Omar Riley, born 26 April 1981 in Bronx, New York, United States, is a Jamaican-American reggae musician and a member of the Rastafari movement. Jimmy Riley, his father was a veteran reggae singer who made his recording debut during his teens. Omar’s debut album was released in 2004 titled Challenges and over the years has received countless awards such as Best Song, Cultural Artiste, Best Singer, Male Vocalist, and Song of the Year. The Youth View Awards is one of the many institutions which have rewarded Riley including EME Awards, The Star People’s Choice Awards, and the Reggae Academy awards. In February 2009, the CVM TV’s 15th Anniversary Award was held and Omar’s hit “She’s Royal” made him the holder of Jamaica’s Most Admired Song in the Past 15 Years. Riley released his third album in 2009 Contagious which had hits like and “Good Girl Gone Bad”, “Start Anew” and “Contagious”. “Protect the People” made the top of the charts after its release in 2010. It made several charts across the Caribbean and in Jamaica. “Shaka Zulu Pickney” was released in early 2011 as a Black History-theme. Every year Riley tours Europe and performs reggae festivals in various European countries. The 2011 Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival happen to be one of Omar’s high-profile performances including Roskilde Festival 2011 in Denmark and Reggae Sumfest 2010. He also headlined the Barbados Hennessey Artistry show in December 2019.
