CONNECTICUT-BASED reggae artiste, Sledge, is looking forward to renewing his Jamaican roots and performing on stage here.

“Performing in Jamaica gives you a different vibes. When you are on stage it’s either you deliver or leave the stage,” he laughingly told the Observer, adding that part of the challenge is knowing that “the Jamaican crowd no romp fi boo you off if you not holding your own”.

Sledge, however, says he knows he has what it takes to please the crowd and that’s why he can’t wait for that to happen. “I was invited to perform on Western Consciousness, but I had other obligations… but that would have been something to face that kind of audience,” he shared.

The artiste, who has been dubbed the Reggae Ranger by his peers in Connecticut, was born in Rae Town and grew up in the Grants Pen area.

Sledge says he can remember singing from as far back as age five. “I was a talented child who used to sing on the tables at school and also in church,” he said.

For Sledge, music means more than just “putting something out there”.

According to him: “Music is what I love… it gives me the opportunity to express myself and show love to the people. My music is for the healing of people all over the world. I want to use it to unite everyone and help make the world a better place.”

The singer says there has only been one low point in his musical sojourn and that was in 1992 when he entered the Tastee Talent contest, lost his nerve and ran right off the stage.

Chuckling now at the memory, Sledge says he has come a long way since then, as that experience has taught him to be better prepared before touching the stage.

Following his Tastee embarrassment, he was the lead singer in the group Power Play opening for a lot of Tastee Talent shows. Upon leaving Power Play, Sledge headed several groups such as Cosmic Crew and emceed numerous events before going solo.

Sledge has seen his career moving up a notch as he has opened for top artistes such as R&B greats Bobby Womack and Cuba Gooding Snr on The New England Music Festival and the Fourth annual Taste of The Caribbean and Jerk Festival in Hartford CT respectively.

Sledge released his debut album, After the Storm, a few months ago and he says it has been doing well. He has been receiving good reviews all over the United States and Great Britain and it is enjoying heavy downloads on iTunes.

The artiste, who describes himself as “pretty laid back”, says his music is meant to soothe.

“One lady came up to me one day and said ‘thank you’. I asked her what she was thanking me for and she said, ‘because I was going through a rough time and your song helped me’,” shared Sledge, who said he was humbled by the experience, but at the same time satisfied as his music was doing what he wanted it to.

Among Sledge’s releases are some Nashville covers entitled Take Me There, — Find Out Who Your Friends Are and No Better Than I a fusion of folksy pop and reggae denouncing any entitlement via wealth or youth, and demanding human dignity for rich and poor.

The artiste is presently working on new materials, but for the time being he says, “I am just content to allow my album to penetrate the market.”