DIMYSTRO- Most recording artistes tend to write their biographies from a third person perspective, which is such a farce as it distances oneself from what is intensely personal. For this reason I have decided to tell you about myself and have you know that it is coming directly from me.
I was born in the Caribbean on the beautiful island of Jamaica. Music has always been a part of my life as far as I can remember, whether directly or indirectly. My dad owned a sound system when I was a child, some of the records I still have today. I remember listening to him speak of Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder and others in the same breath, which made me realize from an early age that music should never be boxed up and limited in the way it is expressed. For those who don’t know what a sound system is; “A sound system is a group of disc jockeys, engineers and MCs playing Ska, Rocksteady or Reggae music. The sound system scene is regarded as an important part of Jamaican cultural history and has been responsible for the rise of several modern Jamaican musical Genres.”(Wikipedia) Today the definition stretches much further, as other genre of music including R&B and Pop, are now very vibrant in the Jamaican dancehall community. Most people outside Jamaica are not aware of the diversity in our culture as our motto reveals “Out of many one people”. This I believe has impacted the diversity of the Jamaican air waves and provided me with the opportunity as a child growing up in Jamaica to be able to listen to not only Reggae, which was the main genre but also Rap, Hip Hop, Pop, R&B, Rock, Classical music, and just about anything else I could get my hands on.
In Reminiscence of my days at elementary school, every opportunity which presented itself to showcase my talent would be grasped as I would battle with some other child in an attempt to acquire the title of hottest lyricist. I also remember performing for my teachers, who at one point got me gigs performing at other schools. It was at that moment I knew what I wanted to do. But as we all know, life does not always go according to plan. I was once told by my mother to get the idea of being a Reggae artiste out of my head and for that I thank her, as that statement was probably responsible for me being where I am today. Like most parents, my mother wanted to see her child become a doctor or lawyer or undertake other studies that would lead to a profession that is considered safe. Though this is as we now see, not the case, it is always done with the utmost love. By pushing me in that direction I was forced to broaden my horizon and acquire new experiences which helped me to realize that whether or not I wanted to admit it, I probably would not have gone far back then as an artiste as my skills were whack (lol) compared to the more established artistes. Upon moving to the United States, I was exposed to an even more diverse culture. Living in NY was a blessing as there is arguably no place more culturally diverse than this city. This was when my style of writing and delivery started changing. As an artiste I hate being caged inside a box, I also dislike when individuals try to define music in such narrow terms. My style is more of a fuse of Reggae with everything else. I like the idea of blending which makes the outcome more interesting.
When creating beats, I rarely think about the instruments I use as I usually utilize what sounds good to me at that moment. When writing I tend to tell a story and paint a picture. I tend to write a lot about my experiences or other people’s experiences that I have come in contact with, as I believe everyone has a story to tell. Sometimes it is serious and sometimes just plain fun. It is never meant to be offensive but then again these days it doesn’t take much to offend some people lol. Sometimes it is soft depending on the mood I’m in and what’s going on around me and at other times hard.
I consider all my fans friends, and welcome everyone’s suggestions concerning where they would like to see me take the next song etc. I want to share this journey with all who listens, downloads, or even purchases a CD with my music as I create music that I love in the hope that you will love it too.
Please share your thoughts and feel free to ask any questions you might have or just hit me up just to say hi by leaving a comment in my guessbook along with an email address. Thanks for all your support!!
The name: DIMYSTRO
Many of my friends have been asking about the name DIMYSTRO and how it came about.
The name DIMYSTRO comes from The Maestro. My Jamaican friends and family started pronouncing it as Di Mystro, which in turn I took as: DIMYSTRO