His ambition was to become a physical education coach, but due to financial constraints he was only able to complete two years out of a three-year programme at the GC Foster College in St Catherine. But, despite pursuing his musical ambitions, singjay Rhumba is intent on finishing what he started.

“I’m looking forward to finishing up college. I want to make my mother happy because she worked hard to send me to school,” Rhumba, 23, told Jamaica Observer.

Despite the setback, the Discovery Bay, St Ann, resident has a lot to smile about. His latest single, Life Is Everything, a motivational track produced by Hemton Music, has been getting ample airtime on radio stations.

“ Life Is Everything is not just a song it’s a song for the world. The words were meant to uplift and motivate people. Every word in the song has something to say about why you’re not supposed to give up. But who can go against ‘life’, only a person who doesn’t want to live,” posited Rhumba. “The feedback and response from the people have been very good. When I recorded the song I kept asking myself how I found a song like this.”

Born Rohan Nesta McKenzie, he got the name Rhumba while he was a youngster.

“When I got the name, I wasn’t even musically inspired but when I started doing music I wanted to change the name and one of my friends researched the name and found out that Rhumba is the name of a musical band. So, I decided to work with the name,” said Rhumba.

It was while attending Holmwood Technical High that he would save his lunch money to pay for studio time and record songs such as Mother Love and Champs a Come. Since then he has recorded songs including No Friend Again and Confident.

Among the producers that he has worked with are Cell Block Music, YGF and Hemton Music.

“What I would like to achieve musically is to see how well my music can have an impact on people not only in Jamaica but worldwide on an international level,” he added.

— Kevin Jackson