Prince Saj not going the secular route

From his intricately laced lyrics to his rapid-fire flows and hardcore delivery, Prince Saj has all the makings of a promising dancehall artiste.

But when he stepped out as a contestant on Magnum's Top Performa contest late last year, he impressed with his Bible in hand and Christ-centred freestyles on dancehall rhythms. His talent earned him second place, but it also attracted suggestions from some people who think he should go the secular route.

"I've had people telling me that I have to switch it up a little, and with all honesty, sometimes it does cross my mind," the 21-year-old told STAR on the Rise. "It's really hard for me but I realise that it's the enemy/devil who is trying to draw me out of line with God. So I hear what they say, but I don't do what they say I should do because I don't see it as the right thing to do."

He's speaking from experience. Prince Saj was a secular artiste before getting baptised in November 2020.

"My fiancee contributed in helping to lead me to God, but what mostly lead me into Christendom was the fear of my musical talent being taken away from me," he said. "I was at home one day trying to do a secular freestyle for the ladies, you know what we Jamaicans classify as 'girl song'. So I was there trying to sing this song but everything sounded off-key and the tone of my voice was very caustic; I couldn't even stand my own voice."

He continued, "A voice then whispered to me and said 'Try singing the gospel song that you wrote long ago', and I decided to go ahead and give it a try. As soon as I started singing the song, I felt different. My tone wasn't harsh anymore and everything was on point."

The song, Sanctified, is among his growing catalogue including Revelation, Greatness, Alpha Omega and Psalms 46.

Raised between St Catherine and St Thomas, Prince Saj, whose given name is Saja Smith, started exploring his musical talent by writing songs and singing them to his peers at Seaforth High School. Citing God as the sculptor of his style, his target audience is youth whom he reaches beyond music as he also dabbles in acting. For 2022, Prince Saj wants to elevate.

"I want to emancipate myself from poverty because I really have it hard from then and even now. I want to perform on big stage shows all around the world and win thousands of souls for Christ. I want to have multiple hit songs out there... I also want to work on myself within the faith and work on my relationship with God so I can be fully rooted and grounded in the Lord," he said.