The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment Desk continues with the 10th in its Child Month series highlighting some of Jamaica’s young performers who shot to stardom.

At 10 years old, singjay QQ grabbed the spotlight and became one of Jamaica’s breakout entertainers.

“When I speak of myself as a child, I tend to speak before I started music so before the age of nine… 10. [I was] very free, no care in this world, as any child should be. But, once I became an entertainer, even though I was still a child then, the roles changed. I say this because being a child entertainer in Jamaica was very difficult. While we have produced artistes before, doing music at a very tender age, many did not see or reap until they became adults, or later teenage years. Because of that, I was adamant in wanting to achieve a certain level of success at such a tender age,” QQ, now 28, told the Jamaica Observer.

This goal was, however, met with multiple challenges that he was not prepared for. He shared some of the hurdles he faced.

“In wanting this, one would’ve thought that being a child, it would’ve been easier ‘cause society always sympathises with children. But, the responsibilities I had as an entertainer were no different from that of my adult counterparts. It was a struggle because I wanted to get my name out there; thank God I had my support system, such as my father and others, who stood beside me throughout it all but I had to do stages shows,” said QQ, whose real name is Kareem Dawkins. “You would’ve thought because I was a child I would’ve gotten to perform first so I can go home and sleep but that wasn’t the case. I had to barge myself to perform at 4 o’ clock in the morning… 5 o’ clock in the morning to get a little shine on a stage. I remember there were times when the sun came out, that I was just going on stage so I could ‘bus’ a one tune and people could hear the name QQ and know that there’s a new artiste on the block.”

QQ got his big break with Poverty in 2005. This was followed by other hit songs including Stukie and Rum Ram. By the time he got to Calabar High School, he was popular and as part of his image, sported a braided hairstyle.

In keeping with school rules, he had to wear a tam to cover his flamboyant ‘do’.

“When I started Calabar, there was some sense of discomfort from the administration about my hair. I was very young, and just a few years prior, came back from England where the culture is very different. In the UK, you can go to school with your hair, as long as it is intact. For me, it was a unique situation, and before I was in prep school so I wouldn’t know of this issue,” QQ recalled. “Starting Calabar, I saw there was discomfort with the administration. They spoke about the school’s reputation and values, etcetera. So, an agreement was brought forward where I would wear a tam.”

He graduated with seven Caribbean Examinations Council (CSEC) subjects. Soon, the little boy became an adolescent, then an adult and with these changes, his image, lyrical content and voice changed.

QQ said it took fans some time to warm up to.

“Everybody had their differences in opinions about the change in the voice. There were some who believed that I would never really adjust because I started so young. [They thought] my voice would break and get horrible during performing,” he said. “There were some who were very supportive and said ‘just keep performing and practising — you’ll find your lane, you’ll find your space, you’ll find your true voice’. It’s rather ironic because when I went anywhere and sang Stukie, because Stukie was a very high-pitched song, and they listen out for me going to the ‘I like the way you move…’ and they heard this bass, they were like ‘what happened?’ But they were still enjoying the music because it’s timeless…,” QQ added.

After almost two decades in the industry, QQ has learnt many lessons. The most edifying is self-support and determination.

“You are your biggest supporter, you are your biggest motivation and you are also your biggest critic. I’ve been people’s number one for a while, and then I wasn’t. But, I’ve always made myself my number one in my life as an artiste and this I’ve used as a driving force. To keep me going, I always say to myself, ‘you have to do this…you have to motivate yourself’,” he said.