Born Marlon Ricardo Williams in Kingston 26 years ago, Bling Dawg was raised in Portland and Miami. His first stage name of Ricky Rudie was one he had for a long time prior to adding the ‘aka Bling Dawg’ to the mix.
He recalls, “I went to Miami and I bought a chain wid a dog on it an Devonte come an seh ‘Bling Dawg’. One night… Shocking Vibes had a show at Cactus. I just enter de stage wid a serious look an seh ‘Ricky Rudie aka Bling Dawg’ an de place jus buss. So from dat me jus work wid it”.
Bling Dawg’s break into the music business came when he was still in Miami. He met two other Jamaican artists, Dugsy Ranks and Biko Bailey who along with the Warlord, Bounty Killer, suggested Bling Dawg went to Jamaica to progress his career. He says, “Miami have Reggae, but it don’t produce like young talents like Dancehall. Yuh haffe come to de root, Jamaica”. So, Bling Dawg did just that and started working with Shocking Vibes Productions.
Louie Culture was Bling Dawg’s inspiration to get into the business and so far his most successful single to date has been alongside Beenie Man with the track ‘Circumstances’ on the Orgasm rhythm. He has yet to release any albums, but says, “I jus wanna get some singles out right now”. Bling Dawg also writes all his own lyrics and gets his ideas from life citing ‘If Yuh Nuh Like Bling Dawg’ as an example as it came “from a lickle confrontation”.
Bling Dawg has performed at a number of stage shows including Sumfest, Sting, Fully Loaded and also local community shows. He has performed overseas, but that was prior to him being with Shocking Vibes. He has also worked with a number of talented producers such as Shams, Fateyes, Young Blood Productions, Sly & Robbie and Q45 to name a few.
