Reggae singer Akina Imani on Patra, Campion years and new summer single Over

Emerging reggae vocalist Akina Imani sat for an interview on TVJ Intense, outlining how she builds an emotive, sensual, soulful style from lived experience and careful choices in lyrics and production.

She said she pulls from her own life and from friends’ stories, and that deliberate songwriting and sonic decisions help listeners feel the songs.

Among artists she looks to internationally she named Sade, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jazmine Sullivan, Doltchi, and SZA, saying each brings something distinct. On the Jamaican side she cited Mortimer, Lila Iké, Sevana, Protoje, and Patra. She recalled little dancehall played at home when she was younger, and said producer JL later pointed her to Patra as a reference while she was at university; she liked what she heard and began weaving that legacy into work she still considers rooted in Jamaican popular music.

The turning point toward a music career came near the end of high school at Campion College, when peers were mapping university routes into fields such as medicine and law. She had lined up subjects for medical school and even thought about dermatology, but after reflection she committed to music. Her mother already knew how deeply she loved the genre and backed the shift; her father needed more convincing. She said her mother sings, and that her late grandmother used to sing hymns with her as an infant. She described long childhood summers glued to MTV programming, including Kids Jams, and said music stayed a steady companion through highs and lows. Musicals and two years of dance in high school fed her love of the stage.

Her full name is Kristina Akina Emmanuel. For a stage name she took her middle name, influenced in part by how Robyn Rihanna Fenty foregrounds “Rihanna,” and shortened the first part of her surname so the moniker stayed compact but weighty.

She spoke about the Slumber’s Haze material leaning sensual and soulful across themes of love, loss, yearning, and desire, and said audience reaction since official releases has been encouraging, with visible growth in how she writes melodies to carry each idea.

On the business side she named manager Tara Johnson, a recent signing to Ouji Records with Pierre and Jojo shaping recordings, and collaboration with I Island Wave. Her upcoming summer song is titled Over; she called it feel-good, fun, and playful, clarifying the title is not meant as a heavy break-up statement.

Asked what makes her “intense,” she answered that passion—for life, for preferences, for how she moves through the world—comes through in the music.