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March 19, 2013
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Star Entertainment |
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Jessie James: the latest dancehall game changer |
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Jessie James - Contributed Inspired Music Concepts recording artiste Jessie James is the latest game changer in dancehall to emerge from the city of Montego Bay, St James. The ultra-talented 25-year-old deejay is raising eyebrows with the breakout single, Flying Colours, "The video ah shot, when I premiered it on HYPE TV, my phone just blew up, crazy pings and messages," he said. Flying Colours is the title track of his first EP which was released late last year. Last month, he also released his mixtape dubbed Life Journeys, an eclectic mix of urban music with cover songs of Rihanna and Chris Brown, many original dancehall songs and a sensational reggae-dubstep tune Roll It Up. "The mixtape shows just how versatile Jessie James can be, and I am expecting great things because the feedback on Flying Colours has been great on Twitter and Facebook, hopefully that will lead to sales on iTunes and other download sites," he said. Born April 7, 1988, he is the sixth of eight children for his parents. He grew up in Camperdown, St Catherine, where he began singing at a very young age, even entering the church choir. His life changed dramatically when his mother died suddenly when he was only six. After this, Jessie and his siblings were split up and brought up in different children's homes all over Jamaica. "It was tough growing up without my family close to me, but it made me stronger," he said. Music was the one constant source of joy and comfort, and he would often sing to lift his spirits. At 15, he began to pen his own lyrics, and even teamed up with friends to form the group Faith. The group performed at several local functions and church events, but the run was short-lived, breaking up when Jessie was shipped off to another children's home. He continued to fine-tune his music skills and through his various musical influences, which include Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Kenny Rogers, Sizzla, Chris Brown, and Junior Gong, he began to craft his unique sound. Being a versatile singer, Jessie has the ability to tackle a whole host of different genres like soul, R&B, reggae and dancehall. He has since been featured on a single with renowned MoBay artiste Rickey Teetz and the video for the track Wen We A Party has been on regular rotation for the past few months. "The Wen We A Party video really put me out there and gave me a lot of new fans, and I have to big up Rickey Teetz for that opportunity, and Phantom for believing in me," he said. |
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