The STAR welcomes Chino as STAR of the Month for May!

Blessed with awe inspiring rhyming skills and an arsenal of sharpened lyrics that could be classified as weapons of mass instruction when it comes to making hit songs, Jamaican sing-jay Daniel 'Chino' McGregor also possesses a rich, robust singing voice perfectly suited to silky, romantic pleas.

With his innate ability to create songs that incorporate a melodic fusion of varied influences while maximising his versatile vocal technique, it's little wonder that Chino is poised to be dancehall reggae's next superstar.

Chino's impressive string of popular singles, including his cautionary Pon Your Head and the motivational From Mawnin' (Never Change), have made him a pre-eminent artiste in Jamaica, but his talents are also heavily in demand all over the Caribbean and in Caribbean outposts throughout North America and Europe. Chino has also released two albums in Japan, Unstoppable and Never Change, the latter topped Japan's iTunes Reggae Chart and From Mawnin (Never Change) emerged as that country's number one downloaded ring tone for 2010.

limitless skills

Having conquered a significant portion of the world with his seemingly limitless skills and abundant charisma, Chino has now set his sights on capturing the attention of the elusive mainstream US market. His self-titled debut album for VP Records (May 24, 2011) features the aforementioned hits and an exceptional crop of broadly appealing new selections that bridge generational tastes, flaunt cosmopolitan flavours and are capable of re-establishing dancehall reggae as the consistent international hit-making genre it was throughout the '90s and the early 2000s.

"I am a 90s baby, a fan of Buju, Cobra, Spragga Benz, Shabba, Super Cat, even the Shaggy vibe, KRS One and Mad Lion - to me the '90s was the greatest era of dancehall," states Chino. "We don't want that vibe to die or younger kids to grow up without that knowledge because that success is what paved the way for us so I am trying to strike that perfect balance with this album."

Produced by Chino's brother Stephen 'Di Genius' McGregor, who at just 21 years old is among the island's most successful producers, Chino retains a uniquely Jamaican zest as it successfully ventures into crunching alternative rock (My Soul), smooth R&B (Mus' Come Back), traditional African drumming patterns as featured on Build A Vibe, a hypnotic snippet of Chino's rapid fire deejaying and a refreshing jazz-reggae-rock fusion on the anti-gangster lifestyle anthem Badness. But Chino does not forsake the dancehall core, or the ladies, as he delivers Yeah Yeah for them over Stephen's red hot Peppa rhythm.

Chino's two recently released singles are further evidence of this album's wide reaching scope. I Am is a French-accented, pop-dancehall ditty while the velvety lovers rock of Seal The Link (Leaving) is reminiscent of the beloved hits recorded by Chino's father, venerated reggae singer Freddie McGregor.

"These two singles are great contrasts," Chino explains. "I Am is a perfect summer club banger, very radio friendly and Seal The Link (Leaving) is a perfect one-drop reggae anthem. That is the beauty of this album, we have a lot of potential singles, too many to choose from so I am hoping this album will raise the bar and inspire other artistes and producers to step outside of the box because that would be good for the industry."

surrounded by music

Born on February 12, 1983, Chino certainly knows a thing or two about the music industry. Growing up, he was surrounded by the music of his father and that of his contemporaries, including departed reggae icons Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs. Since 1995, when Freddie set up his Big Ship studio, named after his 1981 international hit, adjacent to the McGregor home, Chino, Stephen and their older sister Yeshemabeth (also a singer), saw first hand the diligence required in creating high-quality music and the fulfilment derived from doing so.

"I was there watching the whole production process, watching the artistes and musicians," Chino reflects. "I also had early touring experience with my father; a lot of times I skipped school for a few days or even weeks to tour places like Japan, Africa, Europe, or America, way before I decided to pursue music professionally. From that early exposure we got great insights into the music, the positives and the negatives of the business and we have learned from certain mistakes that we have seen."