Along with the evolution of dancehall and sound-clash culture in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s came the evolution of dancehall master Collie Buddz, and though the reggae artist is from New Orleans (not Jamaica, as is easy to assume) the Jamaican influences of artists like Bounty Killer have sparked Buddz's runaway hit singles over the past decade.The New Orelans-born, Bermuda-raised Collie Buddz (whose real name is Colin Harper) first discovered urban reggae music while living in Bermuda, completely enthralled with dancehall, soca and hip-hop music. Rap-offs with kids at school soon showed promise, and by age 16 Buddz had spent time in vocal booths trying to perfect his Bermudian sounds. Eventually persuaded to move to Florida to pursue a degree in audio engineering, Buddz ultimately ended up in his DJ brother Smokey and Sneek Success's studio recording his demo track, "Come Around." The track was entirely dealing with the subject of marijuana, and its infectious beats infiltrated Europe and Jamaica before finally landing in the U.S., only after rapper Busta Rhymes made his own remix of the song and released it on American radio stations.Collie Buddz made his in with the Sony label singing guest vocals on pop star Beyonce's remix of "Ring the Alarm," and he has also worked with Lil' Flip on the rapper's album I Need Mine. Exposure like this gained Buddz even more recognition, and Sony finally released the reggae artist's second single "Mamacita," off Buddz's self-titled major label debut album in 2007. The album featured popular artists like Shakira and Krayzie Bone, and it also contained the hit "Come Around," landing at the number one position on the reggae charts in '07. After the smoke from his debut album cleared, Buddz was also nominated for the Top International Artist of the Year at the Excellence in Music and Entertainment awards, alongside Stephen Marley, Shaggy and Sean Paul.