During his freshman and early sophomore years, he sang dancehall and even opened for the “Energy God, Elephant Man.” Although he enjoyed singing dancehall and was good at it, in an island community that is built on soca and calypso it was quite difficult to thrive in that genre of music. He crossed over to the soca side of things with a local band called “Rockin Vybez.” While playing with “Rockin Vybez” he realized that soca/calypso would be the arena in which he would flourish. During the spring of 2003 the birth of a band that set the standard for Crucian soca music took the Virgin Islands region by storm. Angel “A.J.” Ventura, Alvin Burke, Ana “Nina Nyce” Nelson, Dennis “Pumpa” Liburd, Roland “Kurt” Horsford and Wanston formed the “Xtaushun Band.” Together, they used their musical genius to set the standard for others as each collaboration was unparalleled by no other! They considered their style “The Evolution of Soca Music.” They were fresh on the scene and they captured gold by winning their first roadmarch championship with “Energy” a song that was written by Dennis “Pumpa” Liburd and performed by the band. While “Pumpa” used these formative years to usher him into local stardom, he also used them to experiment with new ideas and perfect his raw and natural talent for composing and performing excellent music. It was not before long that he caught the attention of local musician, Alwyn “Daddy Jones” Baptiste Jr. Together they collaborated on a soca album entitled “Daddy Jones Presents” which grabbed the attention of the entire Caribbean. “Moko Jumbie,” a song that talked about Caribbean stilt dancers caught the attention of VP records. “Moko Jumbie” was later released on their “Soca Gold” compilation. Following the release of the “Daddy Jones Presents”, “Pumpa” found it necessary to embark on a yet another chapter of his life. He graduated from the St. Croix Central High School and then ventured on to the Bryant & Stratton College in Syracuse, New York on a full athletic scholarship. He later transferred to Monroe College in New Rochelle, New York and studied Business Administration. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, he continued to pursue his musical career and released his first solo album “Boom Bam Bye”.
