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| Jamari Reid |
Dancehall/Reggae recording artiste Jamari firmly believes in developing the mind to achieve one’s desired goal with active faith. Ever since he was a teenager, Jamari thought about pursuing a career in the music industry but from observing the financial struggles of his family, was driven to achieve academic success to help take them out of a depressed lifestyle. Little did he knew the depression would eventually affect him and when it became inevitable, Jamari did what he had always been passionate about, he used his talent and became an Artiste/Entertainer.
Born Jamare Reid and raised in the Falmouth Gardens community located in the Georgian town of Falmouth in Trelawny, Jamari attended the Cedric Titus High school and studied electrical engineering. “I was really focused on just doing well in school, and getting my subjects until members of the Caribbean Maritime Institute of Jamaica visited my school. After that career talk, I was convinced that this is the field I wanted to pursue a career in and was looking forward to college,” he said.
However, those dreams were shattered because Jamari’s parents were unable to finance his tertiary education. His mother was a waitress and father a Detective in the Jamaica police force, “it was difficult times for them so I did the next best thing, I found a job and worked as a Ramp Attendant in the Montego Bay airport,” he said. But would soon became less enthused about his job and enrolled in a training programme for Entertainment Co-ordinators at a local hotel but was not hired. Unemployed, Jamari kept writing, “I’ve been in love with music from a very young age and listened to music so often that I was able to put my own song together. I made songs for fun and share them with my friends, the more songs I made the better I became so I kept writing.”
As fate would have it, Jamari entered a deejay competition in Falmouth in 2009 and placed
second, receiving J$15,000 for his prize. Emboldened by his good showing, he took off to Kingston, determined to work with the most reputable music producer in town. “I saved my
money and waited one week in hope of meeting a producer but I was unable to make a good connection. I ran into the promoter of the competition in which I was placed second and he became my manager.” In 2011, Jamari met popular producer ‘Russian’ whorecorded and collaborated on Vybz Kartel’s monster hit, ‘Jeans and Fitted‘ and recorded a song titled, ‘Heart of a Lion‘ released on his label.
But as time progressed, the business relationship between Jamari and his manager grew sour so he resorted to reading ‘self-help’ books in an effort to improve his personality and self esteem, “I began to read a lot and stayed home for months working on me” he said. The break and inner reflection would later lead him to socializing and meeting people who positively impacted his life. One such is a Canadian entrepreneur who is now managing his career and created and funded Reid Music the label under which his music is produced.
2013, Jamari wrote and recorded a trendy Dancehall single titled, ‘M.O.N.E.Why on the Reid Music Record label and subsequently released an equally trendy and eye-catching video, directed by Jay Will and released on Jamaican television and cable stations. This track is everything upbeat, fun, groovy and has a cross over vibe with a definitive Caribbean feel. As radio airplay increases locally, the Jamaican M.O.N.E.Why singer/songwriter continues his recording sessions hoping to release some other tracks including the already titled, ‘One More Time‘ and ‘Me Believe’ that are soon to be released.
Jamari’s aim as a Dancehall recording artiste is to fuse his musical artistry with other genres to create a balance from which music fans of other cultures will appreciate. He hopes his strategy will impact audiences other Dancehall artistes are yet to, “I am singing Dancehall music of course but my aim is to reach music lovers who have not yet learn to appreciate Dancehall music> I want the general music fans to listen, appreciate and eventually purchase my music because it’s a good song.” M.O.N.E.Why tells of a story where ‘money’ continues to elude Jamari, hence his asking the question, “why?” Music lovers following this artiste will come to understand how he got through his struggles and what he has in store for the future from listening his tracks. Life has not always been good but Jamari made his better and continue on his quest for greatness. We introduce you to Reggae/Dancehall artiste Jamari a survivor of hard times making light of his own personal experiences, expressed through music.
By: Sophia McKay
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