I was born in Highgate, St Mary in a small district called Gully Road, where I grew up with my father. My mother left when I was just seven years old and up to that time I lived with my mother, my father, my two sisters and two younger brothers. When she was leaving I was the only one who stayed back with my father. I chose to stay because I was closer to my father and I couldn’t see why she had to leave. I really didn’t want her to leave either.

Growing up with my father I had to learn to do things for myself that normally my mom would do for me. So from very early I was doing all the washing, cooking and all them tings. We lived in a one bedroom house with no electricity, so we had to use candles and of course we had to make sure to out the candles before we go to bed at nights. To press my uniform I had to use coal iron.

At that time I was attending the Highgate Primary and Junior High School and despite my circumstances I was able to do exceptionally well in class. When I got to grade six that was when I was introduced to music. I started singing in the Boys’ Choir. I passed my GSAT to attend the St Mary High School where I started to deejay and dance. I also formed a boys’ group called Unique Boys. We perfomed at festivals and won a number of gold medals until about Grade 10, the group broke up and I had to go solo.

At that time I was called “Thriller” performing on many shows like Bling Dog Summer Jam, Regatta, Fully Loaded, Teen Splash, St Mary Me Come From and many other local shows.

After a while this started to affect my school work, so my academic standards started to drop. I started to skull class, missing a lot of classes because of the music, linking with older youth. I got a little carried away, picked up the habit of smoking and at one point, I had a nervous breakdown in school. I started behaving a way because there was a lot of peer pressure and CXC’were coming up and I realised I had wasted so much of time in school. It was because I pick up big man lifestyle before time. I had many girlfriends and not focusing on school work and at the last moment trying to catch up back just wasn’t working and all a dem tings deh get to me. I did sick out mentally in hospital.

I eventually recovered from that and wrote a song about it.

“It’s Thriller, you know me no partial.

De day me take sick and reach hospital

Naw watch no face cause me well hortical

Me all hear say me a mad over gal

Stray from reality and collapse pon de street

Spend a week a hospital now me back pon de street

Bus a tune, watch me fans a rock pon de beat

Dem say Lapidus give me crack inna weed

If a true den me couldn’t come back pon me feet

Me woulda walk and nyam outta garbage heap.”

After that now, I left school without any subjects and still continue doing the music. I migrated to Kingston and made a link with Gadaffe and he produced a song with me called Weed Head. It got some airplay on the radio — Big A, Sunshine and Digital Chris played it up for me. But after a while things just start go bad. Confusion came into play again, start get fight from a lot of artistes around me till things got so bad that my life was threatened. So I had to leave that camp and went back to Ocho Rios where I stayed with my mom for some weeks. I eventually got a work as a security and a gardener. Really a caretaker for a house, which belonged to this lady who went overseas for a while.

I then got a call from “Baller” Ruckus Records, another producer and a good friend of mine who told me about the Red Stripe Project Artist. I auditioned and got selected where I am now pursuing my career.

This has been a great experience. I couldn’t ask for anything better cause it’s a programme designed to help innercity youth with talent to pursue their career, learn about the music business, all aspects of the music business from the academics to the practical part of it, like performing. They also send us to Edna Manley where I’ve been getting voice training. I have been learning about melodies, keys, basically everything that it takes to be a professional entertainer.

Since coming to Kingston, I am on a mission. My father and my mother are depending on me and also my fans from St Mary. I can’t let them down and I intend to do my best to make my dream a reality!!!