It is no coincidence that disc jockey/artiste ZJ Liquid named his first EP Mobay Son. He was born and raised in St James, where that tourist mecca is located, before relocating to Kingston, 16 years ago.

Mobay Son is due for release today on iTunes and H2O Records/Johnny Wonder 21st. It features 12 songs including collaborations with Tifa, Demarco, Konshens, and Noah Powa.

Some of the songs include the hit Dem Nuh Like We, Tightest (in the World), Put Yuh Body Pon Me, Doing it Well, Call Me and Bubble, and Wifey Walk Out, which were also popular.

Seanizzle, Kelstone, White God Records, Truck Back Records, Kurt Riley and ZJ Liquid’s H2O Records, produced songs for Mobay Son.

ZJ Liquid recently returned from Europe, where he did a three-week promotional blitz for Mobay Son. He performed in Belgium, Slovakia, Spain, The Netherlands, and Austria.

“Europe gave a different vibe about the music. It showed how powerful reggae and dancehall music are, and how persons have embraced our culture. It was a humbling feeling and we need to protect it. There is a very big market out there for the music,” he said.

Though he is known by many in music circles as a DJ, ZJ Liquid first tested his skills as an artiste in the early 2000s when he recorded for producer Ralston Barrett’s BIG Productions. He also did songs for Renaissance Disco’s Jazzy T and Delly Ranx.

Like most radio DJs, ZJ Liquid (given name Michael Brissett) got into music by ‘spinning’ on hometown sound systems.

“I started out as a DJ at Pier One (in Montego Bay). I was responsible for the music on Friday nights along with Jason Russell. We were on a ‘sound’ called In Excess. I also worked with Pieces Disco,” he recalled.

His foray into radio came on Hot 102 FM where he did a stint from 1999–2000 as DJ Lippo. Shortly after, his big break came.

“I got a call from Karl Young (founder/owner of Irie FM) to come and work at ZIP FM. I went to see him and then he sent me to Kingston to meet with the programmes manager, and that’s how I started at ZIP,” said Liquid.

He quickly fit in at the emerging radio station, which played the hottest songs in dancehall. ZJ Liquid became one of the biggest names on radio, but gradually returned to music production and recording.

“I started producing music around 2004 with DJ Wayne and Don Corleon. I did the French Vanilla rhythm which was very successful,” ZJ Liquid recalled.

French Vanilla featured hits such as Crazy Hype by Elephant Man and Girls Gone Wild by Assassin. His follow-up beats included Slow Bounce, 12 Gauge, Hello Moto, Man Fi Dead, Blue Tooth, Good Book, Fix Up, and Malibu.

Among his other hit singles as a producer are Hello Moto by Vybz Kartel, Too Much Gun (Busy Signal), How High (Mavado) and Can’t Believe by Kranium featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Wiz Kid.