By M. Peggy Quattro

The Conscious Era of Reggae – the positive, Rasta-inspired message music associated with the early 1990s – primarily showcased male DJs and singers, notably such stalwarts as Everton Blender, Luciano, Tony Rebel, and Garnet Silk…all revolutionary. This current generation welcomes our female “Love Revolutionary,” our “Rebel Empress,” our Jah9.

Singer/Poet Jah9, aka Janine Cunningham, was born May 23, 1983, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She was raised in nearby Falmouth by a preacher father and singer mother. Her roots in Nina Simone and Billie Holiday are heard in her neo-soul-India-Arie-like, Jazzy, Dancehall, Dub-style delivery of self-penned poetic and powerful lyrics. Her stories surround Rastafari and Selassie, as well as the importance of yoga and women & children’s causes. Continue reading →