GOSPEL singer Jo-Ann Richards launched her latest music video, Notn no De, at Calvary Gospel Assembly in St Andrew, earlier this week.

The single is taken from her 12-track album Kom Mek Wi Worship (2012). The set, done in Jamaican patois, is co-produced by Sheldon Bernard and Courick Clarke.

“I hope to encourage people to sing songs to God in our own language. I want Jamaicans to embrace their own identity in worship,” Richards told the Jamaica Observer.

The singer, who is head of the Music and Media Department at Jamaica Theological College in St Andrew, said the inspiration for a dialect album came while serving as a missionary ethnomusicologist with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Africa.

“I was helping people from other countries to develop songs for worship in their native languages and I realised that we in Jamaica were not doing that,” she said.

According to Richards, Kom Mek Wi Worship was synchronicised to be released during Reggae Month and Jamaica’s 50th Independence celebrations.

“This new venture has been awe-inspiring and fulfilling, taking my ministry into a new sphere. I strongly believe that authentic worship must take place through culturally relevant expressions, so it is my desire that Jamaicans and those who love the Jamaican culture will be happy to add these songs to their worship repertoire,” said Richards.

“I love my culture, and being able to share in song, and now videos, means that I can celebrate and connect with my fellow Jamaicans, share their stories, and help them to feel proud of who we are, and to connect with God on any level, with confidence.”