Wah Dem Up To: Brushy One String still jamming

Chris Martin and Romain Virgo immediately come to mind as examples when referencing Rising Stars as the launch pad for aspiring singing acts to begin their careers.

Others have walked away without the title and retained relative popularity, but none like the internationally sensational Brushy One String.

The bluesy reggae vocalist with a wide grin and one-stringed guitar may appear to have fallen off the grid, but THE WEEKEND STAR caught up with him, and discovered that the musician is enjoying the spoils of being an internationally renowned viral sensation.

Years ago, Argentine filmmaker Luciana Blotta was wrapping up a five-year engagement in Jamaica when Brushy spotted him.

"I saw a little white man with a camera and I told him I'd sing for him for $20. I was singing for tourists in Ochi," he said.

Brushy One String came to prominence when he appeared on Rising Stars, but he was quickly eliminated.

"I've been working with Luci (Blotta) for the past 10 or 12 years," Brushy said. Blotta captured Brushy performing Chicken In The Corn then uploaded the footage to YouTube in 2013.

"In three days, there were, like, 30,000 views, and it's been growing," he said. Now, Chicken In The Corn has over 15 million views.

"Reggae and blues have the most organic lyrics you can ever find in the history of music. My music is very organic, from start to finish. I don't just get up and write a song," he said.

Brushy said that he likes to visualise things so that "when I sing, you can see it because it's not everyday words, but everyday life."

"It is not (about) bling, but people, nature, world events. People can relate to the pressure, the happiness. Some been robbing, cheating, stealingand there's a song for everybody. That's why reggae is reggae," Brushy said.

Blotta and Brushy went to Argentina, where he recorded his debut album, Destiny (2013). The bluesy reggae singer has since released his sophomore album called No Man Stop Me (2016).

"Luci told me he was gonna get an agent to book some shows. Then I went off to Europe, where I spent two months, and I went to America. Then he said 'Hey! There's an important thing you have to do," said Brushy.

Last February, Brushy was invited to perform at NPR's Tiny Desk Concert, a platform that has invited the likes of the Blue Man Group, Chance the Rapper, T-Pain, Anthony Hamilton, John Legend, and very recently, Chronixx.

On the family side, Brushy, 47, will be adding another member to his already large clan. Brushy, who has 14 children, happily announced that he and his long-term girlfriend Aseleth Dunn, 52, are expecting a child in the coming months.

This will be Aseleth's first child.