Blazing his way onto the dancehall scene is Andrew Folks, better known as 'Blaze' to dancehall patrons.

Not a newcomer to music, he has been deejaying professionally since 2006 but has been in love with music since the age of four.

Born January 6, 1989, the 20-year-old released his first song on his own Kollege Kru label, called You Can Make It, on the Triumph rhythm in February this year. Now Blaze's new single Wah Sleep is in steady rotation on radio stations with a video to be released soon.

A humble youth with an even humbler background, Blaze has been writing music since age eight. At that time, artistes like Shaggy and Beenie Man had the youngster's attention with their style and versatility. After he realised his love for music, Blaze started singing in his community and at church.

He continued honing his talent in high school and it was really no surprise that his favourite subject was English, a valuable tool for his career choice.

"English was my favourite class, and I used what I learnt in English to write songs", he said.

balancing act

Blaze, a past student of Excelsior High School, had to balance school and music. He formed his own group, Kollege Kru, with a couple of friends who also decided to take music seriously.

His determination never waned even though money was not readily available to pursue his dream of becoming an artiste. After school, he would visit several studios in and around the Corporate Area, that one day his voice would be heard and he would get the chance to record for a producer.

This happened when he walked into Gang Bang Studio one day and met the owner, Skatta Burrell, who, at the time was managing another artiste, Aidonia, who listened to him and gave him encouragement and advisce which included finishing school before going into the business full-time.

Isaiah Laing of Supreme Promotions, who is now in charge of his career, was one of his hardest critiques. Laing insisted that he finished school before entering the entertainment industry and assisted him financially during his high school years, while giving him the medium to improve his craft.

heartless

Blaze did his first professional recorded single, Player Being Played, along with its video, in 2006 after graduating from high school and has not looked back. He did Wine and Bubble in 2007 and had his first real experience of how hard and heartless some players in the music industry can be, but that was not a deterrent.

He took a break to rethink and refocus and in December of 2007 recorded You Can Make It for Yardlife Entertainment which was released in 2008 and received good airplay. Three more tracks guaranteed to blow up the airwaves will also be coming out this month, Girls Mechanic, Loving That You Want featuring the girl group, Cymply Hott, and Brace it on Me.