Rapper/deejay Shifta has done his share of collaborations. His latest is So in Love, a song produced by Arizona Slim Beats, that features Jah Cure.

Released in February, So in Love marks the first time Shifta has worked with the embattleed singer, who he has known for several years. Jah Cure is currently serving a six-year prison sentence after being convicted of attempted manslaughter in The Netherlands.

“The link was made from my brothers, Fras Twinz [Terefe and Tekle Mason], who were working with Jah Cure, which is how we all became friends and would hang out often,” he said.

Shifta has middled the road between hip hop and dancehall since the 1990s, recording songs with rappers Lil Wayne and Flo Rida, Australian singer Che’Nelle and several dancehall acts such as Konshens.

His appreciation for both genres stems from living in both the United States and Jamaica.

Shifta says he was born in Miami but, at age three, came to Jamaica, where his Ethiopian father, Daddy Fras, operated Pipper’s Records.

Based in Miami, Shifta (real name Shifta Mason) says there is not much difference between the Magic City and Jamaica in terms of dancehall energy.

“It’s basically like a second Jamaica, so many Caribbean people reside there [Miami] and our culture is very influential in food, events, and the list goes on,” is how he describes his hometown.

Shifta and Fras Twinz followed their father’s path into the music business. In the 1980s and 1990s, Pipper Records produced songs by a number of artistes, including Reggie Stepper, Lady Saw, Degree, Nardo Ranks, and Pinchers.

In 2005 Shifta fared well in Jamaica with Ganja Shop, an ode to the good weed.

Nine years later came You & I, an EP with Che’Nelle, which yielded two well-received singles in Do You Wanna and the title song.