Lisa Hyper The Dancer? Artist Reveals Dancing Was Her First Love

Long before she became the sole female deejay on Vybz Kartel’s Portmore Empire roster, Lisa Hyper was stealing the spotlight as a dancer among hotshots like John Hype and Shelly Belly. At least, that’s what she told followers on Instagram Live on Sunday.

The Sculpture artist said she was a fixture at spaces like the now-defunct Limelight nightclub in Half-Way Tree, Kingston, while attending the Queens School. 

“Detention, Limelight, Skateland, mi always deh a dem place deh a dance cause dem time deh mi a big, bad dancer and mi did love the badness,” she shared, before adding that her deviances often led to her running from undercover police. 

“Mi nuh know weh it gone now but mi coulda dance good-good,” Hyper continued. “Mi can maybe buss a one whine and do a likkle one thing, but maybe a because mi nah tek the dancing serious no more, but mi was a big dancer man. Shelly Belly, John Hype, the whole a dem people deh know mi from mi a go a Queens. A matter of fact, mi mash up John Hype inna mi auditorium already and him haffi give mi some US (money).”

This isn’t the first time the entertainer has dished on her initial ambitions of being a dancer. At Dancehall Queen Carlene’s birthday party in May last year, she hailed the ‘butterfly’ creator as a primary inspiration for her dancing pursuits. Other Jamaican artists who got their start in dance before transitioning to music include Chi Ching Ching, Ding Dong, Queen Nikki and Renee Sixthirty. 

In Hyper’s case, her entry to music came at 18 years old when she became the ‘First Lady’ of the Portmore Empire/Gaza collective. Then known as Lisa Hype, the Waterford, St. Catherine-native stood out with lyrics that defied cliché ABC-rhymes, and a hardcore voice that landed her catalogue favourites like Bill (featuring Gaza Kim), How Yuh Do It Like Dat and Whine Fi Me (with Kartel).

With the ending of her contract, she left the camp in 2009, clarifying in 2020 that she was never expelled from the group. 

Hyper is gearing up to release the visuals for her song Trendsetter, produced by Ivey League.