IT can get pretty chilly in Toronto, especially at Christmastime when the Canadian winter is at its most brutal. That is one of the times Lavie Lujah yearns for even a day with family in Kinowl district, south St Elizabeth.

The singer, who won the inaugural Jamaica International Independence Festival Competition (JIIFC) last year with Certified Yardie, has lived in the Greater Toronto Area for just over 20 years. A behaviour specialist by profession, his memories of Kinowl, which is in the town of Malvern, are special.

“It was a simple life surrounded by simple people trying to make the best of life. No one around was rich and sharing was a necessary virtue for survival. Like most rural communities in Jamaica, farming was an integral part of life. I used to love planting things as a child and although I now live in cold, cold Canada I plant vegetables during the summer months,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “I thoroughly enjoyed my childhood in Kinowl. We made the most of the little we had.”

The second of four children, Lavie Lujah (real name Laval Wilkinson) last visited his hometown in the summer of 2021. His mother Rosetta still lives in Kinowl which has an even stronger sense of benevolence throughout the Yuletide season .

“My fondest memory of Christmas as a child in Kinowl is that it was that one time of year you could eat without concerns about conserving. This was possible because there was a spirit of kind reciprocity that ensured that everyone got something,” he explained.

Lavie Lujah launched his recording career in 2020 with I Can’t Breathe, inspired by the controversial death of George Floyd in May that year. The following year, he successfully contested the JIIFC with Certified Yardie.

This year, he placed second in the contest with Jamaica Rise And Shine. In October, his self-titled debut was released.