To say African dancehall act Stonebwoy is excited about performing at Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay in July is an understatement. The singjay, who combines reggae and dancehall with traditional African beats, is eagerly awaiting his moment at the annual reggae festival.

He will become the second African artiste to perform on Sumfest, following Nigerian Patoranking who performed last year. It was an animated Stoneybwoy who sat down with Jamaica Observer‘s weekly Splash last Sunday following his performance at Best of The Best, held at the Mana Wynwood Convention Center in downtown Miami.

“For the Reggae Sumfest mi a come in with that reggae from Africa and that vibe from Africa mixed with the reggae in there as well. So, for Jamaicans who don’t even know, or even heard an African language, I’m gonna be singing a couple of songs in traditional languages. I gonna be teaching African language on the stage,” he noted.

For Stonebwoy, whose given name is Livingstone Etse Satekla, his attraction to Jamaican music came through his travels and being exposed to a wide range of musical genres.

“One ting me know is that this whole movement is not new. It has always been heard of, but I am a proper representation of its existence. Jamaican people know about Afro beats and the other type a song dem. Jamaican people know seh dem roots is in Africa and all the music that come from the continent. I was born in Ghana, grew up in Ghana, but I travelled around a lot so the influence of my music is not only Afro beats, but Afro beats that has the dancehall and reggae elements in there. History shows me where all these music come from, so I am a physical representation of that movement. We are one people, it’s just because of the slave trade and what that did. So now the culture is diverse. In these times music is a universal language and now it’s gonna get broader than just reggae music or just dancehall; right now it is the combination of all these musical forms that goes into creating my sound.”

Since launching his career, Stonebwoy has racked up an armoury of trophies and awards. These include Artist of the Year and Album of the Year from the Ghana Music Awards. He received Best International Act: Africa at the 2015 BET Awards.

Stonebwoy has also collaborated with Jamaican artistes.

“I have an album out that has I-Octane. I have also worked with Kabaka Pyramid, Sean Paul Agent Sasco, mi do a collaboration with Sizzla… whole heap a Jamaican artiste… Beenie Man, Christopher Martin, most of the Jamaican artiste dem. This is showing that the music all comes from one source,” said Stonebwoy.