In the early 1990s, Richie Innocent made the long journey from his home in St. Elizabeth parish to the resort town of Ocho Rios, to perform in a talent contest promoted by music producer Courtney Cole.
Back then, he was a deejay known as Innocent. His persistence impressed Cole, whose Roof International label was hot at the time, producing hit songs by acts like Garnet Silk and Jigsy King.
It was Cole who produced ‘Whooe Whoo’, his first song, which was released in 1995 — 30 years ago. While he plans to celebrate that milestone with a show in St. Elizabeth next year, Richie Innocent is grateful for an enduring career.
“The longevity in the music industry has been a beautiful and also difficult journey for me and I have gone through many phases that have taken me through different emotions, especially when I needed an opportunity to showcase my talent and needed a break,” he said. “But I have always stated that I am here to be established like the Earth, and I was here to excel with excellence on the mission.”
Richie Innocent had a change of moniker 15 years ago when his sound, and songs, took a more conscious tone. Those songs include the hard-hitting ‘Drugs fi Gun’, ‘Where Are the Warriors’ and ‘The Passover’. He co-produced the latter, his latest song, with Marlon Wright.
In September, Richie Innocent staged the second ‘Poetry: Echoes of Expression’, an event featuring spoken word artists. At the inaugural event in 2024, he launched ‘Perseverance’, his first book of poems.
