In a career spanning more than 25 years, vocalist Singer Irie (formerly known as Patrick Irie) will release his debut album Success in January. Vampires and the title track have already been released as singles.

“I bring positive and uplifting music to the table with my unique style,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Singer Irie began his career by honing his skills on sounds systems, including Black Scorpio, Cave Man International, Youthman Promotion and Creation.

“My musical journey has been a rough one. Back then, we had to prove ourselves as artistes, because it was mostly the sound system route that we had to take and it was hard to get your music played on the radio,” he said.

Originally from Waterhouse, he moved to New Jersey at age 10.

In the 1990s, he scored hits on the local music charts with Girls Dem Anthem (produced by Red Man International), How Some People Stay Suh (Howlers International) and Too Much Gun Talk (Arrows label).

Like many artistes of the day, he would ‘voice’ several dub plate specials to increase his popularity, as well as to maintain a livelihood.

In the late 1990s, he visited England where he recorded songs including A Matter of Time (Hammer bass label). He also recorded collaborations with the late Alton Ellis, Little John, Dennis Brown and Junior Delgado.

He later formed his own label Kamau and scored with Capleton’s Overtime Bomb .

Singer Irie performs regularly on the nightclub circuit in New Jersey. Four years ago, he was named Singer of the Year by New Jersey-based radio station Vibeslink FM 96.1.