Taz a.k.a Oxygen was born Marvis Irving on September 8, 1981 in Montego Bay, the capital of the beautiful parish of St. James, Jamaica. At a young age Taz was exposed to reggae and dancehall through his Dad, Mr. irving who used to have a soundsystem playing stageshow cassettes of Ninjaman, Shabba and Tenor Saw, the last one being one of the main influences of his career todate.
His younger years he spent in Glendevon Montego bay, where he attended Glendevon All Age. At this school he won a local competition in music performace under the guidance of Allan Lewin (a journalist for the western Mirror.) It was Mr.Lewin at that time who helped to refine Tazz’s stage performance and build on his artistic confidence. Under this management, he won the schoolaz showdown and competition at dragons’ gym, and made an appearance at Reggae Sumfest and Sting at age 13.
At age fifteen, he relocated to England (UK) to study Computer Science, whilst residing with his grandmother and auntie near Birmingham. Shortly after spending a year in England, the love for music saw him return to Kingston, Jamaica where he then took residence in Lawrence Tavern where he could resume his musical aspirations. His return to Kingston saw him spend many nights in various studios where he could learn the talent of creating studio quality singles.
After going through a personal transition and refocusing his aspirations, in 2008 Tazz put more thought and depth into his Lyrics. The mature lyrical content along with his powerful and distinctive delivery has earned Tazz respect from major players in the industry. This has lead to various collaborations, and the opportunity to work with the finest producers in the business. At this time where Tazz seemed to reaching new heights, in 2008 a major world-wide hit single ‘Jail Again’ reached number one around the world – a tune that he co-wrote in 2007 alongside Busy Signal. Although he didn’t gain public recognition for the single, the success of this track quietly gave Tazz further confidence that dancehall lovers were keen on his ideas and writing ability. With this new found respect and with his new found inspiration to write lyrics, With this, he changed his name to Oxygen – a breath of fresh air for the Reggae Dancehall industry.
In 2009, Oxygen proved the shift in his lyrical composition by penning a hit tune ‘Rest In Peace’. This song is very close to Oxygen’s heart and was written in loving memory of friends and family members who have passed away. This song was produced by the infamous Christopher Birch. The song “Rest In Peace” is currently enjoying continuous airplay, within the dancehall and on the party scene in Jamaica, USA, and Japan (where it is particularly creating a major buzz). During 2009, Oxygen went on to do two other singles with producer Jam 2; “New Moment” featuring T.O.K and another single with Slip and Slide records artiste Camar. Early in 2009, Oxygen toured the States to perform in Connecticut, Bronx, Brooklyn, and S.O.B Club in Manhattan. Enjoying the mind blowing experience of performing to audiences away from home, Oxygen discovered that “Rest In Peace” was and is as popular in the States as it currently is in Jamaica.
His latest tune, ‘Candle in the Wind’ is currently tearing down Jamaican airwaves on both radio and TV!
Already “Candle In The Wind” is fast becoming a radio favorite and has also been added to several charts both locally and overseas. However, success is no stranger to Taz, as his previous hit single “Rest In Peace” produced by Birchill Records rocked Japan for several months.
The video for “Candle In The Wind” which recently got a world premiered on the popular Entertainment Report (ER) is also getting steady rotations on local cable networks such as Hype TV, RETV and MDTV, and could be seen on the top charts on the respective stations.
According to Taz associate, “There are a lot more songs in the pipeline and I just want the thousands of music lovers to embrace themselves for some quality music from Taz”.
Bio partly take from Warrior Dancehall, and the interview that WorldAreggae.com had with Taz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izod9lWSdPQ
