THOUGH he has been recording music for over 15 years, not much is known of singer Kenyatta Fire in Jamaica.
The Kingston-born artist migrated to Washington DC in 2004 and has done several self-produced songs and music videos.
He did double duty again on Son of a King, his latest song which he is pushing to a Jamaican audience.
“I haven’t had much success breaking into the Jamaican scene and that can only be my responsibility. The fans require the best and I had my work cut out for me to do just that,” he told Splash. “Time, however, is on our side.”
The video for Son of a King is scheduled to be released May 5 on Kenyatta Fire’s website. A mixtape of the same name, by collaborator Walshy Fire of Major Lazer, will also be available through that medium.
Like many contemporary artists, the mixtape has been a key promotional source for 31-year-old Kenyatta Fire, a graduate of Howard University.
However, within the last two years he has switched to producing videos on his website and YouTube to expose his songs, such as The Nearest Tide and Human Story.
His songs, he points out, have a consistent feel.
“It’s a sound that puts an emphasis on melodies, harmonious ballads and borderlines being commercial pop music. Our origins in music is of course reggae/dancehall, so there is a slight taste of that as well on every record,” he said.
Kenyatta Fire was born Daniel Terrelonge. Raised in Mandeville, he recalls listening to an eclectic playlist as a youth — Marley, Beres Hammond, Bounty Killer, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.
At Howard, he earned a degree in civil structural engineering. Even then, he yearned to emulate the artists he grew up listening to.
“I want to make records that have longevity and at the same time enable fans to sing along and dance to it,” he said.
–By Howard Campbell
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