Preston Onfroy

The “Jump Off” rhythm is being touted as the rhythm to watch for Christmas. After months of saturation on the airwaves, the dancehall beat has waged an attack at sessions, parties and stage shows with its inescapable groove.”I would put this project on par with the Party Time rhythm, although it is more catchy and vivacious,” explained producer Preston Onfroy of his highly successful rhythm, “The moment you hear it, you want to dance.”

Led by the out-of-the-box hit “Realest Thing” (popularly called the Stammer song) by Vybz Kartel, the “Jump Off” is the second biggest project for 31 year old Onfroy, a studio engineer at Irie FM’s Kingston office. The Manchester born studio wiz who attended DeCarteret and Knox Colleges and later on Holmwood Technical High, pulled out of his pre-engineering course at the College of Arts Science and Technology (now known as UTECH) to take up job offers in the media. “I had a passion for music from I was a youngster. What I am doing now is something I always wanted to pursue,” said Onfroy.

He began his media run at KLAS FM 89 and then moved on to Irie FM. He made his production debut five years ago with the “Bedroom” rhythm, which featured the hits “Robbery” by Bling Dawg, “Fortune” by Bounty Killer, and Capleton’s “How Dem So Hype” which stalled at number two on the Jamaican charts.The “Body Snatcher” which didn’t do well commercially was the next project. The best known hit on that rhythm was Cecile’s “Hot Gal.” “Sarz,” “Wrought Iron” and “Panic” were other rhythms which followed. But it was the spicy “Party Time” rhythm which hit the jackpot.

The Party Time featured Wayne Marshall’s hit “Party Time,” “Satisfy Yourself” by Sizzla as well as hits from Reagan, Determine and Elephant Man (“Do Yuh Ting”). The rhythm was later licensed by VP Records and released on the Riddim Driven compilation.

The Jump Off, according to Onfroy, was conceptualized by himself and Carlton Renegade Williams.Christopher Langmann Birch was responsible for the instrumentation. The project took at least seven months to complete. This was due to the availability of the artistes to record their songs. Among the artistes contributing songs to the “Jump Off” are Terror 3000, Delicious, Kip Rich, Elephant Man, Lady Saw, Black-er, Shane-O, Idonia, Macka Diamond, Lady G, Capleton and Bounty Killer. Additionally, there is also a collaboration between Beenie Man and rapper Bone Crusher.