The Elovaters, The Hip Abduction, Collie Buddz, and Coyote Island

Collie Buddz is a stage name for Colin Harper, an artist whose music is just as diverse as his upbringing. Born in New Orleans, Harper was raised there until the age of four, until his father passed away. His mother took him and his brother to her place of origin Bermuda, where since the age of six he was immersed in the sound system culture of his adopted homeland. Harper and his brother Matthew bonded over their shared love of Reggae, and it was that love that inspired the young Harper to start singing, and Matthew would record it to tape.

During Harper’s teen years, Matthew took up an audio engineering degree in Toronto, Canada. He was undeterred, however, and would frequently make the trip over to where his brother was studying. Harper was inspired by what his brother was doing and took up the same degree in Orlando, Florida. Astonishingly, he got his degree in 13 months flat, and was soon back in Toronto, working with his brother with dreams of becoming a great producer. In a twist of fate, however, Harper couldn’t find any singers with the sound that he had in his head, and his life changed when he decided to just record the vocals himself, naming himself Collie Buddz in the process.

Soon after that, his demo track “Come Around” was a surprise hit around Europe, which made his name enough for Busta Rhymes to record an unauthorized remix of the song which Harper had recorded with the help of his brother. With that, the music world was at Collie’s feet, and he chose to be as much of a presence live as he was in the studio, with a live show honed to perfection that’s seen him sell out venues the world over. With tracks recorded with everyone from Lil’ Flip to Snoop Dogg, there doesn’t seem to be any way of stopping this most unique of talents. He’s at the top of his game and he’ll stay there for a very long time. Highly recommended.