Alvester Martin built his career through dance before finding a new audience as an actor. Known professionally as Skyh Alvester Black, he has performed with Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and Rihanna, led a Michael Jackson music video, released his own music and starred in television dramas.His path also included years of financial hardship as he worked to move from dance into acting. Today, many people know him as Amp Anthony in All the Queen’s Men. His story began much earlier, with a boy in Miami who wanted to follow in Michael Jackson’s footsteps.
Who Is Alvester Martin?
Alvester Martin is an American actor, dancer and singer. He works on screen as Skyh Alvester Black, often shortened to Skyh Black. He has also released music under the name ALV3STER. His best-known television roles include Jacobi in Tyler Perry’s Sistas and Amp “Addiction” Anthony in All the Queen’s Men. Before those parts, he spent years working as a professional dancer. That experience gave him a strong command of movement and performance, although becoming an actor meant learning a different craft.
| Quick facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Alvester Martin |
| Professional name | Skyh Alvester Black |
| Born | 16 February 1988 |
| Age | 38, as of September 2026 |
| Hometown | Miami, Florida |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in, according to Martin |
| Work | Acting, dancing and singing |
| Wife | Actress KJ Smith |
| Child | Daughter Pryde JaNea Black |
| @skyhblack |
Alvester Martin’s Early Life in Miami
Alvester Martin grew up in Miami and has spoken warmly about the grandparents who raised him. Their support mattered as he developed an interest in a career that did not always seem easy to pursue. He has described them as a lasting influence on his drive and his willingness to keep going when others doubted him.
How Michael Jackson Inspired Him
Michael Jackson was one of Martin’s earliest inspirations. As a small child, he tried to copy Jackson’s dancing while watching a video in his grandparents’ kitchen and injured his leg. Martin has told the story in different interviews, giving different ages for when it happened. The clear point is that Jackson’s work captured his imagination long before Martin entered the entertainment industry. Years later, that childhood connection made one particular dance job especially important to him: a lead role in a video for Jackson’s music.
Ballet and Performing Arts Training
Alvester Martin trained in ballet and attended Miami’s New World School of the Arts. Ballet demanded discipline, control and long hours of practice. It also placed him on a path that he has said some people questioned. Their doubts strengthened his resolve to continue. Music was part of his childhood too. Martin has said he began singing in a church choir at nine. Although dance became his first major source of work, he continued to think of himself as a singer and hoped to make his own records.
From Ballet to Beyoncé’s Stage
When Alvester Martin moved to Los Angeles, he pursued entertainment work and won a place at a Beyoncé audition. His ballet training had prepared him to perform, but the commercial dance style was new to him. In an interview, he explained that he watched the other dancers closely and learnt as he worked. He went on to perform with Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and Rihanna. Working beside major artists brought him to large stages and demanding productions. He also performed with Beyoncé at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. Each job drew on the skill he had built through training while asking him to adapt to a new setting.
The Michael Jackson Video
In 2014, Alvester Martin played the male lead in the video for Michael Jackson’s posthumously released song “A Place with No Name”. He won the role after an audition and performed alongside dancer Danielle Acoff. For Martin, this was more than another credit. Jackson had made him want to entertain people in the first place. Taking part in a video connected to his childhood idol became one of the moments he has singled out when discussing his career.
Alvester Martin’s Music
Dance gave Alvester Martin steady professional experience, but he has said that singing was always a personal goal. In a 2014 interview, he spoke about developing music influenced by R&B and pop. Songs he discussed at the time included “So High” and “When I’m With You”. He later released “Overdose” under the name ALV3STER. That name marks another side of his work: a performer creating music of his own after years of helping bring other artists’ performances to life.
Martin also spoke in earlier interviews about plans for a larger music project. Plans can change, so it would be misleading to treat every project he mentioned as a finished release. His confirmed songs and recorded performances provide a firmer picture of his music career.
Why Alvester Martin Turned to Acting
Moving into acting required Martin to start again in a field where his dance success did not guarantee a role. He has credited choreographer and actress Debbie Allen with encouraging him to make the change. He took acting classes and pursued screen work, even while facing rejection and serious financial difficulty.
Martin has spoken openly about being homeless during this period. He has also described the emotional strain of trying to succeed while hiding how hard things felt. Those experiences inform his support for honest conversations about mental health. His acting career grew through persistence, training and roles that allowed him to show more than his ability to dance.
Television Roles
Martin played Jacobi in Sistas, the Tyler Perry drama on which he met fellow actor KJ Smith. He then took a leading role as Amp “Addiction” Anthony in All the Queen’s Men. Amp is Madam DeVille’s nephew, and the part placed Martin at the centre of a continuing television story. He also starred in Lace. Together, these roles brought him to audiences who may never have seen his earlier stage work. Acting gave him the chance to build characters through speech and emotion as well as physical movement.
Film Work
His screen credits also include Stranger Next Door, Love Marry Kill, Christmas Angel and A Haitian Wedding. The projects span thrillers, romance and drama, showing the range of parts he has pursued since leaving full-time dance behind.
Alvester Martin’s Wife and Daughter
Alvester Martin and actress KJ Smith met while working on Sistas. Their relationship developed after they had finished filming together. They became engaged in 2021 and married in Malibu on 3 September 2023. The couple welcomed their first child, Pryde JaNea Black, on 4 October 2025. Martin has spoken about how much becoming a father means to him.
He has connected that wish to his own childhood and the absence of his biological father from much of his life. Martin and Smith have worked together outside their acting roles and have developed a production venture. In 2025, they moved from Los Angeles to the Atlanta area to live closer to family. These choices reflect a new stage in a career that once required Martin to focus almost entirely on finding his next opportunity.
Height, Instagram and Net Worth
Alvester Martin said in a 2021 interview that he is 6 ft 1 in tall, or about 185 cm. His Instagram account is @skyhblack. There is no dependable public figure for his net worth. His work across dance, music, television and film is well documented, but those credits do not reveal his personal finances. A precise sum would be a guess.
A Career Built Across Several Arts
Martin’s journey connects several parts of entertainment. Ballet taught him discipline. Commercial dance brought him onto stages with some of the world’s best-known performers. Music gave him a way to express his own ideas, while acting introduced him to a wider television audience. His success also carries the weight of the difficult years between those stages. He has been frank about rejection, homelessness and the effort it took to change careers. From a child copying Michael Jackson in a Miami kitchen to an actor with leading screen roles and a young family, Alvester Martin has built a career by continuing to grow.
