Jay Kartier (JK), named for his brilliant smile and affluent style; was born Jason Brown in Kingston, Jamaica. JK spent much of his early years splitting time between his mother’s home in Kingston and visiting his father in the rural areas St. Catherines. While in St. Catherines. JK would attend church with his grandfather, a pastor, where he first began singing in the choir at age four. The musically rich but economically poor surroundings of inner-city Kingston, formed the foundation for JK’s soulful, R&B influenced style of reggae music. Although there is no one that sounds quite like JK, some have said they hear a certain likeness to platinum selling R&B singer Neyo, but with a distinctly reggae flavour. Moving to Toronto, Canada in the mid-90s, JK and his mother settled into a low-income neighbourhood in West Toronto. He credits his mother’s influence and his passion for creating music for helping him to successfully avoid the challenges of his teenage years in the economically poor, and drug-crime filled high-rise buildings they lived in.
In 2012 Jay Kartier released his first album, an independent LP entitled The Truth, followed by a string of singles most recently “Pretty Brown Eyes” in January 2016.