Ami ‘more rounded’ after Sean Paul’s mentorship
Trinidadian fast-rising artiste Naomi ‘Ami’ Phill is grateful for the massive exposure, historical facts and coaching she received from Jamaican artistes Sean Paul, Lila Iké and Chronixx, who provided mentorship to young talent on the recent Versions Youth Fellowship musical programme.
The 20-year old artiste has been described as one of the programme’s “strongest talents”. She said the project — which challenged youth 16-24 years to compose “their own purposedriven song over a celebrity-produced beat” — has been a real eye-opener that moulded her talent into creating more detailed and socially inspiring songs.
“It was exciting to meet all these different people from different parts of the world and having shared interest in music and the arts, and being able to be mutually educated about issues of racism and colonialism. It was truly an experience and I’m thankful,” Ami told
THE STAR.
She noted that the journey has also “been very educational and eye-opening to the things that various people, such as our African and indigenous people, faced”.
“It provided me with a more extensive version of our history as taught in high school, exposing [our history], as ugly as it actually was, while gaining new knowledge on happenings of colonialism,” she added.
The Versions Project aims to support emerging youth artistes through a one-year fellowship programme intended to build their skills, amplify their voices, and transform their vision for a better world into direct community action, while advocating for social change.
“Versions has helped me into being a more informed and well-rounded artiste, because I used to only sing about things I see happening in my country in Trinidad, like the police brutality [and] poverty. But through Versions ... I became more informed on the topics I’m singing about, which makes me a better songwriter in applying knowledge learnt during our ‘Songwriting 101’ sessions,” said the Need A Change singer.
Ami shared that working directly with Lila Iké and Sean Paul, who produced her featured track under the project, served as a great inspiration in moving forward with her musical career.
“From Lila Iké, one thing she said that is still stuck with me today is that ‘while making music and even performing, just have fun’, and that [resonated] with me because I take music so serious that sometimes I forgot to have fun. Since that piece of advice, I keep reminding myself to enjoy the process,” she said, while noting that Sean Paul often stresses the importance of “having balance in everything”. Ami said this specifically stood out as a very valid lesson for her as she currently navigates life as a college student — pursuing a bachelor in fine arts in digital media degree — while maintaining a full career in music.
While describing her music as a reggae-dancehall fusion, Ami’s unique sound and versatility has been widely compared to Koffee, who, Ami said, she hopes to meet and collaborate with some day.
Ami, whose music career officially started in 2021, is also known for singles such as Champion and Jah Watch Over. She is also expected to release her debut EP this year, titled Entrance.