Born on March 18,1969 in Portland, Jamaica, I am the 7th of nine children for my parents. I grew up in the deep rural district of Bybrook in Portland. My talent as a singer\songwriter emerged very early during my childwood years. I would sing at almost all community events such as church and school concerts. It was at about age 11 that I started to take the music seriously. Back then, the sound systems were very popular and one-drop reggae\dancehall rhythms were in full swing. In my town there was a sound called TRILLER TONE HI-FI and I was one of the top DJ on it. I was known then as Nelly Culture. This went well and I began to gain popularity as a DJ. At age 15, though, I got a scholarship to attend ST.MARY HIGH SCHOOL and I subsequently shifted focus from music to academics. My love for reggae music was, however, not affected by this shift in focus.

It was during my high school years that my song writing skills matured. I also switched from being a DJ to being singer. After completing High School in 1989 I Migrated to Kingston and landed my first job as an Import Clerk at the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). While at STATIN, I met Garfield Lewis (a co-worker) who after realizing my ability as a singer introduced me to Producer and Studio Engineer G. Bravo of Leggos Recording Studio on Orange Street, Kingston. I began recording for Bravo and a couple of my tracks like “Jah Jah love”, “running around” and a remake Gregory Isaacs’ “not the way [to treat a lady]” were release on Bravo’s SmallWorld label. These releases, although never made any big impact, still brought some attention to my work.!!!!!!!!!

How I Started

In 1991 I left STATIN and started working as a technician with the Jamaica Telephone Company, now known as Cable & Wireless Jamaica. Soon after, I link up with the Company’s band and did a couple gigs with them. Towards the late 90s while still working with the Phone Company I met Tony Nicholson at his Old Hope Recording Studio in Kingston. This extraordinary musician/producer/singer/songwriter who has been in the music arena for many years was quite focus on developing young talents and I instantly became a part of his Roadside Production Company. We started working together, recording and producing songs for his Roadside Production Label. There were other artists like Zaro and Singing Chris in the camp. By the year 2002 Roadside Production released a compilation cd titled “Sampler” which featured two of my tracks, “need your love” and “poor man”. I gained some much needed exposure in the business by way of air play on local radio stations and a couple of Gigs on Jamaica’s North Coast as a result of this project.

Music

While I still hold down a 8 to 5 with Cable & Wireless I am still very much involve in the music. My aim is to bring love and peace to the world through reggae music. Reggae is the heartbeat of the people and I with my songs and sound will be a significant part of the energy that keeps that heartbeat going.

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