American gospel artiste JoZee, who recently collaborated with gospel deejay Prodigal Son, is looking forward to sharing the word of the Lord at the launch of his Legacy album on Saturday, June 6.

The launch will be held at Swallowfield Chapel and it will feature performances by several well-known gospel acts, among them Leoneil Teape, Shepherd, Positive, Monty G, and Jason Mighty.

“Prodigal Son is an absolute master at his craft. His ideas are always on point. I really love how he can make a scripture or message feel fun, or he can turn it around and go super deep. His lyrics are powerful. He is a blast on stage as well. You never know what he’s going to do, so you always have to be ready. I’ve witnessed people jumping around praising and worshipping and a minute later we’re doing an altar call. I’ve learned so much from collaborating with him,” JoZee told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday.

She is excited to minister at the upcoming album launch in Jamaica.

“When Prodigal Son invited me to minister at his Legacy album launch I was elated. We’ve recorded three songs together so far, and one of them is on his new album. Jamaica is home for me, and he is family to us. Besides, we are also celebrating his birthday on stage that night. I will be performing the title track to my new album, Who God Says I Am, plus a few of my releases, and later in the show I’ll be joining Prodigal Son for a collaboration. Performing in Jamaica has been such a warm and welcoming experience for me. I always invite people into my songs. I want them to have fun, but go away worshipping Jesus, and they do,” shared the artiste.

According to JoZee, with the current issues the world is facing today, the word of God and His message remain relevant.

“As cliché as it sounds: Jesus is the answer. He is our source of stability in an unstable world. He is the hope for the hopeless. I am watching people become way more Christ-conscious now than I’ve ever seen before. People need to know how much Jesus loves them and how He’s waiting to rewrite their story and give them peace in their hearts,” JoZee, who started out performing at age 9, said.

She is married to a Jamaican and resides between Jamaica and the United States. She gave up secular music more than a decade ago. She was personally signed to Quincy Jones’s Qwest label (which was distributed by Warner) and she also recorded background vocals for major artistes such as Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, among others.

“As much as I used to love singing for these wonderful recording artists, I needed to stop. I wanted to stop and turn myself completely over to God for His purpose and will for my life,” she shared.

JoZee’s collaboration with Prodigal Son is titled Dancin Like King David and it was produced by veteran producer Danny Browne.

“When Prodigal Son released Play di Gospel Music Inna the Dance he did a verse challenge on Instagram and asked me to do a verse. I was shocked because I had never sung on a dancehall track before. When I wrote that lyric, I reflected how excited David was when the Arc of the Covenant was returned to Israel, and how he danced wildly, so much that his wife thought he was crazy. When Danny Browne heard my verse he loved it so much he asked me to finish the entire song, and he co-wrote the rest of the lyrics with me. I recorded the vocals in my home studio and sent them to Danny, and he mixed, mastered, and released it as a single on his Main Street Records label,” said JoZee who also noted the relatability of the song.

Said she: “I want to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere — to the churched and especially the unchurched people. Like the lyric says, ‘Gospel music got the dancehall behaving.’ I feel gospel music should be played everywhere. How else are people going to hear it and eventually get saved if church is the only place where it’s played?”

JoZee explained that working with Danny Browne allowed her to be true to the art of music.

“Danny is a genius; creativity just flows out of him. He is seriously the best producer I’ve ever worked with, and I have worked with lots. Danny is very rooted in Christ, and writing with him is effortless. His tracks have such energy and vibe.

He is super-skilled at developing that signature sound. He knows exactly what he wants… I have loved reggae music since I was a little girl in Chicago, but until I met Danny I had never recorded a reggae song. I never heard my voice on a reggae beat. Danny guided me through the different rhythms and produced a fresh new sound for me. He allows me to be me, but with a Caribbean twist. He does have a blast making fun of me when I try to speak patois though,” said JoZee.

Prodigal SonGabre Cameron