Iyaz

With inventive re-imaginings of the reggae-splashed hook-heavy soul popularized by acts like Sean Paul and Sean Kingston in the early half of the 21st century's first decade, Virgin Island-born singer Iyaz swiftly built up a hearty cult following on MySpace.

Kingston, in the process of forming his own Time Is Money label, stumbled upon Iyaz's site and snapped up the 21-year-old singer as the maiden signee of his new imprint.

Iyaz's debut single, "Replay," an iPod name-checking musical stew adding splashes of classical and electronica to his usual island pop, soared to the upper regions of the Billboard Hot 100 in November 2009.

~ Jason Thurston, All Music Guide