I-Rae believes her catalogue is Grammy worthy

Back in 2016, I-Rae, formerly known as Rae Tay, was selected as a contestant in the Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall competition, but she dropped out of the contest after the death of her husband.

Having opened for Beres Hammond in 2008 and 2009, I-Rae, whose real name is Heather Smith, was about to launch her own career at the time of her spouse's untimely passing in 2016.

"I started right before he died. We had discussed how I would get back in the music industry, and that is how I changed the name, and then I auditioned for Magnum Kings and Queens," she told THE STAR.

"He got shot on the 18th of January. He didn't die on the spot. He was in the hospital in a critical stage, then they called me the Friday, and he said I should still go ahead and do it. So, I did it, and after my second performance, he died," she recalled.

But after his passing, she had to focus on raising her daughter, and she later migrated to The British Virgin Islands, where she now has a nine-to-five job.

Still with musical aspirations, the now 33-year-old says she has a catalogue of unreleased music that she believes is Grammy-worthy.

"I have a lot of stuff that I did with Baby G from before because that was what I was concentrating on - an album for Baby G. I was in the process of doing an album, so the songs are still there, they are still fresh. I have so much music that has never been heard, and I mean like Grammy kind of stuff," she explained, noting that she plans to release an EP soon.

But being away from Jamaica has its advantages and disadvantages, she says.

"It's a bit hard for me to do music, being that I am not there. But with me working, I am able to finance certain things that I couldn't finance before, so it's hard, but it is kinda easy in some aspects," she told THE STAR.

"Because I already recorded those songs, I don't have to live in the studio, so the material is there. It is really just the financial part that I have to deal with."