C-Monii believes ‘Bad Habit’ will get him far

Dancehall newcomer C-Monii originally had his sights set on becoming an accountant while in high school.

However, being a product of a parish which has recently positioned itself as a creative hub for dancehall acts this played a role in his change of career.

"I am from Mount Salem in St James. It's great motivation to see other artistes from my parish go on to become some of the most-talked about names in the music industry," he said. "Rygin King is an influence. He was one of them that I watched from then, as we both attended Irwin High. Having started his journey it showed me I could do it too."

C-Monii, 24, has been banking on the support of the streets as he turns his attention to music.

"The bad habit I have is to make money, to always be in a mindset of going out to get money, because without it, things are impossible," he said. "I guess you could say in some ways I am thinking of my career as a recording artiste in the way I thought about having a job as an accountant."

His attitude to earn success in dollars and cents has streamed over into his lyrics with his latest single Bad Habit. The track is produced by E Square Records, who also deals with C-Monii's management and bookings.

He said "Honestly, everyone who has heard the song and come back to me, say they never expected it to sound the way it does."

He says the standout line ' From me likkle dem seh anything yuh reap yuh sow, so me plant a money tree, watch di money grow', can be interpreted in several ways especially by the deep thinker.

"It was always a dream of mine to do music professionally to have it heard and accepted worldwide," he said. "But it's not only about making money. Music is one's art. Most of my art has not come from me writing the lyrics down on a paper but from freestyling. Songs like Extortion which was released several months ago was a freestyle and people in the streets really gravitated to it."

The artiste also shared that he received the nod of approval from veteran disc jockey and producer Kurt Riley, who he has recently collaborated with for an upcoming single.

"I haven't come to a final decision for a title for it as yet but this is a major project that is currently in the mixing stages. The title will come to me soon enough. I am also working on an EP and want people to see if my 'bad habit' is to their liking," he said.