Dancehall artiste Thugy, a son of dancehall icon Johnny P, returned to Jamaica on Friday for the first time in two years since the death of his older brother, John Ross.

“This is my first time back in the island since that incident, and it’s a bit painful to know that I won’t be seeing my big bredda, John Ross, but that’s life. He was stabbed to death two years ago and around that same time, I also lost a cousin, Davino aka Bruno, to gun violence. My father, Johnny P and the whole family went through a rough patch over that period of time,” he said.

Thugy’s older brother, John Ross, was an aspiring artiste who went by the moniker, John Pezzle.

“He was just venturing into music as an artiste, ah mi real general that, he inspired me to do this. My cousin also wrote poetry and he would give me lines to perform and brainstorm songs with me, so I am doing music to honour their memories cause they motivated me to do music,” he said.

Thugy’s father Johnny P was a famous dancehall artiste from the 1990s known for hits such as ‘Bike Back’, ‘Cut Up’, ‘Look Good’, and ‘Ital Jockey’.

Thugy will be performing at a show called ‘I Rate Dancehall All White’ at the Luxury Lounge at 33 Hagley Park Road on Friday. The show will also feature fast rising dancehall star Kant10T, Thesarus and several other artistes. Music will be provided by CD Shamrock.

“I am coming to the club to shell it,” he said.

He is now signed to McDonz Records, and he plans to announce his arrival on the music scene with a raft of bouncy new singles designed to make a big impression in dancehall in 2023.

Last week, he performed at an event dubbed ‘I Rate Dancehall’ at a club called Vibez in Panama City, Florida.

Dressed in a white t-shirt with a blue-and-white jacket, blue jeans and blue sneakers, Thugy delivered a high energy set that included his street bangers, Dark World, Dinero, and Black Billionaire Boy.

Working every square inch of stage like a consummate professional, he danced up a storm as he earned a forward for the Black Billionaire Boy, forcing the selector to pull up the rhythm.

“Don’t ramp wid mi badness,” he declared to gun finger salutes from the audience,

“Ah Johnny P ah mi father, look how mi look!” he shouted as he turned up the energy in the venue while the audience sang the chorus of ‘Black Billionaire Boy’.

Music was provided at the event by selectors Ikel Marvlus and Flabba Dabba under the Team Shella brand , as well as DJ Chad Global and Tevin Di Juggla.

Thugy grew up in Waterford in Portmore, St Catherine. He attended Greater Portmore High for five years, and then matriculated to St Catherine High for sixth form. He chose the stage moniker, Thugy, because it reflects his philosophy towards music business and life.

He recorded his first single, a collaboration called ‘Humble’ which was released on February 23, 2020. He released an EP in 2022 called ‘Journey Start’ which can be found on all digital platforms.