Though music lovers have steadily been complaining about the increase in violent lyrics that promote illicit activities, up-and-coming artist Vahriie is hoping to inject some positivity into the genre with the release of his single ‘360 (24/7)’.

The artiste, given name Javarie Weir, said that the song, which was released last Friday, is a prayer asking God for protection at a time when the country is plagued by violence.

“The title of the song was the first thing that came to me even before melodies and lyrics. It was like I was really thinking about coverage on a daily basis from the Creator, because we live in a time- our elders call it the ‘dying age’ – and the place is really dark. We see things happening on a daily basis where a life has no value anymore to some people and it is as if every second of the day it’s just one in and one out,” the 26-year-old artiste said.

“Looking at all of this, I remember walking home from work one evening and I had the numbers 360 24/7 in my head, and when I got home I opened the computer because I was working on another song called ‘Surgery’ and somebody sent me the riddim for that song. When I heard the riddim the words ‘Light my path, protect me God’ was what I heard in my head and me just sing it,” Vahriie said.

This was the first line of the song that would go on to ask God for complete protection; every hour of the day, every day of the week.

This is the kind of music that Vahriie hopes to saturate the industry with as he believes it is the perfect time for it.

The Linstead native is still young in the music business, however, as he revealed that his first official single was released in 2019 and would mark his first step as a professional artiste. He pointed out that he was inspired to take up music as a career when he was in the fifth grade but was in love with the art from as early as age five when he sang lead at his basic school graduation.

“I decided that I wanted to do music as a career in the fifth grade. I will never forget the day. At that point, QQ did just buss and the first song I heard from him – I think it was on a riddim with him and Gyptian- it was called ‘Poverty’. I remember rushing home that evening, dropping my school bag on the verandah, running into the house and asking my father if he could carry me to studio,” Vahriie recalled.

This love for music is no surprise, however, as the artiste disclosed that he is from a family of musicians.

Unfortunately, “they just didn’t make it big,” Vahriie said. He added that this fact helps to motivate him to do what they didn’t.

He told OBSERVER ONLINE that his musical journey so far has been an “epic one”, with each song released being better than the one before. Should things remain on this upward trajectory, Vahriie hopes this will help him attain his goal of inspiring those around him.

“My goal is just to inspire as many people as I can with my words, with my music. And these words I firmly believe were given to me by God. So I totally believe that my goal is just to impact as many lives as I can. I am here and I am singing these timeless melodies,” Vahriie stated.

He revealed that creating buzz around ‘360 (24/7)’ has been slow on social media. The artiste added that this may just be what is needed for the song to have the required impact.

“Social media is slowly gravitating to it, but I realise that slow progress is actually what we really need for this song because if it goes fast people might miss the meaning. So on social media, people slowly getting attracted to it so I am just giving it its time and watch God work,” Vahriie said.

When asked why he decided to follow this path and not the typical dancehall pattern that is making the rounds today, Vahriie revealed that he was once all about the gun lyrics but soon found that it was not for him.

He said fans have told him that his music will heal and help to save the nation. This type of motivation is what keeps him going, he said.

More of Vahriie’s music can be found on streaming platforms and YouTube.