Posted January 19, 200817 yr International Barbadian-born superstar, Rihanna, will be the headliner for Smile Jamaica-Africa Unite, the concert which takes place at James Bond Beach on Saturday, February 23, in tribute to Bob Marley. It could not have been a more fitting occasion for the renowned pop diva, whose maiden album entitled Music Of The Sun, having cited her Caribbean background as one of her major influences on her musical career, to return to Jamaica. The concert will be one of the highlights of Reggae Month, and Rihanna celebrates her 20th birthday, just three days before (February 20) what will be her second appearance in Jamaica. During the recording of A Girl Like Me, Rihanna jetted down to Jamaica to record with Sean Paul on the yardie duet Break It Off. “I have so much respect and love for Sean Paul. He took me to visit the Bob Marley Museum before going into the studio, which was an amazing experience. When we finally got to the studio, I felt as though Marley’s spirit was in the room with us,” Rihanna, then at the age of 18, was reported to have said. After selling one million copies worldwide of her debut set, Music Of The Sun, Rihanna proved with A Girl Like Me, that her breakthrough was no fluke. She won the World’s Best-Selling Pop Female Artiste and Entertainer of the Year at the 2007 World Music Awards. On November 18, 2007, she won Favourite Female Artiste-Soul/R&B at the 2007 American Music Awards. Rihanna’s hit song Shut Up And Drive won Best R&B Song at the 2008 People’s Choice Award. The single Umbrella from her Good Girl Gone Bad album featuring Jay-Z, was number one in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks, the longest running number one single since Wet Wet Wet’s Love Is All Around, back in 1994, and the longest running number one hit single by a female artiste since Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, which also topped the chart for ten weeks in 1992. SOURCE: Jamaica Observer
