Reggae Artist Jah9 Announces ‘The Open Heart Project’ Slated For March 27 Release

Photos: Wikimedia Commons\VP Records Jah9​ will release The Open Heart Project in full on March 27 via VP Records. First introduced in chapters beginning in 2023, the project brings together four original songs and their corresponding reinterpretations, alongside a set of visuals into a complete sequence. Jah9 draws on a profound personal and existential shift in The Open Heart Project. In 2020, after an East African press tour in support of her last studio album Note to Self, Jah9 was unable to return to Jamaica as global shutdowns took hold. She traveled from Ethiopia to Tanzania, where what was meant to be a short stay extended into three years. During that time, she absorbed an unfamiliar culture, explored her inner world more deeply, and birthed her first child, experiences that inform the project. Across its four core songs, the project traces a relationship from first contact through disillusionment and reconciliation. “Open Heart”​​ is a jazz-laced meditation on self-discovery after years of soul searching, leading into “Match,”​ a moody take on courtship and expression in the presence of the right person. “Hurricane”​ shifts the perspective, where fantasy gives way to reality, before “S.E.X.” ​brings the cycle full circle, exploring what the “best SEX ever” alluded to earlier requires. The visuals move alongside the songs, extending the narrative. Each original track, produced separately by Winta James, J.L.L., and Iotosh, is paired with a reinterpretation by Lisbon-based producer Shaka Lion, who reworks Jah9’s songs while weaving in elements from Hugh Mundell, Wayne Jarrett, and other reggae trailblazers. Sound system figure Rorystonelove appears across the reinterpretations in an MC role, reconnecting with Jah9 after producing her debut album New Name.In February 2026, Jah9 appeared at Kingston’s Lost in Time Festival​ and joined the Rastafari Relief, Rebuild and Rise fundraising webathon supporting communities recovering from Hurricane Melissa. She is also set to perform at Reggaeland UK, which runs from July 31 to August 2, and Reggae on the River, taking place from August 14 to 16.The Open Heart Project will be available on all digital platforms on March 27. “Jah9… in the past few years has established herself at the pinnacle of the Jamaican reggae music scene.” — Natalie Meade, THE NEW YORKER “Possessing an alluring voice steeped in roots reggae’s mysticism and wreathed in a smoky jazz vibrato, Jah9 is blazing a singular trail across the international music landscape.” — Patricia Meschino, BILLBOARD TRACKLIST01 Open Heart02 Mind Ripples03 Match04 Big and Serious05 Hurricane06 Category 907 S.E.X.08 Set the Stage ABOUT JAH9Jah9 is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and poet working at the intersection of roots reggae, dub, jazz, and spoken word. Born Janine Cunningham in Falmouth and later raised in Kingston, she emerged from Jamaica’s poetry circuit before entering recording in the early 2010s. Her debut album New Name (2013) positioned her within the roots revival, followed by 9 (2016) and Note to Self (2020). Her catalog spans songs such as “Ma’at (Each Man),” “Heaven (Ready Fi Di Feeling),” and the Chronixx collaboration “Note to Self,” with coverage across The FADER, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and NPR.A three-year stay in East Africa beginning in 2020 reshaped her practice and informed The Open Heart Project, a four-part body of work tracing a relationship from first connection through disillusionment to reconciliation. Alongside her recording work, she tours internationally with The Dub Treatment and leads “Yoga on Dub,” a rhythm-based practice connecting breath, movement, and music, continuing to develop an expression of her own needs across music, spirituality, and community.