Byngham wants big break

Since the release of his latest single, Blessings, last month, recording artiste Byngham has racked up more than 200,000 views on YouTube.

The New-York based singer and songwriter has been pursuing his career for the past 10 years, but says that he is not as consistent as he would like to be.

"Being here, in America, is different with the music industry. In particular for reggae and dancehall artistes, you have to pick up consistency, but having to work to support my family, there is always this start and stop," Byngham said.

He hails from Maldon, St James, and was raised in between the Flankers community and Lilliput in Rose Hall. He originally performed under the stage name Riquey Bingham. He migrated to New York after receiving a scholarship to attend Monroe College in the US.

He shares that the pandemic has provided him with the time to focus on the music.

Sing something inspirational

"At the moment I am furloughed; as a web developer for Broadway Across America in Manhattan, I have time on my hands to experiment with music, and I knew I wanted to sing something inspirational, to give thanks," he said. "I actually felt blessed to be able to spend some of that time with my children - they are my blessings - that's what my new single is about."

He released his first single, Your Body Girl, in 2010, and a year later, won 'Breakout Video of the Year' for another single Come Back To Me, at the Carivibez TV Web Awards.

However, he believes Blessings could be the single to give him recognition and a foothold in the competitive music space.

" Blessings is easily my best effort thus far, even having gained some support in Jamaica and from the diaspora. I feel very confident about this song which could be deemed as a follow-up to Pray Fi Dem which I released independently in February," he said.

Byngham said that despite the adversities in 2020, persons should be grateful for life.

"Count our blessings and continue to strive for greatness. I know it will get the recognition it deserves and, hopefully, crossover into the mainstream market, so God's willing, I want to do a video this month in time for December," he said.