Montego Bay-based reggae-dancehall sensation Rickey Teetz is pleased with the success of his ‘Poverty Life’ single, which jumped to #4 on the CVM Hitlist reggae charts last weekend.

Poverty Life chronicles Rickey Teetz own struggles trying to help raise his brothers and sisters when his father suddenly passed away in 1989.

He, along with the rest of his family, started to move around until they settled in Rose Heights.

In an effort to make ends meet, he entered the hardships of the Charles Gordon Market, selling scandal bags, bag juice, popcorn, bread among other things.

“It was hard growing up, and to be able to make a song about it years later is very gratifying, especially the way the public has responded to it. I have people stopping me in the streets, saying they really feel the song and seeing the struggle inspires them to go on and make it, no matter the odds,” Rickey Teetz said.

Poverty Life was released two months ago on the Win Out Records label. The video is also in rotation on CVM, Hype TV and E Plus.

Later this month, Rickey Teetz will be releasing new singles such as Lighters Up and Walkout.

He is particularly pleased with Lighters Up, a soul-stirring song which anyone who has been bereaved will appreciate.

Teetz lost his mother and stepped in to raise his younger brothers and sisters and financed their education.

However, tragedy struck again, in 2006, when he lost one of his brothers, a stunning loss that crippled him emotionally after the death of his parents.

“The song is for anyone who has lost a loved one. I have my own experiences, having lost my brother plus my father and mother, so this song has a lot of meaning to me. Things have been rough but music got me through everything. music heal me and it keeps me going today,” he said.

Teetz is known for his brilliant wordplay, offbeat metaphors and undeniable swag, which have made him a popular figure out west.

His songs are semi-autobiographical, telling interesting anecdotes about his background and the hardships he had to endure to become the man he is today.

Teetz is also known as a successful entrepreneur, hosting major entertainment events in Montego Bay.

He will be performing on ‘Fyah Fridays’, at Mount Salem Plaza, December 20, and has two events, Cash Money Fish Fry in Rose Heights and Trophy Sniper Birthnight Bash in Coopers Pen, Trelawny, December 21.

On Boxing Day, he will perform at the Wet N Ride Bike Show, Creek Street car park, and ‘Beach Fest’, December 27. He will hold centrestage at ‘Drizzle’, Coopers Pen, Trelawny, and the highly anticipated ‘Jamfest’, Aquasol Theme Park, on December 29. Follow Rickey Teetz on Instagram, Twitter.

With the spectre of two controversial losses in the Magnum All-Star $1,000,000 Face Off looming over the turntables, there was a palpable sense of relief when Bredda Hype notched its first win last Thursday.

The St Elizabeth-based sound system beat Coppershot soundly, even after a shaky moment when they lost two points in the 45 round after playing a pair of songs which had been played before.

“Who God bless, no man curse. Anything Father God say a law,” an obviously elated and relieved Bredda Hype said. And the host, Nuffy, in offering his congratulations, alluded to what had transpired in previous weeks. “Mi know sey tonight Bredda Hype did haffi dweet,” Nuffy said.

Even with the penalty imposed on Bredda Hype, initially Coppershot could only manage to draw level in that penultimate round as each of the three judges scored the round four for Bredda Hype and two for Coppershot. After the deduction, the scores were level at two apiece – but the point for crowd support went to Bredda Hype.

In giving the judges’ report after the closing dub-for-dub round, Cool Face summed up how the face-off had gone. “This time, we a watch the crowd response as well,” he said. He recapped that the opening juggling round had gone to Bredda Hype, as had the challenge round and the 45 round “by a squeeze”.

“The dub-for-dub was very clear,” Cool Face said, although noting that in the round, “Coppershot came back strong.” Still, despite the comeback, Bredda Hype scored six points to Coppershot’s five, and six to four on two judges’ cards, with the third having it seven to six in favour of Bredda Hype. Bredda Hype took the point for crowd support by all three judges’ reckoning.

Bredda Hype built an excellent first round from the foundation up and never looked back, starting with a musical drink for the hardworking people, and then moving into the Marley triple of Natural Mystic, Who The Cap Fits andThree Little Birds. Tenor Saw’s Roll Call and Junior Reid’s One Blood were big hits and, after Sizzla’s Karate, Bredda Hype made its way into more recent dancehall times with tracks from Chronixx, Mavado and Cobra, losing on a high as Kartel examined the “business”.

On the other hand, Coppershot did not pace the music, a Sizzla dub of Solid As a Rock (which did not hit home) preceding a couple of hip-hop tracks (including a mix of Collie Budz Come Around), before they leapt into uptempo mode with Buju growling “me an oonu”. It did not work.

The Challenge Round mandated that the sound systems play a combination between a Jamaican and international artiste. Bredda Hype got off to a flying start with Bounty Killer, Cocoa Brovaz and Nona Hendryx doingIt’s a Party. Combinations featuring Mavado and Kartel were in the mix, as Bredda Hype had Famous jumping.

Coppershot went for Road to Zion (Nas and Jr Gong), which hit the spot. But the follow-up, Dem No Worry We by Supercat and Heavy D, missed badly, although they recovered somewhat with Bounty Killer and the Fugees.

After Bredda Hype’s slip in the 45 round, it was on to the dub-for-dub, Bredda Hype playing first and setting the tone while acknowledging past missteps. “Every night me come ya, dis jiggy nah go work. De people say ‘Bredda Hype, play some big tune’,” the selector said, and did just that, starting with a John Holt dub of On the Beach. The tactic worked very well, as Coppershot tried to follow the ‘big tune’ route, dropping a dub of Sizzla’a Holding Firmwhich, while it stirred the crowd, did not have the impact of Bredda Hype.

And Bredda Hype kept the tunes huge, with a dub of Marcia Griffiths’ Melody Life. Coppershot did not seem to be able to follow, the selector saying “me a play whe mi have” as he went uptempo with a custom-built dub for Bredda Hype. He was duly booed, and although Bredda Hype was booed in turn for their Third World dub of 96 Degrees in the Shade, the writing was on the wall.

Bredda Hype’s final shot was from Cobra, Famous going into a frenzy at the customised lines “teeth a pull”. Coppershot ended with Kartel on a strong, but not tumultuous, note.