Singer JoJo Mac is not afraid to put her cards on the table when it comes to religion. Though not a big fan of denominations, she does believe in a Greater Power, which is the name of her latest song, released in May.
Produced by Hopeton Brown’s Nyah Bless Music label out of Philadelphia, Greater Power hears the veteran vocalist expressing her faith in prayer.
“Writing a song like Greater Power was unavoidable because my heart is in that place. I truly believe there is a force bigger than all of us that drives us, plus I grew up in church and is of the belief that I am guided by that greater power. I have a connection with that higher power,” she said.
Greater Power maintains JoJo Mac’s sequence of uplifting songs. Last year, she recorded Heaven Help The Children for PALAS, an organization that assists financially-challenged students in Jamaica. Greater Power is now in heavy rotation on The Foundation Radio Network.
True to form, she also wrote Heaven Help The Children. Composing and producing most of her songs is something JoJo Mac has done since her career launched in the 1990’s with the album, Hard and Soft, produced by Duckie Simpson of Black Uhuru.
“Writing my own songs is paramount because it’s something I do well and actually love doing. But outside of that, women in this industry are pretty much left to fend for ourselves, so being able to write and produce my own music is essential,” she stressed. “Plus, I get to have full control of what I put out there. I love being involved through the entire process.”
Born in Clarendon, a sugar-belt rural parish in central Jamaica, JoJo Mac migrated to the United States in 1983. She lived in Washington DC for over 20 years before moving to South Florida, then Philadelphia where she currently lives.
Over the years, JoJo Mac has toured as a member of Black Uhuru and recorded for various producers including the legendary Clement ‘Coxson’ Dodd and Lloyd Dennis of Pickout Records in London. In 2015, Dennis produced her cover of Joy White’s Dread Out Deh which did well in British reggae circles.
Though things have improved for women since entered the business, she insists there is still gender prejudice.
“I know I am way better than where I am but it’s always been a rough road for us women, especially when we are not willing to put our souls on the table,” JoJo Mac stated. “There’s no giving up for me though, I gave up so much for it. Music consumes me, so the journey must continue.”
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