For the last six years, promoter and music producer Jahmai Charles has been trying to create a platform for Guyanese artistes, most recently for the members of the Frass Friday team he founded.
Also known as ‘Jahie’ or ‘Ghetto Gad’, Jahmai promotes Dance Hall, Reggae and HipHop artistes. He grew up in Rosemary Lane, South Cummingsburg (Tiger Bay). Number five of eight children, Jahmai grew up in a cookshop run by his mother, Petal Roberts, known by everyone as Sister P. He said he was one of the few fortunate ones to grow up in a home with both his parents unlike many of his friends who were raised by one parent or a guardian. However, coming from a home where there was a popular ital cookshop, he and his siblings were often needed to peel vegetables and take up chores in the kitchen. This, he said, meant less time for play.
As someone from Tiger Bay, the promoter said, he knows there is a stigma that comes with being from the ghetto and that is usually a challenge which makes other issues even more difficult. However, every time he was able to get pass such barriers, it gave him courage he needed to keep striving to attain his goals.
Among the schools he attended were Kingston Nursery, Sacred Heart Primary and North Ruimveldt Secondary. His father, Jahmai said, knowing how important it was for his children to be constructively occupied, talked it over with a friend of his called ‘Callie Busie’, who was popular in the music industry as a musician at the time.
“He was the person that introduce me and my older brother, Jojo Charles, to music. He tell my dad, ‘must send them’ and he gon teach us music. The music classes was done at the top flat of the building where Jude Bentley, the cyclist that die the other day, used to live. The first thing I started to learn to play was the drums,” Jahmai said.
He recalled starting these classes after completing his Common Entrance Examination, and when school was out for the August holidays.
By the time he started secondary school where music was being taught, he was already ahead in the subject when it came to writing and reading music and there were many times when he was left in charge of giving his classmates lessons.
He said he has long forgotten how to play the drums but dabbles on the guitar from time to time.
Later on, another of his older brothers, Omarie, collaborated with Kevin Adonis and began promoting events, founding Trinity Promotions which Jahmai later took over and changed the name to Trinity Promotions, Sports and Entertainment. Currently, he works along with producer and HipHop artiste, Kevin ‘Da Prodigy’ Scott as an executive producer. Though he does not consider himself much of a singer, he can tell when someone has talent and can assist together with Kevin in perfecting aspiring artistes.
While in secondary school, Jahmai was often given little tasks by Omarie, to drop off posters, or letters or get them printed. He said at the time he was never concerned about music or promoting, but now knows that while he was frowning to carry out those tasks he was learning how to promote. He recalled that whenever international artistes visited to Guyana, many of them stopped at Sister P’s Ital Shop. From an early age he was exposed to not only music and promotion but how to handle these big-time singers.
“As I get older and having nothing to do, I just continue doing promotion, but it wasn’t until six years ago that I took it up professionally,” Jahmai said. His peak seasons for shows are during July-August and Christmas time. The promoter recalled that the first international artiste he promoted was Jamaican Dancehall artiste, Tommy Lee Sparta. He also promoted Popcaan and Jahvillani.
Aside from being promoter, Jahmai enjoys writing songs, though he has not put any of them out as yet.
One of the biggest things he has been up to is producing Frass Friday. The group was founded back in November as a platform to promote up and coming Guyanese artistes from the various genres. Since Frass Friday began, they have seen more than 200 artistes registering. It allows for these artistes to come together on Fridays every week and rehearse with each other. Those considered to be among the top performers are allowed to go live on Facebook whenever they meet while the best of the best are allowed to join what they call the ‘Frass Friday Squad’. For the singers making the squad, there is a sing-off on the last Friday of every month. The man envisions himself taking local artistes to as many countries as he can where they can represent Guyana. Currently he is in contact with Mayor Ubraj Narine to change the name of Rosemary Lane to Frass Street as it is the street that Frass Friday originated on.
Having grown up in the kitchen, Jahmai is now the head cook at Sister P’s Ital Shop, a business which occupies most of his mornings. When he awakes at 3 or 4 on Monday and Thursday mornings, the chef runs down to Bourda Market to ensure he has all he needs as fresh as he can get it. Then, after returning home, he prepares breakfast. By 10.30 he is back at the stove working on his ital lunch menu.
Jahmai pleads with other promoters to put two or three local artistes on their events and promote them whether they belong to his Frass Friday group or not. “Give them the exposure because at the end of it, you could get a hit song or singing for a long time and singing the best but if nobody promotes, you’ll stay right there. I’m willing to expose the talents of our artistes here. I grew up in Tiger Bay and I saw nuff talent get wasted because they follow [bad company],” he noted.
One of his all-time favourite artistes he said, is Vybz Kartel, who was trending during the time he attended secondary school.
For someone who enjoys promoting as much as Jahmai does, when he has his free time, he spends most of it trying to come up with promotional ideas. During the cricket season, however, he spends his time in front of the television.
His hobbies are playing table tennis, cricket; he is an all-rounder.
Jahmai’s favourite colours are red and blue.
He can be followed on Instagram @jahie-2g.
