MONTEGO BAY, St James — Montego Bay-based recording artiste, Kimberly Cuvilie, more popularly known as Destiny Sparta, is elated by the surge in popularity of Montegonian artistes and is looking to take her place among those breakout acts that have attracted local and international attention.

The Coral Gardens, St James native explained that from an early age she was surrounded by musicians and was inspired to do music.

“I attended Corinaldi Avenue Primary School and went on to Westwood High School and eventually transferred to Mt Alvernia High School and then on to Montego Bay High School, where I graduated with 7 CXC [Caribbean Examination Council] passes. I decided to do further studies and I enrolled at Montego Bay Community College and then Music Business Technology Institute, where I studied studio and audio engineering. I grew up in a musical environment though, and that pretty much sealed the deal for me. I was around musicians, both instrument players and singers. One of my mom’s friend had a studio and as a kid I used to hang around to watch everything that was going on. I was always an entertainer; at a young age I use to sing and dance at everybody’s party. I wrote my first song at about the age of 12 and from then I knew this is what I wanted to do,” Destiny explained.

Destiny lists her early musical influences as Lady Saw, Buju Banton, Bounty Killa, Patra, Ebony, Vybz Kartel and Aidonia, noting that they seemed larger than life and extremely talented.

With her goal of being among the nation’s top dancehall stars, Destiny entered Magnum Kings & Queens competition in 2009 and placed second.

“Placing second on Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall is my greatest achievement so far. It opened doors for me and provided exposure, as well as it broadened my fan base tremendously, both locally and overseas. I went on to perform locally and internationally with Tommy Lee. Other notable moments for me was my performance at Summa Sizzle 2018, where I got the opportunity to perform on stage with Tommy Lee, Aidonia , Konshens and ‘clash’ with Beenie Man — these are all entertainers that I emulate. So being on that platform was an overwhelming experience for me,” Destiny added.

She described her style as diverse because it’s hardcore, raunchy, but sometimes with an element of comedy and sometimes coming from a place of deep emotion. She believes this mix has what it takes to make her a household name.

“My goal in music is to become a household name and I believe my style can take me there. I’m also not afraid of being me and I embrace myself and this sets me apart from other artistes too. My style is uncensored, I’m not afraid to address taboo topics and I’m not afraid to be unapologetically myself either. What I want to achieve is to build a legacy that will lives on,” Destiny stressed.

“Another milestone that I really want to be accomplished is to be in a position to help other talented artistes because it’s a very tough industry and many talents are not given a fair opportunity to excel and their dreams just die,“ Destiny added.

She also talked about her writing process and artistes she would love to collaborate with.

“My writing process and influences comes from sometimes hearing a beat and the words just come, it’s like the beat is talking to me, it just flows without much thought and other times I will choose a topic and write around it. My songs are really influenced by day-to-day experiences, whether mine or what I observe. I may even overhear a conversation among people I’m passing by and it inspires something within. It would be awesome to match my creativity with artistes like Aidonia, Govana, Buju Banton, Dexta Daps, Vybz Kartel, Cardi B, Beenie Man, Bounty Killa and Marion Hall,” Destiny explained.

Destiny also gave a glimpse of current projects she’s working on and what keeps her motivated.

“I have a few singles on the way, One and Move In, Hustlers Anthem and a Dunce Man video will be out soon for that single. I’m currently working on an EP with tracks from Jay Crazie, Falmouth Dinesty Records and Que Da Wiz. I have a Canadian tour planned for October, dates to be announced at the end of this month. I will be finishing up a movie that I’m starring in called, A Mansion and The Pimp, that’s a Hungry Man Film Production and also Night Rogue, which is a new Trinidadian series to be aired on GT Network, based in New York,” the artiste said.