Rik Carey is a Bahamian music producer, singer and musician who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Baha Men.
The Baha Men are a Bahamian world music band playing a modernized style of Bahamian music called junkanoo.
Background
The son of a respected guitarist and a popular singer, Carey came to music early in life. He established a career in the Bahamas as a drummer for some local bands and a producer for local studios, working with young and upcoming talent. In 2000 he achieved the position of lead vocalist for the Baha Men, and developed as a young international recording artist and producer as the group toured the world performing and selling albums.
play a modernized style of Bahamian music called Junkanoo. They originated in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area and then, after gaining some recognition, made their way down to the Bahamas. The group was formed in the Bahamas in the late 1970s as High Voltage, with the original members being percussionist Isaiah Taylor, Colyn "Mo" Grant and Nehemiah Hield. They were known for performing traditional Caribbean spunkanoo music.
Career
In 2000 he achieved the position of lead vocalist for the Baha Men, and developed as a young international recording artist and producer as the group toured the world performing and selling albums.
Members are Isiah Taylor (bass, vocals), Herschel Small (guitar), Jeffrey Chea (keyboards), Rick Carey (vocals), Marvin Prosper (vocals), Omerit Hield (vocals), Patrick Carey Sr. (guitar), Colyn "Mo" Grant (drums), Anthony "Monks" Flowers (drums)
The Bahamian music and dance tradition of Junkanoo, which traces back to the slavery days when slaves were allowed to gather together one day a week for festivities, is fused with the modern influences of dance rhythms, pop music and Latin percussion by Isaiah Taylor and his band, The Baha Men. According to "Billboard", the group "straddles the line between Caribbean and western popular music and does so while putting smiles on people's faces and a bounce in their steps".
The group was formed in London in the late 1970s as High Voltage.They renamed themselves as Baha Men in 1991, and released their first album under that name, "Junkanoo," in 1992. “Kalik” followed in 1994 on Atlantic Records and continues the rhythmic Junkanoo style of the Bahamas. Another Junkanoo album, “I Like What I Like” was released by Mercury Records in 1997. Their 1998 album, “Doong Spank” featured a cover of the Beach Boys song “Kokomo.”
The group achieved great, if short-lived, popularity with 2000's "Who Let the Dogs Out?" from their album of the same name and recorded with the help of Orlando Infante. The song was a chart success in many countries reaching the Top 40 in the United States. The album Who Let the Dogs Out sold more than 7 million records worldwide, more than 3 million in the USA, and earned Carey and the Baha Men the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2000, 2 Billboard Awards for World Music Album of the Year 2000 and World Music Song of the Year 2000, and 2 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for favourite band. When not travelling across the world performing, Carey can be found at several recording studios in Nassau, Bahamas where he does most of his production with local and international artists.
Their follow-up album, “2 Zero 0-0” featured the single “You All Day” which reached #94 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.
“Move It Like This” released in 2002 included a cover of Harry Nilsson's "Coconut." None of the songs rose to success, including the album's title single "Move It Like This," but the album did chart at #57 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.
“Holla!” was released in 2004 on S-Curve Records. The title track was featured in the 2004 movie “Garfield” and the music video featured scenes and references to that film.
The Baha Men were one of the many artists to record a song on the album DisneyMania and two of its four sequels. On the first DisneyMania, they recorded "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King. On DisneyMania 2, they recorded the song "It's a Small World" from the Disney park attraction of the same name. They were absent from DisneyMania 3, though they returned for DisneyMania 4, recording their take on the song "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" from Lilo and Stitch entitled "Bahaman Roller Coaster Ride". They also recorded the theme song to the Disney TV show, Stanley. A number of their songs have been used in major motion pictures such as: Rugrats In Paris, Miss Congeniality, Rat Race, Around the World in 80 Days and Garfield: The Movie. They also recorded a cover of Elton John's hit "Crocodile Rock" for the film Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course starring Steve Irwin and family. The band has even made an appearance on the big screen, when they starred as themselves in the 1994 romantic comedy My Father the Hero starring Gérard Depardieu and Katherine Heigl.[1] The Baha Men also were featured in the soundtrack of Shrek with their hit song "Best Years of Our Lives". "Who Let the Dogs Out?" was also featured in the 2009 hit comedy The Hangover.