Dancehall artiste Teejay was the feature in an article by American-based music magazine Billboard.

In the feature, the Up Top Boss singer talked about his musical journey and his fusion of dancehall and Afro beats to create his hit song, Drift.

In the interview, Teejay, whose real name is Timoy Janeyo Jones, shared that growing up he had always wanted to become an entertainer. He said that unlike his classmates, who were pursuing traditional careers, he often found himself tapping rhythms on his desk, hoping to one day produce a hit single.

While in the seventh grade, he made the bold decision to drop out of school, solely focusing on his music.

Since then, he has released popular songs such as Up Top Boss, People and Lonely Road. However, it was his 2023 release that drifted him to the top of the music charts, fast-tracking his rise to fame in the international scene.

“Drift was a gimmicking song mocking other people, thinking about old-time dancehall music, thinking about Supacat and Shabba Ranks. I was telling my friend Bigga that we need to tap into this old-time dancehall style. It’s warm. People love it, so let’s try to do something,” he shared with Billboard.

“It’s more of an Afrobeats song with a dancehall artiste on it. At the time, dancehall music was kind of slow and really toxic, based on everything that was going on in Jamaica. I was like, ‘We need to embrace happiness [in] the world. Something everyone can dance to.’ We created that old dancehall feeling where people just want to dance. It’s simple math. We used less words and more melody so people can remember it,” he further shared.

The ‘Up Top Boss’ revealed that he is now on a mission to fuse the two genres to create a new version of dancehall.

Drift was highly successful, granting Teejay his first Billboard chart entry. With the help of its catchy beat and dance routine that started a trend on social media, Drift peaked at number 47 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts.

Popular names such as American rapper Cardi B, and Olympic champion and record holder Usain Bolt, among others, were seen dancing to the beat, further advancing the song’s success.