MIAMI — Popular dancehall artiste Andrae “Squash” Whittaker, the Montego Bay-born entertainer known for chart-topping hits like “Shub Out” and “Big Breeze,” has been sentenced to two years and three months in a U.S. federal prison following a firearm conviction in Miami.
The sentence was handed down after months of legal battles stemming from his February arrest, when police conducting a routine traffic stop discovered a weapon inside his vehicle. Authorities later confirmed that the firearm was equipped with an automatic fire switch — the notorious “chip Glock” modification widely associated with gang-related violence in Jamaica.
After the arrest, Squash was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where he ultimately admitted to the firearm charge as an undocumented immigrant living in the United States without legal status.
His legal team has repeatedly pushed back against U.S. prosecutors’ insinuations linking him to organized criminal activity, insisting he has no ties to any gangs.
Today’s ruling brings closure to a high-profile case that has dominated regional entertainment headlines and cast a shadow over Squash’s once rapidly ascending international career. The artiste now faces the remainder of his sentence in federal custody before any potential immigration proceedings that may follow.
Squash, given name Andrae Whittaker, was arrested on February 24 during a police stop in Miami, where officers reportedly recovered a firearm from the vehicle in which he was traveling.
The police say the firearm was modified with a switch Jamaicans refer to as a “chip glock’.”
The deejay was initially locked up at the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office. Squash was granted $3,000 bail but was later handed over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency at the Federal Detention Center in Miami.
He was already facing immigration issues as he did not have legal status in the country and was awaiting an immigration hearing.
The entertainer entered the USA in 2019 and never returned to Jamaica.
He eventually entered a plea agreement, admitting to the firearm offence as an undocumented immigrant.
