International dancehall artiste Black Mattic received a spectacular welcome on his return to Waterhouse, St Andrew, where a mural was erected in his honour.

The New York-based deejay, born Kenich Lee, grew up in Waterhouse for most of his childhood before migrating to America at 14. Since then, he has been to Jamaica on numerous occasions, honing his music career.

The mural was painted by Designer Ice on a wall located on West Bay Farm road. Black Mattic, a former Norman Manley High student, became a music professional in 2008 and has established himself internationally in places such as Asia, Europe and North America.

international hit

The 25-year-old has so far released an album, Hot Grabba, which featured the international hit song, Girls Anthem, and is getting ready to release another album, Black Label, which will also feature another international hit in Superstar.

Superstar, which boasts a music video directed by MTV Networks' executive producer Mike Leonard, has already chalked up more than two million views on YouTube.

The deejay, brother of popular reggae artiste Robert Lee, also released the highly successful Kingston 11 mixtape, which continues to do well since its release last summer.

most popular

The mixtape, which features tracks like Wine And Bubble, Never Give Up and Swag Surf, has received more two million downloads worldwide and was once premiered on the front page of the world's most popular mixtape website, coast2coast.com.

Though he is yet to carve out the same sort of attention in his native land, the artiste believes it will only be a matter of time before that changes. He was, however, in awe at the mural erected in his honour.

"This is a special recognition and I am truly humbled by it," said Black Mattic.

The artist, Designer Ice, said he, too, felt privileged, having been a fan of Black Mattic's music for some time.

"As soon as his brother/manger (Claude Buchanan) asked me to do it, I said yes. I am a keen fan of Black Mattic," he said.