JahmelHe sold mangoes to raise half the money needed to purchase his first guitar. His mother gave him the other half and in so doing, set Jahmel upon a musical journey which has been full of twists and turns.
But his road is paved now and he's on a highway to stardom.
He's a graduate of Kingston College and Edison College in Rochester New York. Jahmel studied technical engineering while preparing himself for a life in music. He started a band called Jahmel and the Rhythm Factory with his brother Mikey.
They worked on their music playing all across the United States and began hanging around hip hop studios where the likes of Sean 'Puffy' Combs and Notorious B.I.G. worked out. The band was going along well, but then tragedy struck. His brother Mikey died of Leukemia.
To compound his grief, the drummer in his band was killed that same night.
"That was a very difficult period in my life. It was hard to find the strength to go on from there," he said.
Jahmel was caught in a tailspin of troubles, but he was not about to be thrown off course. He went into a brief exile. In 1984 he recorded the album Watchful Eyes with Wailers brothers Aston on bass and Carly on drums.
The record did fairly well in Europe and Jahmel earned critical acclaim. His current album Now And Then contains new and old tracks and Jahmel feels it is a true expression of himself as an artiste.
"It represents my growth. It presents what I had to offer in the early days and what I am capable of now," he said. Jahmel is multi-talented. He's not only a vocalist, but also plays the guitar, drums and keyboards.
From an early age he started to played the guitar with prodigious skill.
"I used to attend a Sunday training programme that was taking place at the Twelve Tribes of Israel headquarters. Soon, he was singing along with the girls and was using his guitar to work out and arrange harmonies.
"They used to sing in unison and I found out that I could find the parts that they needed to sing in harmony," he said.
The 29-year-old singer is focused on keeping the quality of his music high. He's currently recording an album for Penthouse Records and is keeping himself busy in the studios.
