Jay Sparkle is ready to shine

On a mission to make her granduncle, veteran singer Leroy Sibbles, proud, up-and-coming singjay Jay Sparkle, formerly called Jaymini, is focused on showcasing her versatility as she navigates the music industry.

"I look up to my granduncle and I don't think he got the flowers he deserved. I want to do this for him," she told STAR on the Rise.

"I want to make him proud. I also want to make my mother proud as well. My mother is a single mom of four and growing up, I saw her struggle and I want to change that. So that motivates me to go harder in my music career," she continued.

Born and raised in Kingston, the 20-year-old, whose given name is Ashanti Barrett, always knew she was destined to become an artiste, having always been drawn to music. She said the influences were all around her as even her mother, Stacy Ann Sibbles, and her grandmother were both singers.

"As Jamaicans would say, music inna me blood. So it's coming from there. I just always found myself singing. When everybody else was playing with marbles, dolls and those things I was always knocking pans and singing by myself. I was disturbing everyone with my loud singing. I liked church as well, I went with my grandmother. It was a new church and I was one of the first persons on the choir, and at school I auditioned and got through on the choir there too," she shared.

Jay Sparkle is a past student of the Vauxhall High School in Kingston and then went to Meadowbrook High School in St Andrew. She recorded her first single, Chant, in 2019.

"At first I would perform at some small-scale stage shows and then I met Don Lyrikal, who is another artiste. He saw my talent and took me to the studio and that's how I did my first recording. I used to write as well and perform but I was not recording," she said.

The youngster has big dreams for her career, hoping to some day record with R&B giant Chris Brown as well as Canadian rapper Tory Lanez and Jamaican recording artiste Kranium. Ultimately, she wants to also branch out into production and own her recording studio. With only three years under her belt since her first recording, she has picked up a valuable lesson in the business.

"Across my time in music so far, I have learned to study the music. One of the first persons I tried working with stole one of my songs because I knew nothing about releasing music or getting my name registered or my songs registered. So, I learned that that side of the music is important so I can protect myself as I grow," she revealed.

Jay Sparkle has a new track titled Lickle Tight Tight and is currently working with the Shadow Lady Production Label.