3Star

Young later moved to Brooklyn, where football and further training opened new doors. At Job Corps and later at Genesee College, he connected with fellow artist Ray Leng, also known as JR, and the pair began experimenting with a blend of hip hop and reggae. That mix helped shape the sound he would carry forward: grounded, reflective, and willing to move between the rough edge of dancehall and the more conscious side of roots music.

A major turning point came when he joined the U.S. Army after college and was deployed to Iraq in 2004. The pressure of military life pushed him further toward songwriting, and encouragement from his friend Andre Chuck, also known as Chuck Star, helped him take recording seriously. Those experiences became part of the emotional core of his first album, Out of Many One People, which he recorded while still in combat. After Iraq, he continued working in Afghanistan and completed Nothing But Real Talk before later producing it in Jamaica.

By the mid-2010s, 3Star had built a catalog that reflected both his life story and his social concerns. Songs like “Wild Life” and “Dawg Nyam Dawg” show his preference for straightforward commentary, while projects such as Student Of Light and Speak Up Time underline his mix of consciousness, hip hop energy, and dancehall rhythm. Across the years, he has remained a voice for reality music, using his songs to address struggle, survival, and the lessons that come from both the street and the soldier’s life.