Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Busy Signal - file photos

While in the United States during his teen years, popular entertainer Busy Signal was imprisoned for what he calls 'a little hustling'.

"Mi used to deh a foreign and do mi little hustling and then it tek on to the streets. Mi love music from a tender age but, a neva music a mek mi mek de money at that time. It was more of man deh pon de streets on the grind, hustling for a bread. Taking a lot of risks," he said.

This served as inspiration for his 2007 hit song Jail.

He said he was influenced by his peers and became involved in various wrongdoings. For his actions, he spent almost a year in prison.

"Mi stay so and get caught up wid the law. Dat's why mi tell dem youth, yah, seh stay far from de bag a problem. Dat's why mi move so now, 'cause mi have experience in those fields already," Busy told THE STAR.

"Sooner or later you gonna be toss up, either death or jail. At the end of the day, mi did young and wi make mistakes while wi young and mi nuh waan go deh so again and mi nuh waan go a jail again," he said.

Bad experience

Busy says his experience in the US prison, while not the worse, was not good.

"Mi mawga like dog. Mi nah eat dem food 'cause mi nuh eat meat and dem a serve one bag a hot dog and bologna. Dem serve potato but the potato look nasty. Dem serve fruits though. Mi have mi TV, A/C and mi have mi hot water and mi have mi own bathroom and little mirror, but dat a foreign thing. But jail nuh nice on a whole, whether foreign or Jamaica. Jail a nuh fi human being, man," Busy Signal said.

Busy, therefore, urges the youth to stay focused and achieve as much as possible. He acknowledged that jobs might not always be available but, they should still try to keep out of trouble.

While his jail experience was bad, Busy Signal said it has helped to make him who he is today.

Chat to Busy

STAR of the Month, Busy Signal, wants to have a chat with his fans.

To have this one-on-one with the artiste, log on to www.go-jamaica.com/chat between 5 and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 28. Or, call him at 1-888-843-7827 between 6 and 7p.m.