Broadway

Born Dion Barnes in New York’s Bronx borough, Broadway first gained notice in the early 1990s through his membership in the hip-hop collective Strictly Roots, a crew that issued its material on his self-established imprint Friends Connection. The outfit secured its initial major break in 1993 via the single “Begs No Friends,” which included contributions from Fat Joe Da Gangsta and Grand Puba. Having come of age amid the Bronx’s thriving hip-hop scene during the peak years of Grandmaster Flash and DJ Kool Herc, Barnes maintained a direct link to the latter innovator—the originator of hip-hop’s fusion with Jamaican influences—through his lineage as the son of reggae icon Sugar Minott. This background informs his relaxed, understated vocal style, which merges Bronx and Jamaican approaches while frequently incorporating patois phrasing. An avowed admirer of KRS-One, he earned an invitation to join the rapper’s Boogie Down Productions circle. His debut solo outing, “Must Get Paid,” arrived under KRS-One’s production and formed part of Nervous Records’ growing hip-hop catalog.