I grew up in uptown Jamaica; I went to a rich school. I was raised by my mother and my stepfather; they made sure education came before anything. I had a good childhood, grew up spending time with my bigger brothers and sisters. My people are good people. I was exposed to a lot of different kinds of people and culture.

The average man can't prove most of the things that he chooses to speak of, and still won't research and find out the root of the truth that you seek of

I like singing all songs, really, but I find that writing social commentary comes naturally.

The UK crowds always have a lot of energy, and I've done some milestone shows there that I'm very proud of.

I used to buy records in high school. Mainly dancehall: Super Cat, Buju Banton.

In Jamaica, them always have throwback riddims, recycled old beats, and the hardcore reggae scene is always present. You have faster stuff like the more commercialized stuff, but you always have that segment of music that is always from the core, from the original root of it. This year, you have seen a lot of it explode on the international scene. It's great. People are looking for something different. Maybe there was too much of one thing, and now they're looking for something fresh.

Technology has changed things, same as everywhere. But the economy has changed drastically. When Jamaica first won independence, our dollar was stronger than the U.S. dollar. Now ours is about 90 to one. That's had a big impact on crime and poverty.