It's been over 15 years since that rich, impossibly sensitive voice first cast its spell on reggae fans with a reinterpretation of Simply Red's "Lady in Red." When Sanchez takes on a proven R&B hit, he doesn't just rekindle the torch, he sets the airwaves on fire. Born Kevin Anthony Jackson, Sanchez grew up in the Stony Hill and Waterhouse sections of Kingston, Jamaica. Like many of the island's vocal legends, his first singing experience was in church, specifically St. Catherine parish's Rehobth Epostlic Church. "I started at age six," he recalls. "Then, I was drafted into Sunday school choir at 11." By 13, he was singing the leads and conducting the Junior Choir.
The lure of Jamaica's sound system dances eventually proved as powerful as Sunday mornings at church. At nineteen, Sanchez became the selector for the popular Rambo Sound System, which "carried" top deejays of the day Flourgan, Daddy Lizard, and Red Dragon. It was this mic-rocking trinity that dubbed Kevin Jackson "Sanchez," after he executed an overhead scissors kick during an impromptu game of football {soccer), a feat associated with a popular South American pro player of the same name. Jamaica's Sanchez displayed equal skill in dance halls as a triple threat selector. "I used to select and chat on the mic at the same time, then even flip the record over onto the version {dub) side and sing. I would create havoc," he recalls. He's still setting off dancehall bedlam today with his own Sexylus Sound. "I used to play that thing myself until '96 or '97," he says. "I did everything - play, select, sing, and chat on the mic, until I got good people to run it."