Singer/Songwriter Mark Shine from an early age knew that he was destined for a musical life. Growing up in the sunny, picturesque island paradise of Jamaica, Shine, the son of a deacon, valued the creative exposure as a member of the choir and the folkloric dance group at Buff Bay Primary School. He represented Jamaica on the local and international scene in various events, becoming bolder and more confident with each engagement. It eventually dawned on him that a musical career beckoned when his father, unable to afford a drum set presented him with a "bingi" drum at age nine.

Shine reminisces about the excitement he would feel whenever he had the opportunity to participate in musical activities, a reaction which was not lost on his shrewd grandmother. "Because my grandmother was a 1st grade school teacher, I had to stay after school and wait for her. She made sure I didn't have idle hands by signing me up for several extra curricular activities," Shine recalls. "I got hooked on the arts and that was it! I