FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Eighteen years after migrating to the United States of America from Jamaica, upcoming dancehall artiste and businessman Roniel “Shawnie876” Lewis has decided to take a leap of faith by moving back home to pursue his passion for music.

Shawnie876, now a resident of Falmouth, told the Jamaica Observer West that the decision to return home “was an easy one” as he eyes many opportunities for his career in the local music industry.

One such opportunity, the 28-year-old pointed out, is the need for his digital distribution company, Doseofit, as he believes a lot of young artistes need assistance in “pushing their music out there”.

“I moved back and I brought my business with me, so what I will be doing is digital distribution, branding and marketing. I have noticed that a lot of youth in Jamaica do not really have a way to put their music out professionally,” he argued.

Pointing out that he obtained an education in audio engineering while living in the US, Shawnie876 said this has encouraged him to offer these services so young artistes like himself can learn and benefit more from the business side of the music industry.

“I did go to school for music; audio engineering to be [exact], and it also came with the educational part on releasing music and distribution, so I know the whole business side of music. I noticed that this was something that most Jamaican [artistes] are missing out on. They’re talented but they don’t have their paperwork together, so they end up turning old and never collect any royalties. So what I will be doing is opening a digital distribution centre for artistes who either have a song and they want it to be distributed properly or they already have the music, and they just need push,” Shawnie876 explained.

Labelling music as his therapy, the songwriter said music has helped him through depression, and now, he hopes to use his music to inspire every individual whose ears it reaches.

“Music is like a therapy for me because I used to be depressed a lot, and the little times when I wasn’t depressed, I used to be very positive, so I started taking that positivity and I started to use it and put it in songs. So, [now], my music is basically inspiration for the youth,” he told the Observer West, adding that his fans call him Street Motivator.

One such song, he shared, is his single titled Hold On. The track serves as his personal theme song because of the encouraging messaging behind it, he told the Observer West.