As the child of a Jamaican, Boney Derrington heard a lot of reggae growing up in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York. He belted out the chorus to Madoo’s 1979 hit song Jamming So as an example of his early introduction to Jamaican culture.

“I heard that every day, man. Every day,” he said with a laugh.

The lanky singer/rapper was in Kingston recently shopping his latest songs, Tomorrow, Isis and Profile.

Over the years, he has made numerous trips to his mother’s homeland, but this time around it was strictly business.

“It’s necessary for Jamaicans to give you the OK. Jamaicans are the toughest crowd in the world,” he stated.

For the past two years, Boney Derrington has been based in Margate, a city in the heart of South Florida’s West Indian community. He went there for a two-week visit but was so taken with the area’s Caribbean vibe that he returned and now calla it home.

“The reggae scene here is much bigger than in Jamaica. It’s also more Caribbean here than in New York… you can feel the Caribbean in your backyard, it’s that kind of vibe,” said Boney Derrington.

His latest songs are from Tomorrow, a five-song EP released in January. On it he collaborates with producers Solstarr, a Miami-based Jamaican, and XL Beatz from Ghana.

Since he began recording songs almost 20 years ago Derrington has tried to emulate his hip hop/dancehall heroes who include Heavy D and Super Cat.

“I listened to everything back in Brooklyn, but that’s what really got me going and made me want to be an artiste,” he said.

Born Derrington Hill Bay, Boney Derrington’s father is Haitian. His mother was raised in St Ann, Clarendon and Kingston.