Skan King, up-and-coming Reggae and Dancehall artiste, was introduced to music in church when at age nine he realised that he could sing.

He shared with OBSERVER ONLINE that his choir director also saw his talent and pushed him to go to rehearsals, which resulted in him going places to represent his church.

Skan King, given name Omarie Sawyers, explained that he grew to write music at the age of 16.

“I started writing culture music, because I had a friend who lived very close to my house in Spanish Town when I was living there and he was of great influence to me. When writing I would start free-styling at first, I like to free style, and then I write stuff,” he said.

When it came to making the decision to start a career in music, Skan King said he did not consider it until he was a student at the University of Technology (UTECH) Jamaica.

“I really decided [to start a music career] when I went to university, I went to UTECH and I was singing for the university, I was the lead singer. And everywhere I went to represent the school people would always say, ‘Yute you’re a good artiste, why you don’t pursue your own?’ so I took it up on myself to start doing music professionally. I was about 23 at that time,” Skan King explained

He gave his career a boost while he attended the university as he disclosed that he would keep small events on the campus on Friday evenings where other up-and-coming artistes would participate.

“I used to have a fruits business with a friend while going to UTECH, so on Fridays we used to just hol’ a vibe and put out the boxes. We used to have some up-and-coming artiste who would come and hold a vibration with us so from there Skan King was known at UTECH,” the 31-year-old said.

The artiste described his music career as one that is timely but progressing. He stated that he is in no rush to make it big but is enjoying his passion and where it leads.

“I am here just taking things one step at a time. So far I have done a mix tape, which should be released by the latest July or August. I have two singles out now, and I am working on a 5-track EP. The two singles are ‘Ghetto Yutes’ which was released on November 28, 2021 and the second one was released in February called ‘Fi Di Yutes’,” Skan King disclosed.

“The reception has been good so far. Because of Ghetto Yutes, I received the mix tape and its some friends in England who are promoting that mix tape so I am getting that highlight so far. And shortly we will be booking some touring but I am working on some more singles to come,” he added.

With Bob Marley as his number one influence, followed by other artistes such as Damion ‘Jr Gong’ Marley, Steven Marley, Bounty Killer, Burning Spears, Peter Tosh and  Sizzla Kalonji, Skan King said that he only wants use his music to help others, while maintaining the culture of Reggae.

“What I would love to achieve is to maintain the culture and put out good music that people can gravitate to; both the poor and the rich, everybody from the old to the young. So I am here to produce good music, the kind that people can enjoy and love. Otherwise I just want to make that change where I am able to help a next person through music. Whichever way it helps them,” Skan King said.

The up-and-coming artiste, who disclosed that he got his name from ‘Easy Skanking’, a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers, explained to OBSERVER ONLINE how he remains inspired in spite of changes in the musical landscape.

“[My inspiration] comes from just life, nature and experiences. I write about a lot of experiences because reality is where everything happens,” he said.

“To me I am not the only one going through my experiences, therefore when I write about it and express it, people will gravitate towards it because they are probably going through the same thing or worse. I just write from the heart what I have gone through and what I hope to accomplish not only for myself but others too,” the up-and-coming artiste said.

Skan King’s music can be found on YouTube and all other music-sharing and streaming platforms.