BY RALSTON BARRETT //

Like most young boys growing up in Jamaica, reggae artist Jimbolee had to attend church every Sunday.  The talented young man who hails from the community of Exchange in Ochi Rios, St. Ann, attended the Exchange Pentecostal Church every Sunday with his aunt until he moved to live in Curacao at the age of seventeen.

During those early years in church he developed a strong love for singing and by the time he was eight years old he was singing in church and at community events. Jimbolee continued singing throughout his days at Exchange All Age School and Ochi Rios High School.

“Singing is like breathing air to me, it’s a natural thing for me, I have been singing since I was eight years old, it all started in church, since then I have never stopped. I love music too much to every stop singing, I was born to sing,” said the artist whose real name is Philip Wilmot.

By the time he migrated to Curacao in 1997 Jimbolee was brimming with a strong desire to become a star. He found work, singing as the lead singer with a band called Lion at the I Karamba Café in Otobande, Curacao. After a five year stint with the band, he recorded his solo debut album titled Hard To Love, this was followed by another album titled E’Muraya, all the songs on that album were recorded in Papiamentu which is the native language of Cauracao.

The release of his second album placed him in the spotlight in Curacao; it spawned a number of popular tracks and placed the name Jimbolee on the lips of music lovers all over Curacao. Despite this success, he yearned for a greater musical breakthrough in music, so without any hesitation he came back home in 2009.

“Bob Marley, Dennis Brown and Beres Hammond are the artists who inspire me the most and I want to walk in their footsteps and I know that if I am going to do that, I have to make my name at home and then take my music to the global market. The only way to do that is to work hard and establish myself on the local music scene.”

Upon returning to Jamaica Jimbolee set up his Jlee productions label and studio in Ochi Rios, to date he has recorded and released two albums, Spanish Love (2009) and Mixed Feelings which was released in November of this year, both albums are available on Itunes.

Jimbolee is currently enjoying strong rotation with singles such as Spanish Love (from the album of the same name) and I Wish, Just The Way You Are and I Was There, all taken from the Mixed Feelings album.

He recently landed in the number one position on New York based Matureradio.com with I Wish; it has held that position for the last three weeks.