New Jersey-based reggae artiste Singer Irie is very upbeat about the progress being made by his latest single Bad Influence . Released late last year, Bad Influence has been revived thanks to a promotional campaign that started a few months ago.

“The song has been playing on radio stations in Jamaica and here in the tri-state area. It is currently number eight on the Stampede Street Chart and the feedback has been really good,” said Singer Irie.

Bad Influence, produced by Norman Owen (Stars Have to Shine label), was named as Song of the Week by Gallery Radio Show in New York.

“I have gotten so many opportunities to do dub plates because of this song as well as opportunities to perform on shows. We are just waiting on the COVID-19 pandemic to ease a bit so we can capitalise on the song,” said Singer Irie.

Singer Irie has been putting in the work over the years. Formerly known as Patrick Irie, he began his career by honing his skills on sound systems in Jamaica including Black Scorpio, Cave Man International, Creation and Youthman Promotion.

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

He scored hits with songs including Girls Dem Anthem, How Some People Stay and Too Much Gun. In recent years, he hit multiple reggae charts stateside with songs including Vampires and Mama.

He started a production label, Kamau, which scored a hit with Time Bomb by Capleton.

Between 2014 and 2016, he received the Tri-state Singer of the Year Award from New Jersey radio station Vibeslink 96.1 FM.

“The award was one of the biggest highlights of my career, because at the time, I was doing a lot of shows and performing across the United States,” said Singer Irie.

Singer Irie’s most recent album Success was released in January. Produced by Kyasha Campbell for KWC label, the album features six tracks including Say a Prayer, Mama, Drifting and Depend on Me.