International award for Tarrus Riley
Reggae singer Tarrus Riley will receive an international award from New York-based Garvey School, an institution that was named after Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
The award ceremony will take place at the school’s 10th anniversary gala on Wednesday, May 23, in the Bronx.
The highly ranked Garvey School, a private co-educational institution that utilises both traditional and progressive teaching strategies, has been rated among the best in the state based on results of standardised tests and the number of children who have transitioned to elite private schools in the US.
“We are excited to honour Mr Riley, a celebrated Jamaican artiste who has brought so much joy to music lovers around the world. He is one of the most promising of the second generation of roots reggae singers and is a known philanthropist who has consistently donated to numerous charitable events here in the US and in the Caribbean,” said Jamaica-born June O’Connor, founder/director of the Garvey School.
Riley has amassed an impressive catalogue of love gems, including She’s Royal, Contagious, and Antique Loving.
His first album, Challenges, was produced by talented saxophonist Dean Fraser.
The disc yielded several hit songs, but it was his 2006 sophomore album, Parables, which featured Sly and Robbie and was released on the VP Records imprint, that took him to the top.
The disc generated chart banger She’s Royal. He followed up with Contagious, which featured hits like Start Anew, Good Girl Gone Bad, and a riveting cover of Robin Thicke’s Superman.
The culturally strong album Protect the People came in 2010, and it scaled several charts in Jamaica and across the Caribbean.
Other special honourees at the gala include Garvey’s son, Dr Julius Garvey.