Ammoye’s happy about Sorry
ON February 7, nominations for Canada’s Juno Awards were announced and among the nominees for Reggae Recording of The Year, is Jamaican-born singer Ammoye.
The artiste was born Shernette Amoy Evans and hails from Halse Hall in Clarendon. She is up against four-time winner Exco Levi with
Siren; Cry Everyday by Blessed; Jay Kartier’s Who Feels It and Roll Dem by Dubmatix featuring Gappy Ranks.
“Two nights before the nominations were announced I got an email inviting me to the announcement event. That is usually an indication that you are nominated. I went and when I heard my name announced it was exciting and I felt so honoured,” said Ammoye. “The Juno Awards is a big thing for us here in Canada. Being nominated can open doors and put you on a bigger platform from which to showcase your music.”
The Junos are Canada’s answer to the Grammy Awards. It takes place on April 2.
This is Ammoye’s third Juno nod. She was first recognised in 2013 for Radio and the following year for Baby It’s You.
She describes her work as “healing music… to uplift, motivate and inspire the heart, mind and soul of those who hear”.
Produced by Kirk Bennett, Sorry was released as Ammoye did some healing of her own.
“I was in Jamaica last year when I discovered nodes on my vocal cords. I was just using the opportunity to chill and recalibrate and decided to release Sorry as the first single from my mixtape, Enter The Warrior. The Juno committee got a hold of it and now its nominated… I am excited,” she said.
Next month, Ammoye is set to release the first single from her album The Light, which contains songs from several Jamaican producers. It is on her label, Cool Gypsy Island.
“This is my best work yet. I strongly believe that, as a reggae artiste, if I want that authentic sound then I have to come to the source. For The Light, I was able to work with some of the best producers. Sly & Robbie, Donovan Germain, Mikey Bennett — these legendary producers have all contributed to the project. Then there are younger producers like Natural high and Esco who have worked with me in making it great.”
