Samory I rues postponed album launch

Recording artiste Samory I was left disappointed as he had to postpone Thursday's launch of his new album, Strength, due to the inclement weather.

"It cut mi deep because mi did ready fi go outside. I'm very nervous knowing I've put my all into the music, I'm just worrying about how the people will receive it. The music is amazing but I'm just anxious to see how dem ago respond to it," he told THE WEEKEND STAR. The album launch is rescheduled for November 23, at Di Lot on Constant Spring Road, St Andrew.

Strength is the artiste's second studio album, following Black Gold in 2017 which catapulted Samory I to becoming a household name in the reggae world. He expressed that his son inspires the album.

"I call my son 'Strength', because ever since he was born, the drive has been different, so he is the inspiration behind this album," Samory I stated.

Label manager and executive producer of the album, Claire Osman, said that the album was released on Friday, and pointed to the new music video featuring Lila Ike.

Samory I shared that working with Lila Ike was a great experience.

"Big energy, Lila is a vibe. We had a good time doing this, it's like a party or a ball game," he said, while expressing that he has a similar energy from all his previous collaborations with some of the industry's heavyweights, including Mortimer, Protoje and Capleton.

But despite his success so far, Samory I said his initial desire was to become a professional footballer.

"Mi neva see miself a do music at all because of the lifestyle. In the ghetto, the people dem that we looked up to weren't musicians. Based on the type of person I was and the type of life I was living, it would've been too soft to even think that I'd wanted to become a singer. Football mi did waah play, that was the dream," he revealed.

In that same breath, he paid homage to his mother who he described as a "dedicated Christian woman who took her faith very serious, so we had to do the right thing to make her proud".

Since accepting music as his fate, the artiste said he's deeply inspired by the timeless music and sound of reggae legends Dennis Brown and Peter Tosh, and modern-day reggae star, Chronixx. International singer, HER, also serves as an inspiration.

Samory I is looking forward to his European tour in March and the summer of next year, where he will perform on major festivals such as Reggae Summer Jam, Reggae Geel, and Rototom Sunsplash.

He's also working on another album to be released next year.