Confident, dedicated and prepared; Jamin Lewis Hines, the man behind Fame Holiday

BY SIMONE J.SMITH

“Everyone in the room tonight is special to me. Everyone in the room is onto big things so make sure you guys network with each other.”

The room was buzzing with energy. In bright lights you saw his sobriquet “FAME!”

It was Thursday, November 25^th, 2021, just three years after the release of his seminal sophomore EP “Made for This!”

The venue, “The Parkdale Drink,” located at 1292 Queen Street West, was the perfect setting for the established and widely popular hip-hop artist Fame Holiday’s private release party. He had all the elements of a great release party: local artists, theme designed invitations, FAME merchandise, a passionate promotional team, local media (Toronto Caribbean Newspaper of course), and fantastic food and drinks.

It is no wonder that this young man has amassed over a million streams with his latest project “Showtime,” a project born and bred in the middle of the pandemic.

This album follows his breakout single ‘My Thang’ which had over half a million streams as well as the success of his latest single ‘Take Me Away’ earlier this year, that have led to rave reviews and critical acclaim from the likes of Complex, CBC Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and Toronto’s biggest hip hop station FLOW 93.5.

The Showtime album sees Fame Holiday at his pinnacle, as he intertwines captivating songs about his journey as an artist, past relationships and his strong passion for music. His captivating melodic rap delivery and steadily evolving song writing holds the album together.

With guest appearances from Polaris Music Prize winner Haviah Mighty, as well as fellow Toronto rising stars Broco and Monte Biggz, and production from Aria the producer (Lil Tjay, J.I), Baby got beatz (Toosii, B Young, Phora) and Evince (NLE Choppa, Drakeo The Ruler, and Jhené Aiko.

Fame showcases his versatility with songs “Closer,” and “Just Like You,” which bring the island vibe to the project. Both songs had the women swaying their hips, and men bopping their heads. To be honest, when Fame played each song in his album, there was an energy that was felt throughout the room. This young man had done his work, and the support in the room showed that.

Throughout the night, and on the album, Fame shows his dedication to collaboration. He proudly works with other Toronto artists, producers and engineers, and this album is a testament to how great a project can be when you work with other artists who are passionate, driven and dedicated to making great music.

The press is eating this album up, so when I finally got a chance to sit down with Fame, he shared with me what it all felt like now that the release was official.

“It is amazing to see people taking the time to support me,” Fame shares with me. “People are actually taking it in, and showing their support. Nowadays, it is difficult to hold people’s attention, so if you can get someone to actually sit and listen to eleven songs, you know you have done something right. The feedback has been great. We have hit a million streams when you look at all our social media platforms.”

Like all great artists, Fame shares the challenges he faced, as well as the success when creating his current masterpiece.

“It was a lot of late nights, and I did implement a lot of strategy. Being on lockdown, and having my own studio made a difference. It allowed me to open my mind and rid myself of limitations. I learned that I could actually make international selling music. I was able to be more experimental on this album. It was authentic not forced. Without this lockdown, this project would not have happened. It changed my mind about music. Now more than ever, there needs to be a message, something that people can connect with.”

The ‘SHOWTIME’ ALBUM TRACKLIST includes:

1. Roses featuring Broco
2. Step
3. No Competition
4. I Seen
5. Line Me Up
6. Made Me featuring Haviah Mighty
7. Closer
8. Just Like You
9. Shake That
10. My Thang featuring Monte Biggz
11. Take Me Away

All I can say is even for me, a 90’s hip-hop head; this album definitely had a vibe. This young artist has a lot of promise, and I am excited for what his future holds.