Japanese dancer Kenta “Cornbread” Tezuka was first exposed to Jamaican music from early in his childhood thanks to his older brother who was always playing reggae.

Fast-forward to his latter years, he got a hold of digital versatile disks (DVDs) of the infamous Passa Passa Wednesdays held in the streets of Kingston which fascinated him and inspired his trip to the island.

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He fell in love with Jamaica.

“Mi just love music…dancehall music and Jamaica. Mi deh inna Jamaica now and mi learn nuff tings from Jamaican people, and den mi go back ah Japan and tell [the] Japan people dem,” Cornbread told the Jamaica Observer‘s Splash through a thick Japanese accent.

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Cornbread has been back and forth between his home country and Jamaica since he was 18 years old.

On this, his latest trip, he has linked up with some of the modern dancehall who’s who to work on several projects.

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“Just yesterday [Tuesday], [I] did a video shoot with Skillibeng, Kraff Gad, and Valiant, and that’s a big thing to me. Mi memba me inna Sumfest wid Spice [in 2017] and mash up di place,” the dancer and choreographer, who is the creator of the Style routine, added.

At the same time, Cornbread believes that Teejay and Gabbidon have positioned themselves to rule the summer with the Drift.

He told Splash that he loves the song and its accompanying dance, acknowledging that his online routine has earned much popularity.

“Me live inna Spain Town [Spanish Town] now and di kids dem watch my TikTok and seh, ‘Yo, yuh ah Tokyo Drift? Yuh ah di Japanese pon TikTok?’ and dem wah dance wid me pon TikTok. When me reach Jamaica, me listen Teejay Drift song anywhere…anywhere mi deh dem play Drift and di people dem dance,” he added.

The entertainer has also spent some time in the recording booth.

He has released the track Fresh Like, which he said was due to his passion for ‘deejaying’ and contributing to the spread of Jamaica’s culture.

“Over 10 years mi dance, and mi just think mi wah sing dancehall music. Mi wah spread [Jamaican] culture to Japan. If me dancing alone it cyaa spread enough, but if mi have music Japan people more understand big dancehall culture,” he said.

Cornbread hopes to expand his career as a recording artiste and aspires to someday replicate the success of Ding Dong.

“My dream [is to become] a Japanese Ding Dong. Mi have a Japanese dancing team…The team name JA to JA, and mi wah grow up wid dem. And mi wah sing and dem dance pon stage, same like Ding Dong,” he said.