How Did Dancehall Artist Nigy Boy Become Blind?

Jamaica-born, New York-based Dancehall singer Nigy Boy has shed light on his remarkable journey from premature birth and blindness to academic success and musical stardom.

Nigy Boy’s story started with a fight for survival. Born over three months too early, doctors had initially pronounced him stillborn.

“I was birthed, and while I was about to be carried off to the morgue, I cried out and was rescued post haste. I was incubated for three months and the doctors, they still had their doubts. They still thought I wasn’t going to make it,” the artist, whose real name is Nigel Hector, told Beyond Sight Magazine’s Men In Motion series.  

The 23-year-old explained: “So my eyes were not covered while I was in the incubation chamber. And as a result of that, the light in the incubator burnt out all the oxygen in my retina. I was discharged, taken home by my mother and family members.”

“When I was about six months old, my mother and family members, they noticed that my eyes had a glossy look to them. So they took me back to the hospital and I was diagnosed. My parents, they were told I was totally blind.”

Despite his blindness, Nigy Boy said he led a “pretty” normal childhood. “I played with all the kids in the neighborhood. I didn’t feel left out or ostracized. I did all the things little children would do, gave all the trouble they would give,” he recalled.

His eagerness to learn led him to an institution in Montego Bay. However, his educational journey was challenging due to the limited resources for blind and visually impaired individuals on the island. “See the thing is though, in Montego Bay, Jamaica and many parts of Jamaica, the people they don’t really know how to facilitate blind and visually impaired individuals. But they try,” he explained.

“While at this institution, I remember vividly the teachers, they would use construction paper and apply sand and glue to the paper to make letters and numbers so I could use my fingers and trace as a means of keeping up with the rest of the kids in the class, interacting being involved, being a part of the lessons. But as I already said, I was very eager to learn. I wanted to know more.”

His mother found him a place at The Salvation Army School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Kingston. There, he not only mastered braille but also honed crucial life skills, from making his bed to navigating the world independently.

“I then transitioned from there when I was older to a traditional high school in Jamaica and in those high schools, they don’t all know how to, to facilitate blind and visually impaired children. So it was up to me to show them the ropes,” he said.

Nigy Boy said he excelled in academics at the traditional high school and eventually immigrated to the US to complete his studies. Today, he’s a double major in History and Political Science at Stony Brook University, with aspirations for a law career.

But music holds an equal place in Hector’s life.

Earlier this year, he shot to fame with the release of Continent, one of the first songs on Rvssian’s popular Dutty Money riddim.  He’s since followed up with Judgement, another song produced by Rvssian on the Payment Plan riddim.

In February, he also returned to Jamaica for a two-show appearance as well as a visit to his alma mater, the Salvation Army School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

“I’m just happy to be coming back home. Even if it’s just for a short time, I’m just happy to know that the people who are behind me 120 per cent are there, and I will get that chance to celebrate with them and hold a vibes and to just be in my country with my people,” he told The STAR.

He is set to grace the stage at Reggae Sumfest in July.

“I firmly believe that adversity builds character and there is nothing that’s impossible to do,” he told Beyond Sight Magzine.

“If you have the will, the determination to succeed, you can be whatever you want to be, no matter the obstacles that may be in your path.”