As a teen—"Back when I was still going to the studio in my school uniform," he says—Assassin gained entry into the dancehall business under the tutelage of Spragga Benz. (Assassin wrote "Shotta," the veteran deejay's gangster anthem on the classic Street Sweeper riddim in 1999.) As he set out on his own career, it was his penchant for social commentary that stood out, as heard on "Wah Gwaan" (meaning "What's going on?" in Jamaican patois) a prescient, streetwise breakdown of Jamaican societal ills, circa 2000.

"I got the name Assassin clashing in high school, but I recognized quite early that if I am to contribute to the music in the way that I wanted to, that couldn't be the route," he says of his decision to abstain from attacking other artists in his lyrics, as many others do. "There are a lot of things that people have suggested might advance my career quicker, but if it does not reconcile with who I am naturally, then I am just not going to do it," he adds. "Controversy sells, but I'm not trying to sell controversy, I'm just trying to do the music that I love, and I hope that my contribution to this artform can help it continue to move forward."

That, says Assassin, was his mission with his appearance on Yeezus. As with many unexpected link-ups between Jamaica and the broader music world, the seeds for "I'm In It" were sown at Geejam, a luxury resort property and commercial recording studio in Port Antonio owned by former Gee Street Records owner and music producer, Jon Baker. This is where No Doubt made "Hey Baby" with Bounty Killer in 2001, where Snoop re-branded himself as Snoop Lion a decade later, and it's where a crew of G.O.O.D. Music producers descended in 2012 for sessions initially meant for that year's Cruel Summer compilation.

"They were reaching out to some of the local artists to lay some stuff down, and they would take it back to Kanye," Assassin recalls. "I did some verses here and a chorus here, and I was helping other local artists who were there put verses together. I was looking at it as an opportunity for dancehall, and all music, and not there trying to represent me."

That approach paid off. Though Yeezus had a noticeably Jamaican slant, pulling samples from Capleton, Beenie Man, and Popcaan, Assassin was the only dancehall artist whose original vocals were selected for the project. He says he never communicated directly with Kanye during the process, though they did meet this past December when the pair were introduced at an event by producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. "Rodney said, 'Yo, this is Assassin, who was on that Yeezus record. I'm not sure if you met,'" Assassin recalls. "And Kanye was like, 'Oh yes, nice to meet you.' We took a picture, and that was that."