STAR of the Month: Shane O, the comeback kid

Many will remember him as the high school student who blazed dancehall with his brilliant song, 'Lightning Flash'. Lately, airwaves have been choked with the rotation of his recent hit, 'Last Days', as well as the follow-up banger, 'Partner Draw'. For the month of June, stay tuned as THE STAR reintroduces Shane O, dancehall child star turned formidable dancehall artiste.

For years, the artiste said that he was out of the public eye, toiling behind the scenes of the local music industry, a fact he says is no one's doing but his own. This year, Shane O has returned and appears to be ready to roll.

"Mi used to go a my bed a night time and seh, 'bwoy! A when mi a get my chance fi go every weh like everybody?' See it deh! Is a ting weh me always prepare for and a wait because mi know it did a go come back, enuh. Cyaa blame people. Yuh haffi just keep up yuh work," he told THE WEEKEND STAR.

To answer how the public has been responding to his return, Shane O scrolled his phone's gallery for a moment before pulling up a video clip of a recent performance. The clip showed Shane O performing Partner Draw, with the crowd yelling the song's lyrics back at the deejay with enthusiasm.

"Yuh see the crowd? If yuh nah work, dem a go walk past yuh. So anytime when yuh get a chance, yuh just haffi try keep up. Mi just a gwaan put out song. If it nah work, mi a work. Yuh just haffi work with the crowd. Wah me a go do? Mi a just do weh mi haffi do. When you keep up, them will always link yuh. If yuh nah work, who a go link yuh?" he said.

"Yuh haffi be a Bounty Killer or a Beenie Man weh constantly have song even if a nuh hit song. Yuh constantly have song weh inna some kinda rotation," echoed his manager, Heavy D.

Shane O's return to the dancehall arena will be marked by a performance on the coveted Reggae Sumfest stage this year. The comeback kid has already been making the rounds, and by all appearances, his fans are as excited as he is about the renewed vitality of his career.

As for how it feels for Shane O to be rocking stages again?

"Bwoy, it feel good, man. Mi just a bounce all bout and gi' dem a style! A great feeling! A great feeling dat, man, see dem a sing out word for word," the artiste exclaimed.