Owen Knibbs Aka Ista* ‎– Juggler

Owen Knibbs was born november, 10th 1966 in Mt Salem, Montego Bay, Jamaica. He grew up with his mother (mama granty), three sisters and nine brothers, Owen was the youngest. He was introduce to music at a tender age by his mother, she would host parties in the back yard every weekend. She own a stereo vinyl player and Owen would play the records for her. Owen study the lyrics of Tinga Stewart “Play The Music”, a festival song in 1974, which became the first song he perform at a talent show and receive one dollar. He started to perform in church and at school and was very popular in the community. While attending St James high school, he met a friend name Martin Reid in nine grade and they became a duo. They call themself “Little Ista and Billy Dread”.

Owen Knibbs wrote his first song about a young tenth grade female teacher. His friends encourage him to sing it for the teacher but he was suspended for a week because the song was kinda sexual. While still in school, one of his classmate elder brother promoted a dance with Owen Knibbs, Early B, Bruck Back and Sister Nancy on one of Montego Bay top sound system “Ghetto International”. Early B like his performance so he invite him to go to Kingston with him. With the respect he has for his mother he told Early B to ask his mother which Early B did but Mama Granty say no. He and Early B kept a close link after that, Owen Knibbs became a regular on the Montego Bay dancehall scene sparing with a DJ name “Jah Brown” who would take him to a lot of dance where he master the art of making up a song on the spot as the selector would play the version and he would chant on the riddim. Around 1982 one of his childhood breathren Leon Virgo who graduate two years before him and went to Kingston was on a visit and heard the cassette playing with him and Early B and though it sounds good, he make a copy and took it back to Kingston.