Kempo does freestyle
Singjay Kempo is open about his admiration for dancehall roots acts like Ini Kamoze, who he cites as his biggest musical influence. He is also into hip hop, which inspired TikTok Freestyle, his latest single.
Released in May, the self-produced track hears Kempo going for a different feel than his previous songs.
“I’ve always seen music as a universal language; therefore, I never settled with or for any label so as to say I did a specific type of music. I see myself as an expressive musician/artiste, which means I will express myself through any genre,” he said. “Music is like a huge pie, and instead of taking a particular part of the pie, I’ve been learning to create the entire pie.”
The Montego Bay-born Kempo is part of a flourishing dancehall movement in that resort town. Although he respects the talents out of his hometown, including Chronic Law and Teejay, there is a fondness for hip hop titans like Biggie Smalls.
“His music has really resonated with me due to the fact that his message expressed so much truth as it regards to the everyday life of a trying man who managed to reach stardom and then became a victim of that very same stardom. There is so much to learn from his life as well as his music,” said Kempo.
The lanky Kempo, whose real name is Kemarly Lindo, is a nephew of famed Wailers and Now Generation Band keyboardist Earl “Wya” Lindo. While in first form at Cornwall College, he recorded Time, his first song.
Since then, he has released several singles including Sad Song, High Grade Options, and Protect Me.