Richard 'Richie' Brown - Contributed

André Jebbinson, Staff Reporter

Richard A. Brown's latest move is unconventional, but noteworthy, after making a crossover from singing secular songs to recording a gospel album.

With his latest album, Rescued Me, his fans might have thought he has given up his worldly music and accepted the Lord as his saviour. This is not quite so, as he only recorded the album after his friend encouraged him to do so.

His friend's mother wrote most of the songs on the album and needed someone to voice them for her. Brown quickly seized the opportunity, as he too had previously written a few unrecorded gospel songs.

Spiritual

"I am not a Christian, but I am a very spiritual man. This is something I have always wanted to do. It was good I got the chance to do it," he said.

He is not worried about how convincing he will be as a gospel singer. He grew up in the church singing and that is where he got his start. His love for music was further enhanced by his true musical mentors, Bob Marley and Beres Hammond.

With an aim to prove himself in the music industry, Brown did his first recording when he was 14 with his single, Love Shock, in 1981. For the next four years, he continued voicing heavily for many producers, while also displaying his versatility on sound systems. Brown eventually caught the eyes of popular producer, Black Scorpio, for whom he recorded two songs, Keep On Doing It and Lover Like Me.

Loves singing

"I am a person who just loves singing in general ... If I wasn't singing I would be doing something else like producing, still music," Brown said.

His résumé is not bad either. In 1994, Brown was contracted to tour the United States, doing cities such as New York, Boston and San Diego. He has also worked with Freddie McGregor to produce a track, My True Love, on the Big Ship label for a ska album to be released in London.

Brown is now promising that his latest album is a "sure baptism that will prepare you well. This music will inspire and elevate and help people release the stresses of life".

He said there was no looking back, as he planned to produce more gospel albums, and in time he would officially start being an example of what he was singing about.

"The sky is the limit for me. There is no limit on what I can do and I want to take the music to the highest level," Brown said.