New Artist of The Month: Meet Jah Marnyah!

Jah Marnyah

Meet Jah Marnyah! Were I to say ’”Montserrat”, what comes to mind? I would imagine that it would be one of two things. The first being ’volcano’, if you’ve been to the island or have a knowledge of it and the other thing might be ‘Arrow’, as in ‘The Mighty Arrow‘. Certainly in all things musical, the legendary Calypsonian’s is the first name to come to mind (and if you don‘t know who he is, then simply sing the first Soca tune that comes to your mind and he‘ll be its creator), but perhaps things are changing on the scene in the ‘Emerald Isle‘. There have been a few Reggae artists of quality from the island also, most notably Ijah Menelik (who I believe is the Arrow’s nephew), but I believe the absolute strongest Reggae talent Montserrat has ever produced has just emerged in the form of Jah Marnyah and in 2010 I think we’re going to get to know the chanter quite well.

Having linked with the apparently quite capable Faya Wurks Records in the UK (which is also where Marnyah is based I believe), the artist, who has been around for a few years, is now taking his career into the next stage, most recently with two big singles for the label, ‘Never Stray’ and ‘Sweat Of[f] Your Brow’, both of which can be purchased through etailers worldwide.

‘Never Stray’ is very nice and really shows off the skillset of this wonderful artist, but the more recent ‘Sweat’ is nearly HUGE to my ears as has been quite a bit of Marnyah’s output that I’ve come across. He has a style which is somewhat reminiscent of another ‘Jah M’, Jah Mason. While Marnyah may not (isn’t) quite as ‘moody’ as the Mason, he is arguably just as talented, which is DEFINITELY a big thing to have at your disposal. Jah Marnyah is a truly BIG talent and to my ears he’s one who may already be developed as well.

Prior to linking with Faya Wurks, he also had a few big ‘works’ out also, including what is apparently his first big single and video, the very nice ‘Stormy Weathers’ (also available for purchase) and ‘Where is The Love’, over the BIG Golden Riddim from 2009.

And I could really keep going with outstanding releases from this fine young artist, such as what is apparently an older song that is currently in the process of BLOWING MY MIND, ‘The Anointed One’.

So definitely keep an eye on Jah Marnyah (who looks A LOT like Lexxus), moving into the new year. Representing Montserrat (as well as another big artist by the name of Ras Iyahkayah), he's one of a few artists who I think are poised to have a truly MASSIVE 2010 and hopefully we can get a big album from the artist this year as well.

Jah Marnyah @ Myspace

{note: Jah Marnyah is the new artist of the month for December. The feature will (hopefully) return at the end of January, as usual}