Introduction
Tilmann Otto (born April 19, 1975, in Osnabrück, Germany), better known by his stage name Gentleman, is a German reggae musician.
Personal life
Gentleman lives in the Neubrück area of Cologne. He is the son of a Lutheran pastor. He is the father of two children, named Samuel and Tamica, and is married to Tamika, a background singer of the Far East Band, which has been supporting him since his first concert tour of Germany in 2002.
Music
Gentleman has been travelling to Jamaica regularly since he was 18 years old. His career began with the collaboration of the band Freundeskreis which produced the song "Tabula Rasa". After beginning his career as a deejay, he based his style to the classic form of the reggae genre like that of Bob Marley. He sings mainly in English or Jamaican Patois. With songs like "Send a Prayer", Gentleman expresses his deep belief in God, without referring to a particular religion. His album, Confidence, climbed to number 1 on the German album charts in 2004. Gentleman was featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, Manu Chao, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and The Skatalites. In 2005, Gentleman performed with Mamadee with the song "Lass los" representing North Rhine-Westphalia in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2005, placing 15th with 10 points. After ten years of making music under the label Four Music he moved to Universal in 2010.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | AUT | SWI | NED | FRA | POL | ||
| 1999 | Trodin On | 59 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2002 | Journey to Jah | 14 | 19 | 21 | – | – | – |
| 2003 | Gentleman & The Far East Band Live | 15 | 10 | 34 | – | – | – |
| 2004 | Confidence | 1 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – |
| 2007 | Another Intensity | 2 | 5 | 2 | 72 | 75 | – |
| 2010 | Diversity | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | 146 | 37 |
| 2011 | Diversity Live | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2012 | Live Your Life (with Richie Stephens) | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2013 | New Day Dawn | 6 | 10 | 8 | – | – | – |
| 2014 | MTV Unplugged | 8 | 14 | 14 | – | – | – |
| 2016 | Conversations (with Ky-Mani Marley) | 8 | 6 | 4 | – | – | – |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | AUT | SWI | ||
| 1998 | "Tabula Rasa" (feat. Freundeskreis & Mellowbag) | 13 | 18 | 6 |
| 1998 | "In the Heat of the Night" Trodin On | – | – | – |
| 1999 | "Jah Jah Never Fail" Trodin On | – | – | – |
| 2002 | "Leave Us Alone" Journey to Jah | 78 | – | – |
| 2002 | "Dem Gone" Journey to Jah | 81 | – | – |
| 2003 | "Runaway" Journey to Jah | 65 | – | – |
| 2003 | "Rainy Days" (feat. Tamika & Martin Jondo) Gentleman & The Far East Band Live | 88 | – | – |
| 2003 | "Widerstand" (feat. Curse) | 45 | – | – |
| 2004 | "Superior" Confidence | 20 | 20 | 76 |
| 2005 | "Isyankar" (feat. Mustafa Sandal) | 6 | 11 | 4 |
| 2005 | "Intoxication" Confidence | 33 | 58 | – |
| 2005 | "Send a Prayer" Confidence | 75 | – | – |
| 2006 | "On We Go" / "Caan Hold Us Down" Confidence & Soundtrack Hui Buh | 58 | 48 | 76 |
| 2007 | "Different Places" Another Intensity | 42 | 65 | – |
| 2007 | "Serenity" Another Intensity | 81 | – | 88 |
| 2007 | "Zeit zu verstehen (This Can't Be Everything)" (Azad feat. Gentleman) Blockschrift | 30 | 72 | – |
| 2008 | "Soulfood" / "Lack of Love" (feat. Sizzla) Another Intensity | – | – | – |
| 2009 | "Changes" Diversity | – | – | – |
| 2010 | "It No Pretty" Diversity | 19 | 24 | 33 |
| 2010 | "Roots to Grow" (Stefanie Heinzmann feat. Gentleman) Roots to Grow | 16 | 56 | 61 |
| 2010 | "To the Top" (feat. Christopher Martin) Diversity | 13 | 51 | 23 |
| 2013 | "You Remember" New Day Dawn | 19 | 24 | 33 |
| 2013 | "Heart of a Rub-a-Dub" New Day Dawn (deluxe) | 77 | – | – |
| 2016 | "Ahnma" (Beginner feat. Gzuz and Gentleman) | 8 | 55 | 65 |
EPs
- 1999: Heat of the Night
- 1999: Jah Jah Never Fail
- 2002: Leave Us Alone
- 2002: Dem Gone
- 2003: Rainy Days
- 2003: Runaway
- 2004: Superior
- 2005: Intoxication
- 2005: Send a Prayer
- 2006: On We Go / Caan Hold Us Down
- 2007: Different Places
- 2007: Serenity
- 2008: Soulfood / Lack of Love
- 2010: It No Pretty
- 2010: To the Top
- 2010: Lonely Days'
DVDs
- 2003: Gentleman & The Far East Band Live
- 2011: Diversity Live
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 20, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2008.
- Steffen Hung. "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". Austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
- Steffen Hung. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
- ^ "Another Intensity by Gentleman - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
- "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLIS. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
- Steffen Hung. "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". Austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
- Steffen Hung. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2016-04-01.