Garnet Silk, born Garnet Damion Smith in Bromelia, in the parish of Manchester, Jamaica, on the second day of April 1966, became one of reggae's most promising cultural artists from the moment this singer turned deejay made a serious impact with his debut album "It's Growing" and his first major hit "Hello Africa."

At a very young age - when he was still in elementary school - Garnet dreamed of becoming an entertainer. Family and friends encouraged him and at the tender age of 12 Garnet Silk entered music business when he started deejaying as Little Bimbo with a local sound system called Soul Remembrance. Thus this youth discovered an outlet for his thought-provoking lyrics, an audience outside of his schoolmates and family, and there was no turning back. In the years that followed he got involved with other sound systems like Destiny Outernational, Pepper's Disco and Stereophonic. While working with these sounds Garnet developed his vocal and lyrical delivery further. Drawing inspiration from the words and music of Bob Marley and Burning Spear he started his recording career in 1985. It was actually dub poet Yasus Afari who hooked up Garnet with Delroy "Callo" Collins who produced his first single, "Problem Everywhere," then still under the name of Bimbo.   

Fast forward...By the beginning of 1994, Garnet Silk was rested and ready to continue his musical quest. He signed with Ocho Rios-based Kariang Productions and also secured his first major label deal with Big Beat/Atlantic. The release of the Steely & Clevie produced album "Love Is The Answer" featuring the 1990 recordings and single releases like "Harder," "Complaint" and "Fight Back," a combination tune with good friend Richie Stephens, soon put Garnet Silk back on the international Reggae charts. His triumphant return was highlighted at Jamaica's two premier international festivals in the summer of 1994. Reggae Sunsplash and Reggae SumFest were charged with emotional energy during Garnet Silk's mesmerizing musical display. Garnet's final performance was at the Mirage nightclub in Kingston where he was part of Richie Stephens' birthday celebration on the Tuesday night before the tragedy took place. Garnet Silk was staying at his sister's house, together with his wife - who was six months pregnant - and his three children, when he left to see his mother. From this point there's no-one to tell exactly what happened on that night as all the survivors were sleeping and woke up only with the explosion which occurred at his mother's one-room wooden house around midnight. It is told that a friend was showing Garnet how to use a shotgun when it accidentally went off, striking a nearby cooking gas cylinder. Along with his growing fame, Garnet had become increasingly concerned about security at the house - though he was a true novice when it came to firearms. That night, the errant gun blast ignited the gas cylinder, effectively giving rise to a lethal blowtorch. Garnet Silk, his two brothers and two friends managed to escape. However, when Garnet realized his mother was still trapped inside, he re-entered the inferno. Neither of them survived. READ MORE HERE.