Imar "Nyah Bless" Shephard A Welcomed Addition To The Jamaican Reggae Music Scene

Imar ‘Nyah Bless’ Shephard A Welcomed Addition To The Jamaican Reggae Music Scene
Author

Parris Kirkland

Release Date

Friday, April 3, 2015

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Being the conscientious journalist I am, before going to meet Jamaica’s latest smooth operator Imar Shephard I’m drawn to check out the meanings of the names behind the man.

After much cross referencing and a couple of phone calls to friends ‘in the know’ I have concluded this:

• Imar is the male equivalent to the Muslim female Iman which means Faith.

• Shephard (Shepherd) for those of you who may not know means: one who guides or leads a group of people.

• Nyah Bless Imar Shephard’s personal label is covered with meaning: Nyah – Purpose / Bless – to ask God to care for.

As I approach our arranged meeting point I recognize the artist leaning one foot against the wall people watching, in a bustling corner of Spanish Town, Jamaica. Courteous greetings over, I am immediately aware of how softly spoken Imar Shephard is as I bombard him with questions that he answers eloquently without deliberation.

Imar Shephard has come a long way in a relatively short time, still somewhat unknown on the international playing field , in Jamaica he has without a doubt risen high on the board of ‘true players’ amongst peers and patrons alike.

Having grown up with a passion for singing, it is of little wonder that Imar Shephard is where he is today. He spent some time as lead singer of Jamaican band ‘Crucial’ back in the day. Imar then decided to focus on a solo career and was fortunate enough to find himself as a contestant on the Jamaican annual Tastee’s Talent Search competition two years consecutively. This gave him an insight to the serious amount of talent and competition within the industry. Perhaps it toughened Imar for some for the battles he has had to endure both in his personal and professional life to get to where he is today, which literally is an airplay away from achieving his dreams.

Two years as a contestant and never a semi finalist spelled out the need for a little ‘fine tuning’ for Imar, and he took himself from away from mid field, to quietly take care of what he saw as the rough edges of his performance that needed to be smoothed out.

A young artist on a definitive mission Imar worked hard on building his profile and fine tuning his vocals until a chance meeting with producer and Dj Colin Demar Edwards aka Demarco changed everything. The pair recorded the single ‘My Queen’, which was an immediate hit gaining rotation across the airways both in Jamaica and overseas.

Taking much from the experience, Imar went back to songwriting, focusing more consciously on content and subject matter. Performing regularly across the island, Imar has managed to keep the interest in his music visible and current. His unique style is very popular amongst radio disc jockeys and Imar is never short of endorsement work or dub plates for sound systems.

Currently in the final stages of completing his debut album, Imar and management company Nyah Bless Music have begun an amazing promotional campaign, that will end mid summer, 2015, with the launch of the aforementioned first album.

The album is already causing a stir within the industry with moguls and fans collectively excited at the prospect of 12 vastly different tracks produced by an assortment of well respected Jamaican recording houses.

Look out for Imar’s songs on iTunes, including his two newest releases - the uptempo soca / reggae track “Do It” and the sweetest love song I have heard in almost two decades “Feelings” ; a song that Imar wrote that features Nastassaja, a Jamaican who resides now in St Kitts.

Imar Shephard’s eclectic taste in music is proving to be the overruling factor that makes him a fresh new and exciting contribution to the Jamaican Music Industry. There is no doubt that the shy artistes’ individuality and unique song writing ability will in years to come take its place in the Jamaican Music Hall of Fame.


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