By the time the Diwali riddim dropped, young and old were on their feet at Vintage Sonfest in Barbados. Gospel reggae artiste Jozee was closing with ‘Oh Me Oh My’, her keyboardist weaving Middle Eastern-style string lines through the riddim as hands went up across the packed UWI Graduation Tent.
“Everybody was up dancing with their arms up in the air, it was marvelous,” she said.
Dressed in purple, fuchsia, green and yellow, Jozee opened her weekend set with ‘Jesus is the Answer’ before moving into ‘Dancing like King David’. Hallelujahs rang out as her voice rose above the band, and ‘Won’t Last a Day’ drew a rousing ovation.
Jozee admitted she had a few nerves before taking the stage. Once the music started, having a live band and five singers alongside her gave her room to connect with the congregation.
“It was an amazing experience. There were five singers up there with me, and I didn’t have to do much in terms of vocal work, so that allowed me to get more involved with the audience and let them worship,” she said.
Kingdom Culture International staged the concert under the theme ‘Lifting Up the Name of Jesus’. The bill also featured Prodigal Son, Junior Tucker and Shepherd, alongside Barbadian artistes Jude Clarke and James Leacock and Trinidad and Tobago’s Sherry Ann Maughan.
For Jozee, an Italian-American singer who fell in love with reggae as a child, Who God Says I Am marks her first full-length venture into reggae gospel. Dancehall hitmaker Danny Brownie of Main Street Records produced the album, which Jozee says is picking up support from DJs in Jamaica, Trinidad, St Lucia and Britain. She singled out Love FM’s DJ Rebirth, who had promised to play the album this week.
After getting several generations on their feet in Barbados, Jozee has her sights set on reaching young people in the classroom.
“There’s ministry going on here. I want to serve, I just want to go into the schools and reach the hearts of our young generation,” she said.
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