With soaring food prices and a rapidly depreciating local currency, Jamaicans are feeling the economic pinch in an economy mired in tough times.

That is one of the major reasons that Chuck Fenda's monster hit single, It Hard, has become an anthem in the streets of Jamaica. The single is blowing up on the airwave locally and in Kenya, Africa, and is in high demand around the world.

"The song has gone global right now. In Jamaica, the selectors dem, like Ghetto Bomb, ah say the song ah push hard inna the streets. It play ah Gi Weh Wednesdays, Suzies, Uptown Mondays, and most of the best response for me is based on that song. No disc jockey nah come on air and nah play It Hard right now," Chuck Fenda said.

controversial topics

Fenda, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, but raised in Jamaica, has never shied from controversial topics as shown by singles such as his anti-pedophile rant, Gash Dem, which was banned from radio a few years ago. Now, he is taking a more subtle and sensitive approach to build the resolve and fight of the people.

That is why the song resonates well with Jamaicans who are bracing for the rocky economic conditions which lay ahead.

"The song is just a reflection of the suffering and deprivation the people are facing at this time. I am the Poor People Defender, so I am speaking for them, everything raise, basic food items gone up, we are feeling it as a people," Chuck Fenda said.

The breakout success of It Hard follows on the heels of the spiritually charged Warning, also producedby Notice Production, which has dominated the South American and European market since its release.

Fenda is ready for a fiery 2013 with shows booked for North America, Europe and the Caribbean.

He has another new single, Detour, on the popular Danger Zone Productions one-drop released early February.

"Right now, ah just the living fire mi ah blaze dem with. Truth and righteousness mi say," he said.