WE Pray, a collaboration between Popcaan and Dre Island is arguably one of the hottest songs currently on the local entertainment scene.

The single is taken from Dre Island’s upcoming project called Now I Rise and features production works from E5 Records. We Pray was released in August.

“This is my first official production ever. People know Dre Island as an engineer but hardly ever see me in this light,” he told Jamaica Observer.

A trained musician Dre Island said he never had any expectations for the song — he just hoped for the best.

“We both went into the studio and did our best. It wasn’t just about recording a song together, it was about getting it right,” he said.

Dre Island (given name Andre Gordon) was raised in Common, a tough inner-city community close to the Red Hills Road area of St Andrew. He said was surrounded by music, listening to area ‘elders’ like deejays Red Dragon, Flourgon, and Daddy Lizard.

“Dre is a Rastaman who is all about doing the work that his majesty set for me. I embrace all of his teachings and highlight it through music,” he said.

Close to his home was producer Danny Browne’s Main Street Records, a hit factory during the 1990s. But while he was into dancehall, much of Dre Island’s teen years were spent learning classic piano at Trinity College in England.

The turning point in his career came in January 2010 at the Shaggy and Friends show at King’s House when he made a cameo appearance with deejay Ding Dong as a part of a choir.

He is currently working on other singles which will make up the track listing for his upcoming project.