BY KEITH JACKSON

THE FLORIDA-BASED Prote-J (real name maybe Jabre' Trawick) is an up-and-coming hip hop composer, producer and musician born in Los Angeles to a Papuan mum and a US dad.

As a child in Milne Bay, he was raised by his mother and grandmother in a small village, where he immersed himself in music. His grandmother taught him to speak Suau by teaching him hymns. At age seven he started playing the guitar and entertained the entire village.

Returning to the US, he taught himself to play drums, bass and piano, completed high school and earned a bachelor’s degree from an aeronautical university.

“I came across your blog and it has a lot of good info on PNG,” wrote Prote-J’s manager Ben Witherspoon (www.AjustEntertainment.com) in an email. “We just released his new music video with some footage from his home in PNG.” That’s the song you can see at the head of this piece.

Who is Prote-J? I’m a rapper, producer, and songwriter who was born in the States but raised in PNG. I released my first mixtape last year and it’s been downloaded over 20,000 times!

How did you get started? I moved back to the US when I was 12 and that’s when I really got into hip hop. I wasn’t exposed to much hip hop in PNG, and I pretty much fell in love with it when my cousin put me on to a few Jay-Z songs. I always loved writing songs as a kid but as soon as I hit puberty I realised I didn’t have much of a singing voice. That’s when I really started to write rap songs.

How would you describe your music? Simply put, it’s hip hop with lyrical content, wordplay and dope beats. The beats are good enough to blast in your car, and there should be enough quotable lines to fill up your Facebook status for quite some time.

How was your experience growing up in PNG? Life was extremely different. My family didn't have much so we pretty much lived day to day, but that was fine 'cuz we were happy. I went to school in the city, but I'd always go back to the islands to visit my family. Instead of playing video games or going to the movies, me and my friends went fishing or spear diving in the ocean. That's what we did for fun. I also played a lot of soccer, drank a ton of coconut milk, and I spent most nights playing my guitar on my grandmother's veranda.

How much of an influence has it been on your music? It completely shaped me as a person and a musician. I wouldn't be the artist I am today if I didn't grow up over there. My mother raised me in church, and that's where I really started playing instruments and developing my talent. I was taught to have a very positive outlook on life, so I always try to directly reflect that in my music.

Sources: Ajust Entertainment, Chicago Now and Dream Write Now