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Ziggi

With his blazing performances on Summerjam Festival (Germany), Rototom Sunsplash (Italy), Two7Splash (The Netherlands) and Zenith (France) just to mention a few, Holland’s 1 reggae artist Ziggi has put his permanent mark on the international reggae market.

Ziggi was born on March 8 1981 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, being the son of a Dutch mother and a Caribbean father (St. Eustatius). Growing up on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius the young Ricardo Blijden was given the nickname Ziggi by his grandparents who raised him. In 2001 Ziggi came to the Netherlands to study. It was in that time when he was introduced to Mr. Rude the owner of an independent studio and label called Rock N Vibes Entertainment. Soon chilling out in the studio with friends became a professional musical career for Ziggi. Mr Rude: “Ziggi had a vibe from the first time I heard him sing.”

In February 2006 Ziggi's debut album So Much Reasons was released. With this album Ziggi managed to capture several awards in the Netherlands such as “Best Album”, “Best Artist” and “Best Live Act.” So Much Reasons produced several hits and had noticeable features on it with artists such as Elephant Man and Turbulence. In 2007 Ziggi recorded Blaze it on the "last war riddim," Blaze it had a major impact internationally and held the 1 position in the official German reggae charts for several weeks.

Ziggi and the Renaissance Band closed off the year 2007 at a peak by going along as the official support act on what was considered the biggest reggae tour that year, Gentleman’s Another Intensity European Tour 2007. Ziggi visited places such as Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Austria and The Netherlands. Gentleman: “Ziggi should wear sunglasses because his future is too bright!”
All in all with his energetic live act and new album, Ziggi is set to take his musical career to the next level on the international market in 2008/2009.

In September 2008 Ziggi's second album In Transit was released. On this album Ziggi proves that he’s an excellent singer and song writer. Artists such as Gentleman, Anthony B and Ce’Cile have collaborated with Ziggi on In Transit.

Text by Ziggi