(VOCALS) Akcent Da Just Poet (Aire Duarte) is a native of St. Nicolau, Cape Verde Islands who migrated to Waterbury, CT USA in 1979 as a youth. During his childhood he was exposed to the rich sounds of the music from his native country and upon arrival in the United States, to the urban culture of conscious rap. He took a liking to the latter, even gathering with friends on the street corners of Waterbury where he would recite freestyle and written rhymes for friends and passers by. As he made several West Indian friends, he was introduced to the unique sounds of singers like Tenor Saw and Tinga Stewart as well as the rapid fire raggamuffin deejay skills of Tiger and Supercat. Soon he was frequenting clubs with friends where he observed shootings, fights and drug dealing. Over time, he became increasingly dissatisfied with this lifestyle and the false sense of fulfillment that it offered. Having within him since childhood a knowledge of God's existence, he began to read the holy scriptures in search of truth and understanding of His plan and purpose. The search eventually led him to the way, the truth and the life of Jesus Christ to whom he surrendered his life in 1992. Since that time, Akcent has been writing conscious lyrics, inspired more and more by Jesus Christ as time has transpired. He also began collaborating with Mike Roots whom he first met in 1994. He and his wife Christina have two young children- Noah and Naomi. The family attends God's House of Truth (Antonio H. Almeida, Pastor) in Waterbury. Akcent completed schooling in the HVAC field and is currently licensed and employed in the commercial sector. When not spending time with his family, creating music or in church, Akcent enjoys particpating in community outreach, playing basketball and preparing some tasty dishes in the kitchen.

ROOTS (VOCALS, GUITAR, PERCUSSION) Mike Roots (Michael Killiany) was born in Winsted, CT USA and was raised in the nearby city of Torrington. The eighth out of nine children, he was closest to his youngest sister who is actually the only sibling he grew up with. Mike's first musical experiences were listening to the radio and playing his father's old 7" records on a turntable. The music was mostly a combination of 50's-60's era rock and soul, which brought him much comfort and joy as he listened to it. Also, there was the pop music of the 70's-80's that was played over the airwaves which influenced him. Mike remembers singing songs from Sam Cooke, George Benson, Kenny Rogers, the Commodores and others as he walked home from grade school. Occasionally, another child would hear him singing and remark that he sounded nice since he could sing in tune. It brought joy and comfort to his soul when he heard a song and sang along with it or quietly to himself. Although he had a love for music at a young age, it would be several years before he picked up an acoustic guitar and wrote his first song. Young Michael was troubled as a youth and looks at much of those early years as a time of struggling with fear, confusion and insecure feelings. As much as he felt comforted by the melodies he heard, he lacked direction and purpose for his life. So it was at the age of twenty that he found the only true source of lasting peace that he had longed for- he found it in the Savior Jesus Christ. He surrendered his life to Jesus in 1989 and later that year he bought an acoustic guitar and took a few lessons. It was in Jesus that he found that the purpose for which he was created was to worship and praise the one true God Almighty YHWH through His only begotten Son! Along with the new found gospel music, Roots had been developing a love for reggae which began to grow after seeing Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers in concert in 1987. Until he began attending college in Hartford, he never recalled hearing anyone listening to reggae or even hearing it on the radio. He found that Hartford had a large West Indian population and therefore, reggae and other forms of Caribbean music were popular on local radio. Though he would listen to many types of music, it was reggae that was becoming the staple of his musical diet as he identified with the conscious lyrics of singers like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown and Sugar Minott. He found the rhythms to be both soothing and encouraging as they complimented the messages in the lyrics. In time, his collection of reggae music would grow so much that visitors would often react in surprise at the volume of CD's, cassettes and records that he had gathered. He began playing music with friends and found that the only style of music they had in common was rock, so that's what they began playing. In 1994 Roots founded the Iron Mangoes, a diverse group of musicians who combined rock, funk, reggae, jazz and Afro-Cuban sounds to create original songs. They first performed in March 1995 as part of Arts Appreciation Week in Torrington. Spiritually, Mike had gone astray from the weekly fellowship he once enjoyed, and found that he just couldn't live the Christian life without the love and support that brothers and sisters offered. It was later in 1994 that he met Akcent at the plant where they both worked, and was invited to attend his church in Waterbury. That following Sunday, he took the 25 minute drive and found himself in God's House of Truth where he felt completely at home. What had happened was that Michael had forsaken the assembly of the body of Christ, which he learned was against God's wishes. Since then, he has remained an active member in the body of Christ and now attends First CT Open Bible Church (Barry Steed, Pastor) in Torrington, where he serves as worship leader. Roots & Akcent began collaborating in 1995 and started out as Open Mind Productions where they would perform at coffeehouses, churches and festivals in Connecticut. Later they were joined by a drummer (Paul Michaud) who also performed with them on a few occasions. The sound at that time was a raw fusion of funk, hip-hop and reggae. In 1998, they joined with fine Waterbury-based guitarist and songwriter Tony Smith to form the Judea Praise Team which disbanded later that year. In 2000, Roots & Akcent joined forces once again and committed themselves to serving the Lord with use of the music they most love- reggae. The Lord has impressed upon their hearts His desire that they use the creative musical talents that He's given them to bring Him glory. Over the years, Mike's singing has matured into a unique soulful style which is equally effective on gospel, roots reggae and dancehall toasting. He studied West African rhythms with Guinean master drummer and dancer Abdoulaye Sylla for about one year, during which he learned to play the djembe drum. In 1997, Mike Roots took to the airwaves on 89.9 WAPJ in Torrington where he hosts "Positive Vibrations" and "The Jubilee Praise Hour" from 7-9pm every Wednesday. Both programs are Christian in their content and he considers the opportunity a blessing from God to be able to share the music and message. He studied two years in college and is employed as a mechanical draftsman in the manufacturing industry and enjoys community outreach, radio deejaying, basketball, cooking and camping as time allows.

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 Revised: August 29, 2001 .