Dre Island
Artist. Revival
- Active
- 2010s-present
- Also known as
- Andre Johnson
Dre Island is a singer, keyboard player, producer and engineer of the reggae revival, best known for "We Pray," his 2017 song with Popcaan.
Born Andre Johnson, he was raised by his grandmother on Red Hills Road in Kingston, began the piano at three, sang in the choir at Emmanuel Gospel Assembly, and went to Calabar High School. After school a family friend, Kirk Thomas, gave him the name Dre Island. He worked as an engineer for Chronixx and Teflon Zincfence, and his "Rastafari Way" leaked out in 2013. He built the beat for "We Pray," recorded on December 30, 2016, with Popcaan in mind from the start, and the song came out in August 2017; "My City," about growing up in Donmair, and features with Bugle and Govana followed, and his debut album, Now I Rise, followed in 2020. MD Semel hears "an ache and a longing" in his voice, "a pleasant gruffness," and "more than a hint of Marley," and calls his piano one of his secret weapons.
Last updated November 5, 2026
Connections
- Chronixx (artist)
- Agent Sasco (collaborator)
- Popcaan (collaborator)
Notes
- Tishanna Williams, "Interview: A LargeUp Link-Up with Dre Island," LargeUp, July 16, 2019, https://www.largeup.com/2019/07/16/interview-a-largeup-link-up-with-dre-island/amp/.
- Williams, "Interview: A LargeUp Link-Up with Dre Island."
- Williams, "Interview: A LargeUp Link-Up with Dre Island." MD Semel, "Droppin' Knowledge: On Dre Island's Debut Album, Now I Rise," Backseat Mafia, May 28, 2020, https://www.backseatmafia.com/droppin-knowledge-on-dre-islands-debut-album-now-i-rise-all-praises-go-to-the-most-high/.
