Junior Kelly and “Urban Poet”: Jamaican reggae with influences from dancehall, soul and jazz

Junior Kelly – the reggae star from Jamaica will play in Wrocław!

Junior Kelly will perform at Wrocław’s Stary Klasztor club on 23 October. One of reggae’s leading figures returns to Wrocław to promote his latest album, “Urban Poet”.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1969 as the youngest of five children, the artist grew up in a musical family. His father and grandfather played banjo, while his mother sang in the local church. Yet his greatest influence was older brother Jim, a popular DJ. For a long time, he could not sign a record deal because dancehall-focused producers demanded lyrics about sex that demeaned women, contradicting his Rastafarian values.

Junior’s career gained momentum in late 1995 through major Jamaican festivals, including Reggae Sunsplash. Yet “Go To Hell”, fiercely attacking Jamaica’s political system, was withdrawn from radio. True success only came six years later with “Love So Nice”, containing the immortal “If Love So Nice”, which caused an enormous stir in Jamaican and international reggae. Kelly entered the top league and confirmed his enormous abilities through a series of acclaimed albums.

He has twelve in total, and the latest, “Urban Poet”, is a collection of fifteen excellent compositions drawing not only on reggae, but also dancehall, R&B, soul and jazz.

Kelly is a reggae ambassador, deeply religious and acutely sensitive to social injustice. His message is peaceful yet uncompromising: he treats music as part of a mission to change the world for the better. He takes performing very seriously, giving everything on stage every time. He visits Poland regularly and first played Wrocław in 2007 during the memorable Wroc Love Summer Stage festival on Słodowa Island. His latest Wrocław concert took place in 2016 at Rototom & Friends in Stary Klasztor. Now, three years later, he will return to the same venue.

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