Dancehall Artiste Real Image Living His 'Dream'

The streets are talking about a new dancehall artiste, Real Image, whose incendiary new sound is blazing across airwaves all over the world. 

Signed to Natural Bridge Records, the artiste's breakout single, 'My Dream', chock full of witty metaphors and brilliant wordplay has announced Real Image's arrival on the dancehall stage.

"I am ready to show the world my skills. I am growing everyday, learning new things, I have a great camp of producers, writers and beatmakers. We are going to shake things up," he said, confidently.

Born Steve Brown on January 14, 1994, he grew up in the community of James Hill in Clarendon. He grew up with his mother, Georgia Meredith, grandmother and two sisters, attended James Hill Primary before moving to live in Mandeville at the age of 9. 

He attended the Mandeville Primary and Junior High before entering the Mayday High school in Manchester where he discovered his love for music during informal dancehall clashes in between subjects. 

"When I was 15, I used to clash with a friend of mine, Junior, during break. We would sing the Kartel-Mavado songs, then Junior asked me to write my own songs and build our own vibes, and that is how I started writing my own songs," Real Image said. 

"In class, I found myself writing songs even when the teacher a teach," he added, laughing. 

Even though he spent his sessions daydreaming of recording success, he still was able to focus long enough to gain five subjects at the CXC level.

At age 19, he migrated to Springfield, Massachusettes where he began to hone his nascent deejaying skills in a small studio. 

"A great friend of mine, Danny Stewart made all this possible when he introduced me to Mark Pinnock and the rest, as they say, is history," he said. 

In 2014, he inked a publishing, recording and booking deal with Natural Bridge Records. 

However it wasn't until January 2015 that he recorded his first professional song, just a few days after turning 21. That song was called 'Something a Go Wrong' for the Piranha Music Group (PMG), which is an integral part of Da Firm, a conglomerate of labels which also includes B Rich Records, Natural Bridge Records, and Young Veterans.

He has recorded singles such as 'My Dream', produced by Shams for B Rich Records, 'Pray Fi Dem' for the Young Veterans label, and the as-yet-unreleased 'Bread Alone'.

"Everything is under one umbrella, Da Firm, and we are going to change the word, God willing," he said. 

Real Image is not your typical 21 year old. When he just started out in music, he first gravitated towards the regular gun-and-girls fare that dominate most dancehall songs, but soon, he began to laser in on reality songs with radio-friendly hooks, and bubbly songs with inspirational, uplifting themes. He has found his true north of belief: music.

"I can't explain it, I have just found a passion with music. At first there was some amount of doubt, but I have faith, God promised me this, and I have faith that it will come to pass. I am the bridge," he said