Caribbean Up-And-Comer of the Month: Ayetian Is Shaking Up Dancehall by Blending His Haitian & Jamaican Roots
Categoria: Musica
The Jamaican-born star is Billboard's Caribbean Up-And-Comer of the Month for July.
Por Billboard | 15/07/2026
Last year, Ayetian solidified himself as one of Jamaica’s most promising rising dancehall stars with a trio of smashes, including “Tip,” “Balance” and “Wah Yo Deh Pan,” helping him earn 22.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams in 2025, according to Luminate. Related 2026 Caribbean Music Awards Nominees: Lady Lava, Machel Montano, Ayetian & More Caribbean Up-And-Comer of the Month: Lu City Is Shaking Up the Worlds of Pop & Hip-Hop With a Saint Lucian Twist Caribbean Up-And-Comer of the Month: Lady Lava Chose Her Career Over Being a Housewife — And Inspired Women Across the Diaspora in the Process Now, the Montego Bay-hailing artist, 21, is doubling down with a whopping seven nominations at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards, as well as his recently released, star-studded mixtape: JamPack . “It’s all about keeping consistency,” he tells Billboard . Born Malik Legend Tercien, Ayetian grew up in a Haitian household soundtracked by konpa and reggae, eventually finding his primary influence in Tommy Lee Sparta, a 2010s-defining dancehall star who also hails from Montego Bay. He even names “Captain Sparta” as the first song to get stuck in his head. A true child of the social media era, Ayetian earned his first viral moment at just 14 years old. While in grade nine at Jamaica’s Cornwall College, Ayetian would frequently write poetry inspired by his daily life and freestyle his own songs under the early alias, Lyrical. A friend shared a video of one of those freestyles on TikTok , and within two weeks, Ayetian started gaining serious traction across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. “Even by the next day, we saw it getting a lot of views,” he says. “People were coming up to me like, ‘Yo, this bad!’” From that moment, he began to officially pursue a music career. Nvtzz (born Nathaneal Brown) — the producer behind early 2020s bangers like Koffee’s “Lockdown,” and an artist in his own right — reached out to Ayetian after coming across the viral freestyle, which quickly became the pair’s first commercially released collaboration: 2022’s “Easy.” “10 inna night, she a call me/ Gyal wan gimme di tsunami/ If me tek yo gyal, I’m sorry, not sorry/ We nuh touch kids, left dat to R. Kelly,” he spits at the top of the song, immediately setting the tone with slick flows and punchlines. Soon after, he previews his penchant for intonation shifts, painting the bridge with a whispery cadence as Nvtzz’s guitar-inflected trap production steadily builds. “[Nvtzz] kept me under his wings. He’s been tutoring me about music and teaching me stuff [about production],” says Ayetian. “I’ve been learning a lot about how to control my voice, [how to improve] my writing skills, and how to deliver my songs. If you want [falsetto], you have to elevate your chest to allow the airflow. If you want the hardcore, dark voice, you have to sing [from a deeper place].” Ayetian smartly maintained the momentum from “Easy” with 2022’s “Lawge” — which he calls both his first