Dread Mar-I is a charting, best-selling Argentine reggae singer, songwriter, and bandleader. His sensual, passionate vocal delivery ranges over a style that combines deep roots reggae with the sweetness of lovers rock. Dread was born Mariano Javier Castro in Quequén, Argentina in January of 1978. When he was seven years old, his family moved to Maipú, a suburb of Buenos Aires. Besides going to school, he worked in his father's bakery. His interest in music, reggae, and Rastafarianism in particular came about during these tender years, as he heard Bob Marley's music in the neighborhood. He graduated high school and worked, honing his musical chops at night.

His first professional gig was as lead singer of the Reggae Messengers. After three years, Dread put together a band and went solo. His debut album, Jah Guia, was initially issued independently, but garnered wide attention when a couple of enterprising DJs decided to play it. His gigs got larger and soon the major labels came calling. Sony/BMG signed him and reissued Jah Guia across Latin America in 2006. Sales were better than anyone expected. He was asked by renowned reggae big band Los Cafres to be a stable opener for them (and sing in their backing chorus), including a massive show at Luna Park, which greatly expanded the singer's profile. Later that year he and his band performed at the first annual Bob Marley Day festival at Luna Park with the Wailers and Peter Tosh Band. Working with Los Cafres and headlining his own gigs had their advantages; because of the attention -- and the money -- he was able to record a second album with his own band, Los Guerreros del Rey. It was released in 2007. The following year, with the release of the album Amor-es, Dread became an in-demand attraction. He played 70-plus shows nationally and toured abroad as well. By the time he released Viví en Do in 2010, he was the most popular reggae singer in Argentina, and had established an international following that reached across most of Latin America.

His reputation also extended into the Caribbean: 2011's Tranquilo was a collaborative album with no less a talent than Jamaica's Luciano. With his new backing band, Warriors of the King, he took his show to Mexico and the United States. In late 2011 and early 2012, Dread worked at Panda and TAMS studios and delivered Transparente, a record that took him onto the streaming charts in the reggae, tropical, and Latin categories. It also revealed his increasing studio savvy -- he mixed it himself. Its success also made his Luna Park shows all but impossible to get into; tickets sold out months in advance. He went back to the studio and issued the hit single "Nada" (backed by a Jamaican chorus) in early 2014. He followed it with the video single "No Te Asustes Ahora," which netted hundreds of thousands of views in its first weeks on YouTube. As a result, the 17-song full-length En el Sendero went gold.

In 2016, Dread celebrated his tenth anniversary as a recording artist with a show at the massive El Planetario in Palermo, Buenos Aires. The price of admission was donations of food, clothing, or cash for the homeless. An expansive audio-video package entitled 10 Anos -- featuring both new and catalog songs as well as a documentary -- was released and climbed the streaming and download charts. The recording also featured the studio track "Hoja en Blanco," a revisioned vallenato standard. A demo version of it appeared on the artist's Facebook page and garnered over five million views.

Accredited Artist and producer, E.N Young has produced over 950 songs out of his own Imperial Sound Recording Studio in San Diego, California for some of the biggest artists in reggae. This includes his own albums, the latest release being “Stay Humble” in Oct. 2021 and “No Compaint” in Feb. 2021. E.N has brought a top-ranking energetic show to stages across the US and more plans to tour and connect positive energy to all people in 2022. E.N Young has been a frontline soldier for Roots Reggae music his entire life, joining world music band Stranger in 2002 after having an eclectically musical childhood. After four studio albums, E.N dove into his solo career, rendering his first album Luck & Chance No More under his own Roots Musician Label by 2010. Roots Musician Records, as well as E.N Young’s Imperial Sound Recording Studio, has become a mecca for roots reggae artists ever since. As for production credits, E.N Young has worked with current headlining acts, like Steel Pulse, Pepper, Rebelution, Stick Figure, Slightly Stoopid, Trevor Hall, Million Stylez, Alborosie, Sizzla, Lutan Fyah, Don Carlos, Mykal Rose, KBong, Iya Terra and beyond. E.N’s most recent accomplishments include culminating over 3.2 million plays for “Ease Your Mind”, a single he featured on for Philadelphia band Kings and Comrades, as well as solidifying an inclusion on Spotify’s ‘Reggae Party’ editorial playlist for his latest solo single, “Queendom”. With much on the horizon, E.N Young continues to scout for collaborative talent whilst progressing in his own musical ventures. He has brought a top-ranking energetic show to stages across the US and more plans to tour and connect positive energy with all people in 2022. Written by: Kristy Rose (Top Shelf Music)