The last decade has represented a giant leap in the music industry’s newly arrived African and Caribbean artists.
One of those artists is Jevy Jayy, a recording artist, professional dancer and all-around entertainer. The St. Albert resident is Canada’s latest Afro-Caribbean female artists signed to Sony, and she will open Asake’s big concert at Rogers’ Place on Saturday, April 20.
Asake, whose birth name is Ahmed Ololade, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. His 2022 debut album, Mr. Money with the Vibe, broke records on its opening day as an African album on Apple Music.
The internationally acknowledged rapper further brought attention to his brand in 2023 after receiving his first nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Amapiano. The single also featured Olamide, a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer.
“Asake is a Nigerian musical legend. He's already broken so many barriers. As an Afro-Caribbean artist, it’s a blessing to work with someone of his stature. He’s pushed me to the forefront in opening for him,” said Jayy.
Currently, her new pop-flavoured single, Dance With Me, has amassed more than 328,000 streams from 50 different countries. It even climbed to No. 2 on South Africa’s iTune charts.
“I like to add an island vibe to make the songs happy. That’s the most important part of the music — to make people happy.”
Born into a Trinidadian-Bajan (Barbados) family, Jayy was performing, singing and dancing by age three. With energy to spare, she studied ballet at Edmonton Dance Centre and Ukrainian footwork with Shumka for five years. In between, she also focused on Irish, contemporary and African styles. For good measure, the expressive young singer studied at Schola Cantorum for five years.
“My biggest passion was to express myself in different ways,” she said.
However, Jayy put aside entertainment after graduating from Paul Kane High School by focusing on a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alberta.
“My grandfather was a chemical engineer, and he spent a lot of time teaching me science. I also developed a passion for it, and I was focused on organic chemistry.”
Currently following her dreams, Jayy releases her next single, inTOXICated, on Saturday, April 20.
“It’s about love. You are intoxicated by someone’s love. It’s about that special person in your life who gives you warm feelings that overflow with emotion. It’s a high-energy Afro-Caribbean song where you want to dance. But when you peel it back, it’s about true authentic love.”
Also performing at the high-wattage Asake concert is Rotimi, a Nigerian American, actor-singer known for his role as Darius Morrison on the Starz series Boss, and Andre Coleman on Power. HunterTvAfrica, a Canadian promotion agency, was instrumental in organizing the concert.
“This area is a hub for multi-cultural talent. It’s a new place for one of the biggest multi-cultural events in Canada and this is just the beginning. I’m from St. Albert and I’m proud to be an Afro-Caribbean artist,” Jayy said.
Her closing words were, “Never give up. Keep your dreams alive and don’t quit. You have to have faith in yourself. It doesn’t matter how small or big your dreams are. They matter. You matter.”
