Dadrien Amen-Ra

Jay J. Ra is a singer-songwriter, a versatile artist with several musical accomplishments to his repertoire. His genre of music and vocal styles ranges from Pop to R&B, Afrobeat, Classical (Opera) and Gospel. He was born on May 11, 1987, in Kingston, Jamaica, as Dadrien Brown, to Sandy Miller (mother) and Owen Isaac Brown (father). He has roots as a singer in the church choir, singing from the age of 8, however, he had always wished to showcase his talent internationally and across all walks of life, so he decided to make a career in music at the young age of fourteen. Though he never had the opportunity to bond with his father because of his absence, and meeting his father for the first time at age 11, he, however, in many ways, inherited his father’s musical essences. His father is a reggae artist, music producer and songwriter, based in the United Kingdom and Jamaica, and worked side by side with Reggae legends such as Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Errol Dunley in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and have also worked once with Michael Jackson. Years later, Jay J. Ra migrated to Canada and pursued some education in music due to his passion. After migrating to the Greater Toronto Area in Canada in 2009, he continued his journey in music. In his undergraduate years at York University, he took all of his elected courses in music; the York University Gospel Choir (as a tenor, 2012 to 2014) under the direction of Professor Karen Burke, the Male Vocal Ensemble as a bass vocalist (classical, as a bass, 2011 and 2013), Introduction to Classical Singing (as a tenor, 2012) and Staging and Movement in Classical Singing (as a tenor, 2012), which some of these performances can be found in videos on one of his YouTube Channels. Under his previous artist name, D.bé Jayri, he had released a total of four albums since 2016, with his first EP album, 'Soul Glimpse,' released in 2016. In January 2020, he released his second album (LP), called "Glorious, Beautiful and Black." Apart from his albums, Jay J. Ra have released several singles, with most of them being released in 2018 and 2020. In December 2020, he released his holiday EP album called "Happy Kwanzaa, A Soulful Christmas." He had already received some recognition and accolades for his music. His most notable credits being the three songs, "Freedom Song," "Soul of A Black Man," and "Beyond the Sky," making it to the top ten of the BMS Radio Music Charts: Dope Urban Music Chart and Urban Fire Chart in Chicago. Jay J. Ra also has a rich performance history, having performed several times over the years at venues such as Ashford and Simpson's Sugar Bar in New York City, The Bitter End in New York City, Nathan Phillips Square/City Hall in Toronto, Canada and at Palace Afrika in Accra, Ghana. He released his fourth album (LP) “I Am” in October of 2022. He had previously recorded and released singles from this album, such as a remake of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," and his original songs, "My Move" and "Home, Where I Belong." Another song of his, called “Sweet Stories” (released May 11th, 2022), debuted at number 32 on the American Independent Charts. His song “Myself and I,” which was released on June 29th, 2022, has gotten the attention of some music critics such as Blue Rhymez Entertainment, which wrote a music review article on the single. In the summer of 2022, Jay J. Ra entered the Opening Act competition which selected an artist to open the Hollywood Bowl concert of 2022. He was placed 7th in his group in the Opening Act competition. His original song “Myself and I” peaked at number 33 and his cover of “Butterfly” (originally recorded and performed by Mariah Carey) peaked at number 25 on the America’s Independent Top 40 Chart, in January and February 2023. In 2024, Jay J. Ra made changes to both his personal and professional life. The singer legally changed his name to Kwadjo Bonsu Amen-Ra after discovering his roots in Ghana, Kwahu in the Eastern Region. This name change is to reflect the uncovering of his true Identity as an African, both now and historically. This development lead to him being inspired to change his artist name from D.bé Jayri to Jay J. Ra, and has already begun to collaborate with Ghanaian artists such as African Child. Under his new stage name, Jay J. Ra had already released two singles “One Day at a Time,” and “Sweet Stories 2” featuring African Child.