“I was always in love with music,” says Triston Fivestar, who grew up in Jamaica not only listening to Shaba Ranks and Mad Lion but also Justin Bieber and Nelly Furtado. On his record Sex With You, featuring Spice, Fivestar shows the world that dancehall is fire in Canada. “I took it upon myself to show the world that Toronto can do dancehall,” says Fivestar, who moved to Canada in 2003 and makes dance music custom-made for summertime evenings, in the bedrooms and in the clubs.

“I didn’t have family or friends when I got here, I had music,” he says, and mentions that the feedback from the crowd when he performs is the power behind his productions.

“I live for the reaction,” he says. “Every time I rock a show, I’m leaving with more fans than when I started.”

@tristonfivestar

Read the long form essay on the legacy of Little Jamaica here.