Jah'Mila shines on sophomore album Woman of the Sun
WRITTEN BY: KATIE GORDON // THE BOOM AT NOON 
Jah’Mila released her second album, Woman of the Sun on June 21, 2024. (Photo: Andrea Casey)
On June 21, 2024, Jah’Mila released her sophomore album, Woman of the Sun. The album seamlessly blends influences of her Jamaican roots and her Nova Scotian journey, radiating warmth and vibrancy. The album is her follow-up to her JUNO-nominated debut, Roots Girl.
Music has always been Jah'Mila's calling. Her journey from a young child singing in the choir at school and church to touring with iconic acts like The Wailers, Black Uhuru, and Groundation. Her frequent visits to her mother in Nova Scotia while living in Jamaica allowed her to immerse herself in the local arts community, and years ago, she decided to move to Nova Scotia permanently. Since then, Jah'Mila has been a fixture in the local music scene. "It makes me very proud to be a conduit for my culture in my new home," she says, highlighting artists bringing reggae to Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada, like Andru Branch & Halfway Tree, Verbal Warning, and Dub Kartel.
Jah'Mila's critically acclaimed and JUNO-nominated debut, Roots Girl, came to life during the pandemic. "It feels unreal to me all of the success that Roots Girl has experienced. I consider Roots Girl to be the album that documents the growth of my band from its inception. We used to rehearse in my friend Alec Frith's attic. We're just like, let's jam and get some tunes together to play around the town. I'm so grateful because that is where we started from," she reflects.
Woman of the Sun is inspired by the two places that had the biggest influence on her creativity and music journey. “That would be Kingston, Jamaica, and right here in Nova Scotia, where I've had the opportunity to collaborate with so many incredible creatives in our city and our region. The album features Sly Dunbar from Jamaica, Jah’Mila’s father, Earl Chinna Smith, Robert Lyn, Alec Frith, and songwriters Owen O’Sound Lee, David Myles and Reeny Smith. “I feel like my two worlds collide in this album, and it makes me really, really proud to present it to the world,” she exclaims. For Jah’Mila, collaboration is what music is all about. “There is no artistry, there's no creativity without collaboration."
The album also features themes of family and empowerment. The title track of the album, Woman of the Sun, is a song about woman empowerment. "I wanted to write a song that was therapy for me, for those times when I feel unworthy and like I'm not enough. We all suffer from imposter syndrome. We all suffer from day to day. We have moments when we're a little bit down, have a little fear, or don't believe in ourselves. I wanted to have an anthem that I could use for myself and that others could listen to and find beneficial,” she says.
For Jah'Mila, the true measure of success for the album isn't just in Spotify streams. Her heartfelt wish is to reach listeners whose spirits are lifted by her music.
“I would rather get feedback from someone who told me they weren't feeling good, but that song or a line in that song helped them to feel better. That kind of feedback is what I am hoping for from this album, that it's a piece of art that you keep forever and that your soul yearns for it from time to time because it soothes you.”
You can buy Woman of the Sun on Bandcamp and listen on your favourite streaming platform now. To support the new album, Jah'Mila announced a series of Canadian tour dates for the summer and fall, including several Nova Scotian dates.
July 27 - Lockeport, NS @ Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song
August 05 - Chester, NS @ Chester Playhouse
August 24 - Annapolis Royal, NS @ King's Theatre
September 07 - Parrsboro, NS @ Ship's Company Theatre (2 shows)
September 28 - Wolfville, NS @ Deep Roots Music Festival
November 23 - Margaretsville, NS @ Evergreen Theatre
