Reggae singer Tarrus Riley has assured his fans and well wishers that he is ‘absolutely fine’ after an incident on the Mandela Highway in Jamaica on Wednesday.
The Powerful singer posted on his instagram story, “Bless up Fam I am perfectly fine Absolutely Alright…” The singer tagged the Jamaica star after reports circulated that he was the one who collided into the police vehicle. Tarrus, who drives a high utility vehicle further said, “And I did not collide into any vehicle…a Vehicle Collided into My Van…Thanks to For every Wishing mi well im Gr8!!!”
Tarrus told World Music Views, “My car moved about 50 feet.”
He is however in great spirits as he issued a warning to motorist on the streets, “It’s alright, I am alright, everything is alright, dem ting yah happen everyday. Please just everybody be careful on the roads, you have to be driving for yourself and others.”
The singer said this is the first time he has ever been in any kind of motor vehicle incident.
Tarrus, 41, broke onto the reggae music scene as a teenager and then dropped his debut album Challenges in 2004.
Riley was born in Bronx, New York, but raised in Jamaica. His father Jimmy Riley was a veteran reggae singer. Tarrus made his recording debut as a teenager.
He is one of the most decorated singers in Jamaica. Among his awards are Youth View Awards, The Star People’s Choice Awards, EME Awards, and the Reggae Academy awards. He is the holder of Jamaica’s CVM TV‘s 15th Anniversary Award, held in February 2009, for the “Most Admired Song in the Past 15 Years” for the hit “She’s Royal”.
Riley tours Europe, US, Africa and Central America once each year, performing on the major reggae festivals in several European countries.
Riley’s mentor Dean Fraser produced his 2014 album Love Situation, which he described as “a true tribute to the rocksteady era”, and features guest appearances from U-Roy, Big Youth, Konshens and Mr. Cheeks. The album gave Riley his first number-one placing on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart in February 2014
Other international recognition came from his feature on Major Lazer‘s song “Powerful“, from the 2015 album Peace Is the Mission, along with Ellie Goulding.
The James Slate directed music video which currently has over 135 million views was released on July 23, 2015 and features both Goulding and Riley performing their parts using telekinetic powers and ruining a small diner.
The song made several international charts peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the Australian Dance Chart. It is certified gold in the US for selling 500,000 units.
More recently Tarrus Riley’s hit single Lighter featuring Shenseea from his pandemic album Healing, is the 7th most streamed song in Jamaica’s history on YouTube.
