A dominant figure in South Florida reggae, Novel-T wanted to make an impact outside of that region with Survivor, her second album, which was released in August. She has achieved that, with the set topping the Jamaica Music Countdown Album Chart.

Distributed by P&N Publishing, Survivor went number one on the popular list last week, ahead of Mortimer’s From Within and Apex by Bugle.

“It is a surreal feeling. It feels amazing and I’m so grateful knowing that my art is being exposed, accepted and embraced more and more in my home country. I’m getting to experience, with immense pride and humility, something I know every international artiste living outside of Jamaica yearns for in their home country,” said Novel-T.

The singer operates P&N Publishing with Howard Perry, her husband. A seasoned musician, he also played trumpet on Survivor and along with Hopeton Lindo, produced several of its songs, six of which topped the South Florida Reggae Chart.

For Novel-T, who is from August Town, achieving number one is just reward for the meticulous production approach to Survivor, which was released eight years after Born To Love You, her first album.

“It was definitely worth it. I believe in divine order and waiting is not necessarily a bad thing. As the saying goes, ‘good things come to those who wait’, and ‘nothing happens before the time’. I believe that the time was just right for this album,” she said.

– Howard Campbell