Positive ‘Hardcore’ message from Sizzla and I-Stitch

Reggae singer I-Stitch is giving thanks that he made the link with Sizzla for a collaborative single titled Hardcore, a song which he says is holding the youth to a positive mindset and encouraging them to embrace challenges.

"The name Hardcore means that we are coming at you real, no-frills, just saying it like it is, or how it ought to be . To the point," I-Stitch told THE STAR.

The single is produced by the veteran studio and sound system owner Everton 'Caveman' Moore, on his version of the Answer rhythm. Moore is I-Stitch's father, and the entertainer shared that he has had a long association with Sizzla; however, this is their first collab.

"I know him as 'Little One', not Miguel Collins or Sizzla. When I was a little boy, he used to come in his khaki uniform to my dad at the studio. I connected back with him in 2010 when I was attending Donald Quarrie, and I was part of the L-Stitch Dancers from Nannyville and Top Range, and we danced on stage with him at events such as Sting, (and) Portland Jerk Festival," I-Stitch explained. Growing up around greats such as Lee Scratch Perry (his grandfather's first cousin), Bunny Wailer, Luciano, Sizzla and Capleton, the reggae-dancehall singer, songwriter and dancer has already had his feet soaked in the music business.

"I wrote my first song, School Ago Open Again, at age five and recorded my first dubplate for Cali Movement Sound System, based in Germany, at seven years old," said I-Stitch.

He was heavily influenced by Michael Jackson and Gerald 'Bogle' Levy, and at age 11, he started his dancing career as L-Stitch. However, in 2015, he changed his name to I-Stitch and the following year, he went on a songwriting course hosted by Mikie Bennett and Professor Rosalea Hamilton, at the University of Technology, Jamaica.