Jah Ova Evil ADD
Spitting reality without any apologies, J.O.E (formerly “ Lil Joe ”) is not to be undermined. Get ready, because this young singer, from the streets of Vineyard Town, is about to arrest you with his gripping delivery of hard-hitting lyrics.
Born Alty Nunes, on July 14, 1986, J.O.E is the fifth child of known NDTC lead dancer, Patsy Ricketts. He began his musical training at an early age when Marjorie Whylie, Curtis Watson and Karl “Simba” Messado introduced him and his siblings to voice training.
Soon after, they formed the young group called "Jah Children", and toured Europe in 1993-1994 however, the group was dissolved due to academic commitments. J.O.E became a member of two other groups: Encore and Judgment Squad, before he chose to go the solo route. While with Judgment Squad, J.O.E had the opportunity of working with the talented producer Gavin Blair from Equiknoxx Music who was also his schoolmate at Wolmer’s Boys’ School. They decided to enter the JCDC competition, crafting a song entitled "Don't Leave" which was well received and earned him third place.
The JCDC platform spurred him on to mould himself into a recording artiste and J.O.E began seeking out other young producers to work with. Billy Zee Clarke, Gavin’s fellow producer, introduced him to his father, Augustus "Gussie" Clarke, and forged a relationship between the two. Gussie acknowledged J.O.E's resonating sound and gave him the chance to record "Not Good At All" on the "Consuming Fire" rhythm, alongside heavy hitters such as Luciano. The song became the lead single on VP’s Riddim Driven “Consuming Fire” compilation and led Gussie to sign a publishing deal with the young writer.
In late 2006, he met with First Born Management's Bertie Dan and since then, J.O.E has recorded with the legendary production duo, Sly and Robbie, on their "Cuss Cuss" rhythm.
Circa 2011, J.O.E was being managed by Equiknoxx Music & building his catalogue to include dancehall singles like “You Shoulda Know” on the “Jim Screechie Riddim” and “Struggles”. His untimely passing on February 7th, 2011 cut short a most promising young life but his musical legacy will not suffer the same. The album “Man From Judah”, launched on July 14th, 2012 represents the fulfilment of a life dedicated to learning his craft and features some of his popular work as well as never-before heard new music. The 16 track record features collaborations with Ky-Mani Marley, Krazy Bone (of Bone Thugs N’ Harmony), Konshens, Bay-C (of T.O.K), Chino and his label mates: Shanz and Kemikal. J.O.E also teams up with his brother Gideon to cover all bases on the genre-transcending album.
