Tarrus Riley’s mother his biggest cheerleader

Lavern Riley, the mother of reggae singer Tarrus Riley, has always believed in her son’s capacity for greatness, and she was not surprised at all when he was honoured by the Government for his contribution to reggae music locally and internationally.

At the Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards at King’s House on National Heroes Day, the mother of the She’s Royal singer was up front and centre to witness her son receiving his Order of Distinction Officer Class.

“I am proud; I am excited ... and I’m not being show-off ... I expected this. It has been ordained, so give thanks. He is dedicated and anything that he does, he does it 100 per cent. I wish I had his push and his dedication,” shared Lavern.

She added, “He was always that little one who did the right thing and did it his way, so I would say that I had nothing to do with it, I give all the credit to him. But I know that God had everything to do with it. Want to say thanks to the everyone ... his fans all over the world for supporting him and the Jamaican Government.

Born in Bronx, New York, and raised in Jamaica, Tarrus, the son of late, veteran reggae singer Jimmy Riley, made his recording debut as a teenager. In 2004, he released his debut album, Challenges, and has not looked back since. Tarrus is known for hits such as Start Anew, Contagious, Lion Paw, Good Girl Gone Bad and of course, She’s Royal, the music video for which hit the 100 million views mark a few month ago. He worked with saxophonist and producer Dean Fraser on his 2014 album Love Situation, which he described as “a true tribute to the rocksteady era”, and features guest appearances from U-Roy, Big Youth, Konshens and Mr. Cheeks. Love Situation debuted at number one on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart in February 2014.

SUPPORT

Lavern Riley, who is based in the US, has been actively supporting her son wholeheartedly since the start of his singing career.

“I am his biggest groupie,” Lavern said with a laugh. “Except that I am getting older and start to slow down ... and then COVID slowed us down evn more. But I would drive miles, pack my jeep and go. I do love to sing ... music is in my bones, in my DNA ... but he says that I am a bathroom singer. I’ll be driving and music is playing and my body just moves automatically,” the medical doctor said.

Asked what is her favourite song from Tarrus’ catalogue, she paused before answering.

“Oh ... that’s difficult. I could never pick a favourite one because they are all so great. And he’s versatile, he’s not boring. I can hear everybody saying ‘Just because he’s your son, yuh saying that.’ But, not true ... I’m being very, very objective,” she said.

A Rastafarian whose brand is conscious, message music, Tarrus was surrounded by his family at the ceremony and expressed his joy at having them in the audience watching him receive his OD. Singy Singy, as he is called, seemed ready to burst into song any minute.

“This OD is a big thing. My mom is here ... my dad couldn’t be ... and even though I am here collecting it, I couldn’t do it by myself. Man like Dean Fraser who is a mentor to me, and even my bredren here with me ... News ... dem man deh encourage me long time before we a expect any government thing. A some tune we a write and a tek di music serious and want to do it conscious and we deh a King’s House and a get a national award. Is a big thing, man,” Tarrus said.

Over the years he has collected an armful of awards, including Best Singer, Male Vocalist, Cultural Artiste, Song of the Year, and Best Song. Some of the institutions that have rewarded Riley are The Star People’s Choice Awards, the Youth View Awards, EME Awards, and the Reggae Academy awards. For CVM TV’s 15th Anniversary Award in February 2009, Tarrus was awarded for the Most Admired Song in the Past 15 Years for She’s Royal.

Tarrus Riley has performed on several stages across the globe. He tours Europe once each year, performing on the major reggae festivals in several European countries. His high-profile performances include the 2011 Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival and Roskilde Festival 2011 in Denmark, Reggae Sumfest, the Hennessy Artistry show in Barbados in December 2011 and December 2019, Betty Wright and Friends in concert in Jamaica, and An Evening with Michael Bolton at Couples Sans Souci in May.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com