T.J. aka Likkle Briggi

Being the son of Brigadier Jerry and Nephew of Sister Nancy and Jeremiah it seems inevitable that Likkle Briggie also known as TJ would follow in the same stead and grow to become a Dee-Jay / MC. Despite not growing with his Father he was definitely blessed with the Russells music gene.

Briggie was brought up in Barbican, Kingston Jamaica with family friends as both parents lived in the United States. Briggie remembers the first time meeting his father at the age of 7 at a Bass Odyssey Dance in Old Harbour. His guardian at the time brought him to the dance and introduced him to Brigadier Senior. Brigadier was Dee-Jay-ing at the time and took him and placed him on his shoulders and continued to Dee-jay. He remembers sitting their until falling asleep then impressionably Brigadier ordered 4 crates of beer, took out the beers and made a bed for him underneath the control tower.

That’s when he knew Dee-jay-ing was his calling. From that tender age he began honing his craft and built his reputation. Attending Lannaman’s Prep School in Kingston he would regularly perform for his peers with Jam 2 (son of Legendary producer King Jammy), who would beat the desk creating the beat.

His guardian helped nurture his talent by taking him to dances and shows, and being members of the 12 Tribes of Israel (Rastafarian organisation) he would regularly attend these events and follow the Twelve Tribe of Israel Sound “Jah Love Muzik”.

This exposed him to travelling around the Island and acted as a training ground as he would get the opportunity to Dee-Jay on the sound with the established Dee-Jays and Artists such as Jeremiah (Uncle), Culture Dan and Rassy Hardknocks. Regular guests Artists on the sound were the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Josey Wales, Buju Banton and Luciano to name a few.

His first experience in a studio as a recording artist was when he reached high school. The 12 Tribes Of Israel had their own Orthodox record label. Sangie Davis who was part of the label was working on an album with Dan Hudson and The Seers. They had a track called “Wise Father” and wanted a young artist to feature on the track. With already establishing his reputation they approached him for the feature. A few days later he was picked him up from school and carried to Studio 2000 where producer Steely recorded his feature on the track.

Unfortunately shortly after this he was kicked out of school and was sent to England. He resided in Manchester as this is where he had family and friends through 12 Tribes. Being a regularly attendee at the 12 Tribe HQ he would often Dee-Jay on the 12 Tribe Sound and feature on Stage show events.

Connecting with other youngsters within the organisation they began working together and formed their own sound “Music Mafia”. Being UK based the vibe was different to what Briggie was used to as they would include other music genres such as UK Garage and Grime. Briggie adapted to the new styles and would transpose his Reggae lyrics to fit. Music Mafia worked closely with Northampton based sound system Jah Troopers and would regularly do coach trips to and throw. Jah Troopers as a more Reggae influenced sound and established brand was a more ideal suit for a Dee-jay of Briggies calibre, and once he began working with the group he relocated to Northampton and became an official member.

In 2004 after a 5 year stay in the UK it was time for Briggie to return back to Jamaica. Other than recording the odd dubplate and appearing on a few small stage show and dances Briggies involvement in music was minimal until linking up with Exile di Brave.

At the time Exhile was known for his Hip Hop remixes and had a small project based studio in Papine. This become a regular meeting spot for Briggie and the likes of Michah Shemiah, Eesah Ackime, Hempress Sativa, Kazam Davis and Rassy Hardknocks, where they would cook food and use wi-fi. As a collective they would work together on songs.

The first major project that came from this collective was Micah Shemiah’s “Dread at control” which featured Hempress Sativa, TJ (Likkle Briggie), Eesah & Infinite. The song was released on 7” and 12” vinyl and the music video was filmed at the Kingston Dub Club as a tribute to the event organiser Gabre Selassie.

Up until this point Briggie was a Sound System Dee-Jay with all his lyrics being freestyles. This encouraged him to actually start writing his songs which lead to the recording of his debut EP “The Rising of the Son”.

One Thursday the group was chilling at the studio and a friend that was going back to Europe stopped by and left them with two turn tables and a mixer. That evening the group strung up the turn tables and ran a live session. This was the start of “Vinyl Thursdays” which a grew to be an internationally renown weekly session, attracting university students, tourists and veteran artists such as Lone Ranger, Eek a Mouse, Carl Dawkins and Brigadier Jerry himself.

Here the group built their “King Harar Sound System” recruiting DJ Natty a record salesman from Chyna as the selector.

DJ Natty was also a producer and went on to producing a collaboration track with Likkle Briggie and Kumar from the Raging Fire band. Briggie has also collaborated on a projects with Lady G and most recently with Italian Reggae singer Giallo Man.

As a brand endorsement Briggie was one of the faces for Yaadcores event brand “Dubwise” doing a national promo on daytime TV.

In addition to music Briggie is no stranger to the camera and has featured in TV commercials for US Embassy, National Cream Crackers and Juicy Patti. In 2018 his authentic style attracted the attention of Levi’s Clothing who asked him to feature in a photoshoot that drew influence from the iconic 1978 film Rockers.

Briggie has recently re-connected with Jah Troopers and is currently working on new material.