Reggae artiste Dan Ij Official Biography

Reggae artiste Dan Ij Official Biography - A versatile singer with a rich powerful voice and stage presence, Reggae artist Michael Jeffrey, known publicly as Dan IJ was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica.

He began singing at the tender age of 6 at weekly local neighbourhood concerts and has never looked back. As a child star with tremendous talent, Dan IJ belted out the top tunes of Reggae icons, mesmerizing his listeners.

A particular crowd favorite was his rendition of John Holt’s song, “Tonight,” which his supporters insisted he sing at every event. This eventually earned him the nick-name “2night.”

By age 10, Dan IJ was working with the sound system Killa Red Hi Fi. He sang and spun tunes with his uncle who hosted local concerts on which he performed songs and participated in dramatic plays. In 1983 Dan IJ recorded his first song with the Channel One Recording Studio entitled “My Girl,” it featured Barry Brown and Pad Anthony.

His next recording was with Sky Line Productions, “Who Can Make the Dance Talk,” with the late great Captain Everall in 1984. His third song, “The Guerilla Man,” was with GG Recording Company. Following these recordings, Dan IJ was introduced to Danny Brownie, the Executive Producer of Main Street Records and a member of the Blood Fire Possy Band.

Brownie was so impressed by his talent that he introduced him to established reggae artist Freddie McGregor.  Dan IJ ended up recording a song for Freddie McGregor at Anchor Recording Studio (ran by Gussy Clark). By then they had given him a new nick-name, “Johnny Ashly,” and had begun to introduce him to the professional world of music.

The endorsements and support of well-respected industry artists gave Dan IJ the rare opportunity to appear on bigger events, which were popular at the time, such as: Rockers Award, Forth Clarence Beach Splash, the Taste Talent Concert and many more.

More importantly, he has shared the stage with major Reggae artists such as Yellow Man, Beenie Man, Papa Toyan, Sugar Minott, Jimmy London, Tony Tuff, Tony Rebel, Garnet Silk, Johnny P, Tenor Saw, Nitty Gritty, Singing Melody, Courtney Melody, Everton Blender, Fab 5, Dobby Dobson, Lady Saw, Luciano, Little John and that is just to name a few.

After relocating to the United States (New York) in 2003, Dan IJ continued to perform; working on shows in Main, New Hampshire, Boston, Queens, Brooklyn, Connecticut and Philadelphia. Through his travels he connected with an old friend from back home, Danny Roots, who was now based in Florida. Danny Roots flew Dan IJ down to Florida for an event, which led to him spending a few months and recording on two collaborations; one with Glen Washington and the other with Skinnie Ranking.

Though things were going good in the sunshine State, Dan IJ thought it best to return to New York. Upon his arrival, he ran into another longtime friend, Bambah, who is the owner of the popular Conscious Media Studio. Once Dan IJ familiarized himself with Bambah’s setup, he decided to make Conscious Media Studio his base for recording, as it was frequented by a lot of established artists and musicians.

Despite the fact that he had voiced on a large number of projects for many reputable reggae labels, Dan IJ eventually decided to start his own label, which he calls Lyfe Production. Since venturing out on his own, he has done work with a lot of reggae heavy weights, namely: Ed Robinson, Danny Bassie, Derrick Barnette and many more. He continues to perform both in the United States and locally on the island of Jamaica.

Dan IJ is currently promoting his recently released single entitled Life is so Precious, a collaboration done with one of the biggest names in reggae/dancehall, Capleton.

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