Dane Ray tells young entertainers to never give up

Fast-rising artiste and producer Dane Ray is encouraging aspiring creatives not to give up on their dreams. The musician, who has been shortlisted for this year's Prime Minister Youth Award in the field of Arts and Culture, says his recent spate of success is the result of an unyielding pursuit of his dream.

Dane Ray, whose given name is Waldane Hampton, has been working to establish himself in the music business for a decade. He said that even when things appear daunting, he never gave up on his aspirations to be one of the best in the game.

"Persistence is key in this game," said the Munro College old boy. "I have been doing music for over 10 years and the success I have had in the last two years is because of the work I put in the past decade. I have had to work very hard and so when someone hears the name Dane Ray, they should know that I have built my career from the ground up," the 28-year-old said.

The creative, who is the producer of Koffee's hit single, Lockdown, said that making it in entertainment business requires hard work, focus and dedication.

Very successful in life

"Yuh can work hard towards something for 10 years and all it takes is just one day fi change your life outta dah 10 years deh weh yah wait. And so yuh affi know weh yuh want out of music. Most people that are very successful in life, not just music, dem did have a vision. That is key in this business also. This success people are seeing right now never happen overnight, it was years of hard work to turn the vision I had for myself into reality," Dane Ray said.

Introduced in 1998, the Prime Minister's National Youth Award recognises young Jamaicans between the ages of 15 and29 who have excelled and contributed to national development in various areas. This year's awards ceremony is being held virtually due to COVID-19. It will be aired on TVJ on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. Sixty-eight nominees in 12 categories have been shortlisted.

Meanwhile, Dane Ray says his main objective, going forward, is to help make dancehall more mainstream.

"I want to see people like myself working with international artistes such as Drake, and I am not just talking producing because I am also an artiste," he said. "There is so much room for growth and I am going to keep on improving every step of the way. I implore others in the field to do the same, especially young, aspiring producers," Dane Ray said.