Since the 1930s, Jamaica’s north coast hotels have nurtured the talent of many Jamaican artistes and musicians. Roots singer Dinho da Rastaman cut his teeth on some of those stages which prepared him for a recording career that started in 2022.

The Manchester-born artiste’s first album is scheduled for release in June. He has released four songs to date, including Journey and Cherish which launched the studio phase of his career.

For the upcoming album, he worked with different producers, mainly Neville Muir who has been part of his team since 2022. Last year, Dinho da Rastaman released two songs: River and Greatness. He hinted that an acoustic version of the latter may be on the yet-titled set.

From the district of Royal Flats, he credits spending more time in the recording booth for putting the edge on his sound.

“I love the studio, that’s my getaway and creative space. I have developed a sound and movement that the fans love,” he said.

Dinho da Rastaman started his career in Manchester singing in clubs before moving on to major hotels in Negril, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios where some of Jamaica’s top singers and musicians including A J Brown, Mikey Spice, Benjy Myaz and Paul Kastick first made an impression.

It was also the perfect launch pad for Dinho da Rastaman.

“It’s hard work as we will do as many as five shows per week, but we love it as we are trying to represent reggae as the world sees it,” he said.

– Howard Campbell