American singer/songwriter King Jazzy teams with dancehall artiste Ding Dong on his new single, Ride In, for Electric Sticky Productions.

Done on the Teacher Love ‘riddim’, King Jazzy, who is in his early 30s, said the link with Ding Dong came through popular sound system selector Foota Hype.

“I was in town and we were hanging out before his regular Wednesday night event. I was running some song ideas by him and he suggested the collaboration. The next evening we recorded Ride In at Gargamel studio,” he recalled.

The song is accompanied by a video produced by Star58 Films and edited by King Jazzy.

Born in New York, King Jazzy (real name Benjamin Lamberti) relocated to Jamaica with his family at age seven, settling in St Mary. He currently lives between Jamaica and Detroit.

He said Jamaican culture was a big part of his upbringing.

“My mother always listened to reggae classics, even in America. But growing up and attending school in Jamaica is what put me into dancehall culture,” King Jazzy explained. “My stepfather owned and operated a sound system and was an area party promoter. I like all music and hip hop culture definitely raised me. Living in cities like Miami and New York, dancehall-reggae was always present.”

King Jazzy has two albums to his credit: Jazzifrass, released in 2006, and Jazzwah which came out two years later.

Gravity, Mi Fi Yu and Plain Clothes are some of his better-known songs.

— Kevin Jackson