Skeng

Skeng was born Kevon Douglas in St. Catherine Parish and grew up in Spanish Town, Jamaica. He entered the music industry around 2019 and began building a following through raw, aggressive freestyles distributed heavily via YouTube and social media. His sound fused traditional dancehall rhythmic structures with the 808-driven, hi-hat-heavy production style of American trap music, a combination that came to be labeled 'traphall' and which he is widely credited with popularizing.

His breakout came with the 2021 single 'Gvnman Shift,' which spread rapidly on streaming and social platforms. That same period produced 'Protocol,' a collaboration with Tommy Lee Sparta. His profile crossed into the U.S. mainstream in 2022 when Nicki Minaj recorded a remix of his song 'Likkle Miss,' giving Skeng his first entries on U.S. Billboard charts.

Skeng was recognized at the 2023 Caribbean Music Awards, winning Collaboration of the Year for 'Likkle Miss,' and at the MECA Awards the same year, winning Male Dancehall Artiste of the Year. He has continued releasing music steadily into 2026 and remains an active touring and festival act.

Skeng's career has been marked by well-documented legal and controversy issues. In May 2022 he was arrested at Norman Manley International Airport following an altercation with security personnel; in March 2023 a judge dismissed both charges, clearing him. Separately, in June 2022 a Skeng concert in Georgetown, Guyana descended into chaos when attendees fired gunshots, forcing him to cut his set short; Guyana's Ministry of Home Affairs subsequently banned him from public performances in the country, a ban effectively lifted by April 2024, when he returned to headline a concert in Linden, Guyana. His lyrics, centered on gun and street-violence themes, have drawn recurring criticism from officials even as they remain central to his commercial appeal; no evidence was found of Skeng facing firearms charges himself.