‘Jackson 5’ doctor aims to be ‘Voice of the Ghetto’

A member of the Seaview Gardens' famed 'Jackson 5' has ventured into music and has vowed to use his many experiences as a source of inspiration for underprivileged and downtrodden Jamaicans.

A doctor by profession, Omar Jackson has adopted the moniker Ojaye Amor as his stage name and recently released a mixtape, Voice of the Ghetto. He is convinced that his music will soon be on the lips of many persons in the very near term.

"The mixtape is about my experience and the struggles of growing up in the garrison. It speaks about life and death, and just overcoming all the obstacles and rising to become someone who can motivate others," he said.

Ojaye Amor and his siblings, Sherri-Ann, Grace-Ann, Jason and Andre have defied the odds to become shining examples of success in their tough, inner-city St Andrew community. Like him, his sister Sherri-Ann is a medical doctor, while their eldest sibling, Andre, is an educator. Grace-Ann has a first degree and works in the financial sector, and Jason is involved in logistics.

In a recent interview with THE WEEKEND STAR, the 32-year-old Ojaye Amor spoke about his 16-track project. Among the tracks on the mixtape are Life Story, Keep Moving, Changes, Self Motivation, What' s Life and Still I Rise. He lists Life Story as one of his favourites.

" Life Story is a track I hold dear to me. In Seaview Gardens, sometimes there are spontaneous flare-ups of violence. In 2018, the police had a sting operation and they basically came to the wrong house. They didn't follow proper protocol in identifying themselves properly and they just approached the situation in a hostile tone. They were beating down the door and when I asked who it was, they answered in a very aggressive tone and I wasn't sure it was the police," Ojaye Amor related.

"When I finally opened the door, guns were in my face and one of them opened the side window and pushed his rifle in and shouted a string of expletives at me," he added.

The up-and-coming entertainer said he identified himself as Dr Omar Jackson and enquired why the police were at his house. The response that he got did not surprise him.

"That didn't ease their aggressive tone," he said. "One of the officers blatantly told me that a Omar mi name and I shouldn't bring nuh doctor ting to him. I was taken aback, because if they had been in an upscale community the approach would have been the opposite."

The singer is hoping not only for a musical breakthrough, but that the compilation will resonate with persons who come from a similar background as him.

"I want it to inspire persons; and on a musical standpoint, I want the mixtape to penetrate the international market. Right now the music space needs a balance, because everything is just negativity. When I was growing up it was a ying and yang thing, as reggae would carry that positive vibration ... . Over the past five years, there is a loss of balance, and this is what I want this project to do," Ojay Amor said.