| Kevin
Lyttle was born Lescott Kevin Lyttle Coombs in
Kingstown, St. Vincent on September 14th, 1976. He was raised
in a single parent household. He began performing at 14
as a dancer in his uncle’s troupe; shortly after he
formed a group called “Suade” with his high
school buddies. “Back then we were loving Boyz II
Men, so we did it [End of The Road] for de graduation.”
After high school the members of the group parted ways,
Lyttle attended college to study electronic engineering.
Lyttle worked as a radio announcer while
performing karaoke and Mcing until he landed a job as a
customs officer with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines
government. Never putting his musical ambitions aside Lyttle
saved his salary hoping to eventually record the songs he
was writing at home. Encouraged by his co-workers who went
as far as to put money together to help Lyttle achieve his
dreams, Lyttle teamed up with a local producer Adrian Bailey
to record 3 songs. One of those songs was “Turn Me
On.”
Lyttle simply wanted to sing a song “that
people would listen to all year round and not just at Carnival
time and forget about it.” The song surpassed Lyttle’s
original intention and spread around the world like wildfire.
Before he knew it he had to quit his day job to keep up
with requests for his live performances throughout the Caribbean
and the Americas.
It was during a sold out concert for Hot
106, a major radio station at the Dunkin Donuts Center in
Providence, Rhode Island that the major labels took notice
of Lyttle’s talent. Lyttle shared the bill with multi-platinum
stars such as 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Lil’ Kim and
Fabolous however when it was time for the Lyttle man from
St. Vincent “I had about the same size response as
'50'. I didn’t even have to sing the song! By the
time I said ‘Oh Yeah’ everybody was singing
the words. I was having the time of my life. It was the
one performance that got me to where I am.” After
the concert the major labels started calling, Lyttle signed
with Atlantic.
He moved to New York to be closer to his
label. Under the close supervision of his Bajan manager
Alison Hunt he began recording his album in New York, Jamaica
and Miami with producers such as Salaam Remi, Troyton Rami
and Jeremy Harding. “Turn Me On” has since been
remixed with artists such as Spragga Benz and Alison Hinds
contributing their vocals.
“Turn Me On” has become the
most successful Soca Song so far in the new millennium appearing
on MTV and radio stations and charts world wide, yet Lyttle
remains truly a humble individual thankful for the exposure
the song has given him. He continues to perform while preparing
to release his debut album; he is determined to show the
world that he is not a one hit wonder.
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