There’s an unexplainable level of comfort that accompanies growth, and for dancehall artiste Ding Dong, years in the entertainment industry have allowed him the good fortune of that confidence.

He sat down with the Jamaica Observer and was as relaxed as they get. Surprisingly so, considering the artiste is getting ready to release his debut album. With the stakes perhaps the highest they’ve ever been throughout his career, Ding Dong was calm, cool, and collected as he outlined that all his ‘stars are now aligned’.

“I feel like nothing happens before the time, and I think I have… reached a point in my career where I can say now is the time for an album. I never wanted to rush it and run to put out any old thing, I wanted to create a trust with the fans who have listened to me throughout the years…” he said.

“I know without a doubt that I am a rounded artiste and everybody is seeing that now, and the album going to seal up everything. Truth is, if you don’t have a body of work, you don’t get put among the elites. This project is going to show my growth and how I have been able to maintain my… relevance in dancehall,” he continued.

The dancer-turned-artiste, who has established himself as a vibrant life force in dancehall, says having built a reputation for fun while nurturing an appetite for dance among his listenership, the project, dubbed From Ding Dong to World Ding, will honour his core.

“The album will show the growth not just in the music but my growth as a friend, as a husband, as a father, as a leader. You’re going to see me, and it’s going to take you to different places while still keeping you grounded… he said. “Fun is the main component of the album. We nah go lose that. That is what people know me for, and I accept my role in dancehall. I am the person that you go to when you want to have a good time and just vibe and dance and let go. But I still have to show with this album — using the sounds and everything — that I can do that and a whole lot more, and do it extremely well.”

Indicating that the project will include a gospel and Afrobeat track, Ding Dong says he poured his all into the set and is now waiting to see how far it goes.

Still, the entertainer is not keen on highlighting specific expectations. For him, he just wants to put out the best compilation he can and watch it do the rest.

“There are 13 songs on the album, all mixed and mastered by Black Spyda. The song dem heavy and mi have a couple of bad features. One of my favourite songs on the project is a song with Vanessa Bling, a gospel track, and mi have an Afrobeat pan it with an African artiste. We have Skillibeng, Stalk Ashley, mi bro Govana, Skeng, Busta…so it fully packed,” he said. “God ago carry it. Once me do the work, mi nuh worry bout nothing else.”

The Fling artiste may be leaving the album’s success in the hands of fate but, like every entertainer with big dreams, he still wants to earn a level of international success.

By his standards, that looks like the kind of crossover fame attained by the likes of Sean Paul, Shaggy, Vybz Kartel, Beenie Man, Elephant Man, and most recently Shenseea and Skillibeng.

“Mi nuh get the run yet inna di international market ennu. Mi have some songs weh reach; and when mi say this people might say ‘him ungrateful eeh’ or ‘him wicked’, [but] believe me, mi grateful for everything weh God gimme, but mi just know what it is out there to get an international run and I don’t get it yet,” he charged. “A Sean Paul and Shaggy level of success mi a pree.”

With endorsements from numerous local corporate giants, Ding Dong has made himself an ally for numerous brands. He expressed that with many dancehall artistes having limited themselves through their image and message, he takes delight in being a standard-bearer.

“What I try to do with my career is show the yutes dem say yuh can be a dancehall artiste and represent without singing about certain things. The culture set a way that it makes you believe you can’t be successful as a dancehall artiste if yuh not singing about certain things, but the world is so big,” he said. “Mi have too much respect for the companies and brands I am aligned with, and dem have so much respect for me, that I don’t feel like I can do certain things… So I stay grounded.”

Happy with his development over the past two decades, Ding Dong urged fans to grab a copy of his album when it hits mainstream platforms on May 2.

He maintained that it will have them in a good mood from start to finish.

Ding Dong

Ding Dong