Hezron

Singer and songwriter who took the long way into reggae, by way of a decade singing R&B in the United States. Born Hezron Clarke in True Gully, a village between Moy Hall and Tower Hill in St James, he grew up in a family yard where money was short and food got shared across households, and in a family where his grandfather, his mother, an uncle and his brothers all sang.

He was in the church choir at about seven and writing poetry at the same age, pulled toward dancehall as he got older, and had an uncle whose Mutabaruka records were part of the furniture. He left Jamaica young, spent a short time in Texas and then seven years in Miami, started a pre-law degree and abandoned it when music and family pressure made the choice for him.

In the United States he sang R&B, listening to Usher and Sisqo, and passed through deals with Chatterbox and Danger Zone and dealings with Def Jam and Warner without a breakthrough. He went home instead, and reggae is where his voice finally landed. "So In Love" is the single reported to have established him at home. Since then he has recorded for Tad's Record, releasing The Life I Live in 2014 and M.

O.A.M. (Man on a Mission) in August 2022, the second cut in Kingston with a band of first-call players including Dean Fraser on saxophone and Robbie Lyn on keyboards. The Recording Academy filmed him for its Press Play series in January 2023, singing the title track with an acoustic guitar.