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Bunji Garlin
TnT PoS Bunji+Fay-Ann Fire Fete 2014.jpg
Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons 2014
Background information
Birth name Ian Antonio Alvarez
Born (1978-07-14) July 14, 1978 (age 47)
Arima, Trinidad
Genres Reggae, soca, dancehall
Occupation(s) Musician, producer, songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1999–present
Labels VP, RCA

Ian Antonio Alvarez (born July 14, 1978), known as Bunji Garlin, is a famous musician from Trinidad and Tobago. He sings soca and ragga songs. People also call him the 'Viking of Soca' because of his powerful style. He is married to fellow singer Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez.

About Bunji Garlin

Early Life and Family

Bunji Garlin was born on July 14, 1978, in Arima, a town in Trinidad. His family has roots in Saint Lucia and Venezuela.

On December 23, 2006, Bunji married Fay-Ann Lyons, who is also a well-known soca artist. Fay-Ann is the daughter of the famous soca singer Superblue. Bunji is also a second cousin to singer Patrice Roberts, who often performs with Machel Montano.

Music Career Highlights

Bunji Garlin has won the important Soca Monarch competition in Trinidad many times. He won in 2002 with his song "Down in the Ghetto" (sharing the win with Iwer George). He won again in 2004 with "Warrior Cry" and in 2005 with "Blaze the Fire." Both of these songs were produced by Shawn Noel, also known as Da Ma$tamind. Bunji won his fourth title in 2008 with "Fiery."

In 2009, he came in second place in the International Soca Monarch competition with his song "Clear de Road." That same night, his wife Fay-Ann Lyons won first place with "Meet Super Blue." She also won the Groovy Soca Monarch title with "Heavy T Bumpa."

Bunji Garlin's song "Brrt" was featured in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

In 2013, Bunji Garlin won a Soul Train Award for Best International Performance. This award was for his hit song "Differentology", which included Nigel Rojas playing the guitar. An album with the same name, Differentology, was released in August 2014 by RCA and VP Records.

In 2017, he released his album Turn Up. This album reached No. 3 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, which was his highest ranking at that time. On September 24, 2017, Bunji Garlin received a special national award from Trinidad and Tobago called the silver Hummingbird Medal. His song "All or Nothing" was also used in the first episode of the Netflix TV show Impulse.

Bunji Garlin's Music

Albums

Bunji Garlin has released many albums throughout his career:

  • The Chronicles (1999)
  • Revelation (2002)
  • Black Spaniard (2003)
  • Graceful Vengeance (2004)
  • Flame Storm (2005)
  • Next Direction (2006)
  • Global (2007)
  • Fiery (2008)
  • iSpaniard (2012)
  • The Viking (2013)
  • Differentology (2014) – This album reached No. 6 on the US Reggae chart.
  • Turn Up (2017) – This album reached No. 3 on the US Reggae chart.

Singles

Here are some of Bunji Garlin's popular single songs:

  • "Differentology" (2013)
  • "Truck on D Road" (2014) (featuring A$AP Ferg)
  • "The Message" (2015) (featuring Damian Marley)
  • "Television" (2016)

Collaborations

Bunji Garlin has worked with many other artists on songs:

  • "Carnival Tabanca" (featuring Tarrus Riley) (2014)
  • "Coofy Lie Lie" (featuring Singing Sandra) (2002)
  • "Let's Get It On" and "That Woman" (featuring Walker Hornung) (1999, 2001)
  • "Rags Don't Care" (featuring Chinese Laundry and Shurwayne Winchester) (2003)
  • "Soca Bhangra" (featuring Shami) (2003)
  • "Don't Waste Water" (featuring Shurwayne Winchester) (2005)
  • "The Islands" (featuring Patrice Roberts) (2005)
  • "Lorraine" (featuring Explainer) (2005)
  • "Move with Us" (a TSTT jingle also featuring Shurwayne Winchester and Machel Montano) (2006)
  • "Get Up Stand Up" (featuring T.O.K.) (2007)
  • "Hardcore Loving" (featuring Rita Jones) (2007)
  • "Swing It" (featuring Chris Black) (2007)
  • "One Family" (featuring Freddie McGregor) (2007)
  • "Bring It" (featuring Lalchan Babwa (Hunter)) (2008)
  • "Country Rum" (featuring Neeshan Prabhoo) (2008)
  • "Bring It Superstar Mix" (Lalchan Babwa (Hunter) featuring Alison Hinds, Andy Singh, Bunji Garlin & Ziggy Rankin) (2008)
  • "That's How We Party" (featuring Busy Signal) (2005)
  • "Big Blood" (featuring 3suns and Sir Skarz) (2011)
  • "... and Reggae" (Gyptian featuring Bunji Garlin and Angela Hunt) (2013)
  • "All or Nothing" (Elliphant featuring Diplo and Bunji Garlin)
  • "Jungle Bae" (Jack Ü featuring Bunji Garlin) (2015)
  • "Baddest Things" (Party Favor & Nymz featuring Bunji Garlin) (2015)
  • "Buss Head" (with Machel Montano) (2017)
  • "Ride It" (Sebastian Ingrosso & Salvatore Ganacci featuring Bunji Garlin) (2017)
  • "Famalay" (with Machel Montano and Skinny Fabulous) (2019)
  • "... (Light It Up)" (with Dillon Francis, from the EP Magic Is Real) (2019)
  • "Break a Branch" (with Motto) (2020)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Bunji Garlin para niños

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