Jemere Morgan to ‘blaze fire’ in Papine

With a career that has blossomed from the 'grassroot' of reggae through the Morgan Heritage musical group, lead singer and reggae enthusiast Jemere Morgan is enjoying his opportunities to spread his talent as a soloist, as he plans to ignite a musical fire in the hills of Papine, St Andrew, this Friday.

Morgan, who's performing for the second time in Jamaica as a solo artiste since assuming the lead role of Morgan Heritage, said he's ready and eager to embrace the world.

"I'm excited about performing, and excited to be performing in Jamaica and wave the banner of the Morgan family as the next generation. I'm excited to just give the people of Jamaica music that they haven't heard and I haven't performed over the world with my family. I haven't been really present in Jamaica and I want them to see more of Jemere here, so I plan to do a lot of promotion [locally]," he told THE STAR.

Morgan is set to perform at the Reggae Month event 'Burnin Fire' at 6 Skyline Drive, Reggae Mountain, in Papine. The show, which will be headlined by him and reggae-dancehall act Yaksta, will also host reggae songstress Shanice Sewell as the opening act. Morgan also promised to surprise the patrons with a few special guests.

"I'm excited for Jamaica to see the new talents of reggae. As you know, Yaksta and I are on the rise as the new generation, representing for reggae music. And with this contributing to Reggae and Black History Months, where both our music represents love and consciousness, blazing that fire, consciousness and spirit on Skyline is gonna be an exciting thing," he said. Morgan urged fans to come out and "refill their spirit with some positive vibes and energy".

The Higher We Go artiste, who recently performed at a Reggae Month-themed event, 'Young Reggae Ambassadors', revelled in how "honoured" he was to be a part of the show's inaugural staging. He also felt that the title was fitting, casting a positive and uplifting light on the future stars of reggae. However, he believed a lot more can be done to expose younger local reggae talent to the wider world.

"We just want more opportunities and more support from Jamaica, like sponsorships to help artistes like us go on tour to wave the banner of Jamaica as we perform our reggae music. So I think the support of younger artistes - financially - will help Jamaica a lot to go further...because it's expensive to tour," said Morgan. He added that the extra help will also allow these young acts to be exposed on a more international scale.

"Artistes are the main exporters of the music, so they should be given support to wave the flag".

While waving the Jamaican banner high, the vibrant reggae singer is also tasked with balancing the peak at which the late Morgan Heritage group leader Peetah Morgan brought the musical family, while still holding his own in his solo career.

"It's doing well because people know good music; but before I put out anything, I make sure I like it first, and then hope that the world likes it," he laughed. "But once you're confident in what you're doing and love what you're doing, it doesn't matter. Just put it out, it don't matter if you like it or not - it's art," shared the Keep Blazing singer. He noted that the reception towards his solo music has been "really great, as fans are excited to see me perform both as the lead singer of the band with the family and also the new music". The Morgan Heritage family paid tribute to Peetah yesterday, which marked one year since his unfortunate passing.

As things are now being fine-tuned for Blazin Fire, Morgan said he's mostly looking forward to "performing these new songs, so that the patrons can leave with a positive and happy feeling". He is working on releasing his Damian Marley-produced album this year.