Jah9 – Humble Mi | Official Video Features Socially Conscious Message
Deeply mystical, Jah9 has emerged from a chrysalis of poetry, dub and spirit to become a powerful ‘femiNINE’ energy within a universal grassroots movement of consciousness. Inspired by the open spaces in the instrumental dub of 1970’s Jamaican roots music, Jah9 sings with a voice that belies the dimensions of her physical body, from a soul much older than its current vessel; “reminiscent of that darkly operatic wailer for truth & justice, Nina Simone.” Her philosophy is profoundly spiritual and her style moves like Jazz on Dub.
Her latest video for “Humble Mi” features Jah9 lost in the metaphorical forest, she takes in her surrounding and is often shown seeking something just beyond the periphery. It makes use of tiny digital animations that dance around her as she seeks to be humbled by the beauty of nature; eventually a large cascading waterfall presents, as her eyes widen to take in the purity of the clean waters.
Since 2013, Jah9 has performed on the main stage with her band ‘The Dub Treatment’ at most major European and US reggae festivals. Described as “black magic” and “possessing a chilling yet bewitching vibrato evoking a young Ella Fitzgerald and a rootsy coolness à la Erykah Badu,” her dub-filled live performances elevate consciousness and invoke a spiritual reawakening.
Jah9, a certified yoga instructor trained in Kemetic, Ashtanga and Iyengar methods, has been known to compel her audiences during her live set to pause, breathe deeply and feel empowered. She opens minds and soaks them in knowledge and positivity. As a way to intimately engage with her fan base, Jah9 also curates an organic rhythm-based yoga experience she calls ‘Yoga on Dub’. Jah9 is rooted in her African heritage and driven to serve. In 2015, while on tour in Italy and Malta she was intent on engaging with African refugees, sharing with them insight on the new environment they would face, natural wellness as well as yoga/breathing as healing therapy.
It might be a change of pace to hear a reggae artist in NYC that isn’t watered down with another genre, and to hear the tradition from the legacy she carries, it takes the entire work to another level, one where we all expand our awareness by listening to her message.
Her artistry is like blood, it carries through her veins as we are seeing a creation in her essence.