian Juno award nomination in 1986 for "Moonlight Lover" for top Canadian reggae single and he received a Canadian Music Award for the same single "Moonlight Lover"
In 1999, Ras Lee released the album "Who Killed The Lion" featuring the title track "Who Killed The Lion" a tribute to Bob Marley. He was awarded a Canadian Reggae Music Award for his single "Who Killed the Lion" in 2003 and was again nominated in 2004.

In 2004 Ras Lee had the opportunity to travel to Africa visiting Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi where he performed extensively in Burundi and Tanzania. Shortly after he released the album "Showers of Blessing" which was truly influenced by his journey in Africa and the people he met there. Ras Lee credits his two friends and fellow musicians Sheik Mia and Budi for their contribution to his travels in Africa which lead to the making of "Showers of Blessing".
Ras Lee continues to perform in various venues and music festivals throughout Ontario and Quebec, Canada as a lead vocalist with bands such as The Roots Band, Roots Movement and Hotter Than Ice. Ras Lee is actively working on his next CD.

"May the force of goodness be with you all" - Ras Lee