Gentleman
Tilmann Otto (born 19 April 1974), better known by his stage name Gentleman, is a German reggae musician.
Also recorded as Tilmann Otto
Gentleman
German reggae musician.
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- Name
- Gentleman
- Birth Name
- Tilmann Otto
- Born
- 19 April 1974
- Birthplace
- Osnabrück, Germany
- Nationality
- Germany.
- Occupation
- singer and musician.
- Fields
- reggae.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Tilmann Otto (born 19 April 1974), better known by his stage name Gentleman, is a German reggae musician.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Gentleman (born 1975) is a musician and singer, of German nationality. The musician was born in Osnabrück.
Gentleman worked in Cologne. Activity centred on music.
The work spans reggae. Languages used include German.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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Authority files
getty · 500332628 · gnd · 4156656-7 · museum · 8de4a831-7c25-4d34-90cf-254de0c36e49 · wikidata · Q452250
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Gentleman • Birth Name — Tilmann Otto • Born — 19 April 1974 • Birthplace — Osnabrück, Germany • Origin — Cologne, Germany • Genre — Reggae, roots reggae, dancehall, reggae fusion • Years Active — 1998–present • Label — Universal Music Group • Website — gentleman-music.com
Personal life
Personal life
Gentleman lives in the Neubrück area of Cologne. He is the son of a Lutheran pastor and is the father of two children named Samuel and Charly. He is married to Tamika, a singer which has supported him since his first concert tour of Germany in 2002. Although regularly on tour and in the studio, Gentleman generally considers himself a rather family oriented person, which becomes apparent in his music projects such as his long-player Journey to Jah, which was inspired by the birth of his first son Samuel. His song Mama from the collaborative album Conversations that he recorded with Ky-Mani Marley deals with his deep spiritual relationship to his mother.
Music
Music
• Illustration — Gentleman at the 2011 Ilosaarirock festival Gentleman has travelled 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. 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. 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 releasing music under the label Four Music he moved to Universal in 2010.
Albums
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 — – — – — – • 2017 — The Selection — 14 — 17 — 22 — – — – — – • 2020 — Blaue Stunde — – — – — – — – — – — – • 2022 — Mad World — – — – — – — – — – — – • 2026 — Gratitude — – — – — – — – — – — –
Singles
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 • 2017 — "Ovaload" (feat. Sean Paul) — 78 — – — – • 2017 — "Shake Away" — – — – — 71 • 2017 — "Roots" (RAF Camora feat. Gentleman) — 42 — 36 — 52 • 2017 — "iD" (Michael Patrick Kelly feat. Gentleman) — 57 — – — 60 • 2018 — "Like a Lion" (Mark Forster feat. Gentleman) — 38 — – — 64 • 2020 — "Devam" (featuring Luciano and Ezhel) — 9 — 27 — 48 • 2020 — "Schöner Tag" (with Sido) — 27 — 49 — 38
EPs
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
DVDs
• 2003: Gentleman & The Far East Band Live • 2011: Diversity Live
Identity
Identity
Gentleman is recorded as singer and musician. German reggae musician. Recognition and collections. Gentleman received Echo Pop Award for the Best National Rock/Pop Male Artist and Holger Czukay Pop Music Prize of the City of Cologne.

Gentleman during 5. Zelt(Open-Air)festival Rhein-Neckar at Reitstadion Maimarkt, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany on 2021-09-10,
Sven Mandel
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1975
Gentleman born at Osnabrück.
Discography
• Illustration — Gentleman at Chiemsee Reggae Summer 2013 • Illustration — Gentleman (2013)
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 4156656-7, Gentleman.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
- Getty Union List of Artist Names 500332628, Gentleman, John.
Unverified · The Getty Research Institute
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Gentleman
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q452250: Gentleman
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Kriesch, Adrian & Scholz, Jan-Philipp (2014) "German reggae in Africa, courtesy of Gentleman", Deutsche Welle, 26 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014
- 2.Gentleman Biography & History. AllMusic.
- 3.Gentleman Official Website. Recent album: Gentleman & Ky-Mani Marley - Conversations :: Bio english. www.gentleman-music.com.
- 4."Toots & the Maytals - True Love." Amazon. www.amazon.com. Web. . Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- 5.Bundesvision Song Contest. fan-lexikon.de.
- 6.Gentleman, Kitty Kat wechseln zu Universal.
- 7.Charts-Surfer: Suchergebnis.
- 8.Steffen Hung. Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal. Austriancharts.at.
- 9.Steffen Hung. Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community. Hitparade.ch.
- 10.Another Intensity by Gentleman - Music Charts. Acharts.us.
- 11.OLiS. Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart. 24 March 2016.
- 12.Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal. Austriancharts.at.
- 13.Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community. Hitparade.ch.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for GentlemanMetaBrainz Foundation
Verifiedauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 4156656-7, Gentleman.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedauthority file
Getty Union List of Artist Names 500332628, Gentleman, John.The Getty Research Institute
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
(MusicBrainz artist record for Gentleman) • Country: DE (MusicBrainz artist record for Gentleman) • Described As: German reggae musician (MusicBrainz artist record for Gentleman) • Kind Of Artist: person (MusicBrainz artist record for Gentleman) • Born: Gentleman was born in 1975.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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