A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison",^[1] sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con".^[2] Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed "convicts". Ex-convict (or short: ex-con) is a common way of referring to a person who has been released from prison.

The legal label of "ex-convict" has much wider lifelong implications, so the person may suffer long-term handicaps and social stigma, including restricting access to certain categories of employment. In the Australian context, the Federal government generally will not employ an ex-convict, but some other state organizations may or may not have a time limit restricting employment.

Historical usage[link]

The particular use of the term "convict" in the English-speaking world was to describe the huge numbers of criminals, both male and female, who clogged British gaols in the 18th and early 19th century. Their crimes would today be regarded as petty misdemeanours (stealing small items or food), or are no longer in the criminal code (such as being in debt). Most of the punishments at this time were severe, with the death penalty applied for fairly minor crimes. However, this ultimate sentence was often commuted to a lesser one, commonly for transportation (for 7 or 14 years, or for life) to the "colonies". Thus, in the British context, the term "convict" has come to refer in particular to those criminals transported overseas.

Initially many British convicts were sent to the American colonies, such as the Province of Georgia, as cheap labour. The transportation of convicts from the United Kingdom began around 1615 and became increasingly common in the following years. Initially most people were transported to North America or the West Indies. From 1718 onwards transportation was entirely to North America. The arrangements ceased when the War of Independence meant it was no longer possible for the United Kingdom to send convicts to North America.

The British Government then looked to the newly discovered east coast of Australia to use as a penal colony. Convicts were transported to Australia in 1787, arriving in Botany Bay, then Sydney Cove, in January 1788. From the very start of European settlement convicts were used as indentured labourers in five out of the six colonies. Many were used on public works, but a significant number were "assigned" to private individuals as domestic servants, rural workers, etc. Transportation was progressively abolished from 1853, eventually ceasing altogether in 1868.

In Australia, convicts have come to be key figures of cultural mythology and historiography. Many became prominent businesspeople and respected citizens, and some prominent families in present-day Australian society can trace their origins to convict ancestors who rose above their humble origins. However, during the transportation era and for many years after, previous convicts and their descendants tended to hide their former criminal background, sometimes resulting in distorted or completely missing family history. Extensive and comprehensive records kept on every individual are now able to fill in the gaps; and, in fact, many family historians can find out more about their convict ancestors than they can about those who arrived in Australia as free settlers.

British convicts were also sent to Canada and India. France also sent convicts to French Guiana and New Caledonia. Russian criminals who were shipped to Siberia can arguably be regarded as convicts.

See also[link]

• Convicted felon
• Convict lease
• Convict assignment
• Convicts in Australia
• Penal transportation

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: convicts

Look up convict in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Convict life - State Library of NSW
• Convict Transportation Registers database
• http://crimemagazine.com/PrisonsParole/thewalls.htm

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

General Levy (born Paul Levy, 28 May 1971, London, England) is a British born ragga vocalist, regularly employed on studio tracks by drum and bass DJs. He is best known for the track "Incredible" which he recorded with M-Beat.

Biography[link]

General Levy's first major releases were with the independent record label, Fashion Records, who signed a distribution deal with London Records for the re-releases of the tracks he had recorded. He had earlier releases with the record producers Lloydy Crucial and Robbo Ranx, but these were mainly tracks that were hits on the underground dance scene. General Levy was ostracised by the UK jungle scene in 1994, due to comments he made relating to his collaboration with M-Beat on "Incredible".^[1] He had claimed in an interview with The Face that "I run jungle at the moment". Many^[who?] argued that certain artists were lambasted, while other artists are able to communicate their feelings without any backlash. "Incredible" was featured in the film Ali G Indahouse.

General Levy introduced and popularized the slang word "booyaka" which has been attributed to "the closest sound to a gunshot", but which Levy claims is a salutation in the jungle scene. "Booyaka" was the catch-phrase that the character Ali G adopted in the film, Ali G Indahouse. General Levy briefly collaborated with Rocco Barker of Flesh for Lulu in the band The Space Police. Levy also featured on the song "Only God Can Judge Me" by R&B singer Mark Morrison.

He collaborated with Madness singer Suggs on his 1998 album The Three Pyramids Club, on the track "Girl".

Levy featured on many sound systems in the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as Java and Tippatone Sound.^{[citation needed]}

Single discography[link]

• "Monkey Man" (1993) - UK #75
• "Incredible" (1994) - UK #39 †
• "Incredible" (1994) (remix) - UK #8 †
• "Shake (What Ya Mama Gave Ya)" (2004) - UK #51 ‡
• "Bring It On" (Dancehall Party Riddim) (2007) ¶

† Credited to M-Beat featuring General Levy
‡ Credited to General Levy vs Zeus featuring Bally Jagpal
¶ Credited as Ragga Meridional Crew
^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• General Levy discography at Discogs

Охуенный мужЫг!

Kevin Lyttle
Background information
Birth name	Lescott Kevin Lyttle Coombs
Born	(1976-09-14) 14 September 1976 (age 35)
Origin	Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Genres	Soca, Dancehall, R&B
Years active	2001–present
Associated acts	Sean Paul, Alison Hinds, Kevin Rudolf, Problem Child, Spragga Benz, Flo Rida
Website	www.KevinLyttleMusic.com

Kevin Lyttle (born Lescott Kevin Lyttle Coombs, 14 September 1976) is a soca artist hailing from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who had a worldwide monster hit with the interpellative soca ballad "Turn Me On", which was recorded by Lyttle and the dancehall artist Spragga Benz.

Career[link]

Previously, Lyttle had subsisted on day jobs, such as customs officer and radio disc jockey. Lyttle recorded "Turn Me On" in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2001. His strong live performances of soca influenced by dancehall and contemporary R&B made the song a hit throughout the Caribbean.

The song started finding its way into clubs in the UK. It was officially released as a single in the UK in late 2003 and reached number two in its first week, spending seven weeks in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.^[1] It later reached number eleven in Finland and number three in Australia; and was a hit in other twelve countries. The single was released in the U.S. in 2004 and the video was added to MTV on 24 May 2004. "Turn Me On" eventually went gold in the U.S. and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

Lyttle signed with Atlantic Records in 2003. His self-titled album was released on 27 July 2004 in the U.S. The second single, "Last Drop", has been released in markets outside the U.S., and has reached the Top 10 in Finland, the Top 20 in Switzerland, the Top 30 in the UK and Top 40 in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia.

Along with Byron Lee and Arrow, he performed at the Cricket World Cup 2007 opening ceremony in Greenfield Stadium, Jamaica.

Lyttle's album, Fyah, was released by Universal Records in Japan in the late summer of 2008. It featured contributions from the artists, Problem Child, Lexxus and Skinny Fabulous, a duet version of "Turn Me On" with Alison Hinds, and the Kevin Rudolf produced Something About You, written by Rudolf, Lyttle and Larry Nacht.^[2] U.S., Canadian, European and Caribbean releases followed.^{[3] [4][5]} Kevin Lyttle is currently working on a new album scheduled to be released in 2012.

Personal life[link]

Lyttle lives in Miami, Florida and is married to Dr. Jacqueline James.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

| Untitled New Album (2012)

Singles[link]

• 2004: "Turn Me On" - #4 U.S.,^[6] #2 UK^[1]
• 2004: "Last Drop" - #22 UK^[1]
• 2004: "Drive Me Crazy"
• 2008: "Fyah"
• 2009: "Anywhere" featuring Flo-Rida

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Kevin Lyttle Site
• Kevin Lyttle Allmusic page^{[dead link]}