Just over two weeks after the release of his breakout single, Pump Up, fast-rising dancehall artiste Soun Bwoii is already a trending deejay.

The song, which he said was initially a “gas station ordeal”, later became a popular ‘ladies anthem’ which saw the views skyrocketing to more than one million on YouTube and was ranked No. 19 on the local YouTube Trending chart after two weeks.

“I feel like that song in particular is bringing back authenticity [to] dancehall. I feel like people are starting to appreciate the song itself more, more than just having the visuals. And it’s been surreal; the fact that people really just want to listen to the song and enjoy the song for what it is, it’s mind blowing, honestly,” he said.

“I had a run in with someone, and I got the idea at a gas station for Pump Up. And I wanted to use a concept that you don’t typically hear anyone saying. So me being a person weh love woman, waah mek it in a girl chune. So it just worked out that the same time I got the beat; it just flowed right into it,” he added.

On TikTok, the song continues to trend with more than 70,000 people creating videos and a viral dance challenge to the song which amass to more than two million views.

“I just feel like now is a time where I just need to capitalise. I feel like people love the song, people need to love me now as a person and understand, you know, who is the artiste, why should we love this artiste,” said Soun Bwoii. He has his eyes set on becoming a household name, by providing quality music similar to some of his musical influencers such as Sean Paul.

“I feel like longevity is key for me and the people who I look up to, they have long, great, successful careers, and that’s what I want for myself. But not only to just have a successful career, but to represent my country,” he said.

At age eight, he starred at an audition for the popular Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall talent show when he turned up with his father, Lamar ‘Skid’ Dixon, who is also a musician.

“With no business being there, I went there and I don’t know what idea my father had, but I trusted him and he just made me go. I was singing outside and caught the attention of the actual judges and for whatever reason, they had me in there; but I really surprised them. And I remember one of the judges was like, ‘Your career is gonna reach far’. And I took that, I used stuff like that to fuel my career. He just told me, ‘Be patient, be humble and you’re gonna go far in this industry’,” he recollected. Though the affirmations were a motivating force, he said that from he was mumbling words, “I just knew like this [music] was gonna be it”.

“I played basketball [and a lot of] other stuff but I feel like music was the way I was gonna project my talent to the world so people can see me and love me for music,” said Soun Bwoii, whose given name is Umar Dixon.

One of his musical goals is to use his infused cultural blend to “bridge the gap between Jamaican music and the world [by] making the songs relatable again to the international market without losing its authenticity”. He suggested that artistes should make some of the music more relatable for people, “so Jamaica can be branded and have more respect than we already have now when it comes to this dancehall genre”.

Soun Bwoii, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, has been traversing between Jamaica and America all his life but his formal education was garnered from the Calabar and York Castle high schools. He later studied at a performing arts school in America where he was “classically trained” to play instruments such as the piano.

His five-year plan in music is to score big on the international scene and make ‘dancehall’ a Grammy-nominated genre.

Reference From: Jamaica STAR