Phort Knox set to release album

New York-based dancehall artiste Phort Knox is generating much attention in the US with a pair of singles, One featuring Renegad and On My Way.

Knox, 31, grew up in the tough community of Newland District in Portmore, St Catherine before migrating to New York at age 13.

But the transition to the US was far from smooth as his accent was a source of humiliation.

The artiste, whose given name is Omar Ormsby, found solace in music, including that Usher, Tupac Shakur or Notorious B.I.G.

He melded the spirit of the New York street vibe with his dancehall gift and formed his own label D.N.B Entertainment.

In 2015, Phort Knox was scouted by Artiste and Repertoire Robert Eleazer of Def Jam Universal music group after dropping off a mixtape with One and the racy Put It In Deh.

"It was supposed to be a distribution deal but the songs were not put out because they were demos. They went online and saw no videos, or nothing, the handlers said I am too talented not to have more material like videos up. So they said I need to build my fan base because they love the songs," he said

He went back to the drawing board, and his management team released a video for One on January 1 of this year.

One is a single on the 10-song album, 'Fully Pressed', which will be released on April 20 but the album will be pre-released on April 3, his birthday.

"It's an album for everyone, except the gangsters. There is no violence on my album, just songs that everyone can relate to, roots songs, my personal struggles, but the songs are mostly for the ladies," he said.