Because of her Canadian hometown’s diversity and her Jamaican roots, Jônelle has appreciated different genres of music since childhood. The singer shows her pop/R&B side on I Got You, her latest song.

Produced by Lt Irie, it was released in late May.

According to Jônelle, who is from Brampton in Ontario, the ballad was not inspired by a particular experience. An artiste from age six, she said writing songs has got easier since she began recording three years ago.

“It was inspired by my natural ability to write any song I feel like,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

Jônelle’s parents are Jamaican. She grew up hearing a lot of reggae in her home and family circles, such as singers Sanchez and Barrington Levy.

As for Jamaican acts of recent vintage, she points to Chronixx among her favourites.

Sunshine, a song Jônelle wrote at 16, became her first release three years later. There have been a number of follow-ups, including Don’t Deserve Me and Young Girl.

Brampton is one of several cosmopolitan cities in the Greater Toronto Area. Like Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx in New York it has been home to a large Jamaican/West Indian community for decades.

Jônelle credits that diverse populace for her early embrace of reggae/dancehall, Afrobeats, hip hop and rhythm and blues.

— Howard Campbell