Mr Iiz (pronounced eyes) is making a statement in the world of dancehall music with a new hip sound that mixes party lyrics with cool, bouncy dancehall beats.

"My kind of music is feel-good music, metaphors that play with your mind and lyrics that make you want to get on the dance floor and party up a storm," Mr Iiz said.

He has a single called Move U Body on the Speedy G Production label that is getting a lot of rotation on local radio. Mr Iiz is now in Jamaica promoting the single at numerous dances in the Corporate Area.

"The song was mixed in Jamaica and the video was shot in New York, so we are amping up the promotion right now. The feedback has been incredible so far. Some of the selectors ah work wid the ting," he said.

Mr Iiz also has another single, Galactic Gallis, produced by Jamlink Records, which is being sold on iTunes and Amazon.com.

"Depending on the feedback to Galactic Gallis, I might do another video, but in themeantime, other projects are pending, such as a track with Mr Lexx," he said.

He developed his first interest in music when he began singing on the choir at the Church of God in his hometown of Ballynure, Manchester.

He attended Harry Watch All-Age before moving on to complete his high-school education at Mile Gully Secondary.

unusual spelling

He recorded his first official song in 1999 on his own label, Mr Iiz Music.

"My name has an unusual spelling. It is pronounced eyes because when I burn weed, my eyes start lock down, so mi just say eyes, and spell it 'Iiz', spell it different, yu nuh," he said.

He emigrated to the USA in 2001 where he landed a technical job at DirecTV. He worked there for several years, but in his spare time he continued to visit studios and work on his craft at studios like Boomsteppah Recordings in and Errol Robinson studio in Brooklyn, New York. Then three years ago, he made the big plunge and decided to pursue music full-time.

"My wife has been very supportive of my decision to do this, and we know that it will pay off in the end," he said.

Mr Iiz has performed at shows in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington and Florida. In 2012, Mr Iiz was signed to Jamlinks Productions, headed by Desmond Ferguson.