About Kojak & Liza
Artist Biography
Kojak (b. Floyd Anthony Perch, 30 September 1959, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies) began his career chanting on various sound systems under the guise of Pretty Boy Floyd. He adopted the gangster image that had proved successful for Dennis Alcapone and Dillinger, but was unable to emulate the fortunes of his role models and changed his stage name to N****r Kojak in response to a title given to him by his followers. Inspired by the 70s television series Kojak, he emulated the show’s star with a shaved head and often appeared with the obligatory lollipop. His debut, ‘Massacre’, proved a local hit and led on to many others. In 1978 Dennis Brown had an international hit with the remake of ‘Money In My Pocket’, which was followed by ‘Ain’t That Loving You’, featuring Kojak And Liza performing ‘Hole In De Bucket’. The hit proved a success in the dancehall, which resulted in the inauguration of a popular winning combination. The partnership led to conflicting reports as to the identity of Kojak’s fellow artist, as there were in fact two Mama Lizas, Beverly Brown and Jacqueline Boland. His female partner was always labelled simply as Liza, which hindered the women’s careers, making it impossible to judge them on their individual merits. The duo performed ‘Fist To Fist Rub A Dub’, a tribute to the soft drink Sky Juice, the modest ‘One Thousand Gal’ and the festive ‘Christmas Stylee’. By 1981 Kojak And Liza had become well established and the unprecedented success of ‘Nice Up Jamaica’ was endorsed by the Jamaican tourist board. The song, although on some pressings credited to the duo, was actually a solo from Floyd Perch that verged on the surreal. By 1982 he became known as Papa Kojak and was a featured DJ at the acclaimed Skateland show, recorded live as A Dee Jay Explosion. By 1996, his resurgence as a singer, performing ‘What Time Is It’, was met with enthusiasm. The song was included on his distinguished comeback album of soul cover versions, which featured backing vocals from Nadine Sutherland, J.C. Lodge, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt. The paucity of female DJ performers has often been criticized, along with the fact that early performances were only in a supporting role. The pioneering efforts of the two Lizas have since been acknowledged on record as influencing the likes of Sister Nancy and Lady Saw.
Genre
Reggae
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