LAUDERHILL – St. Elizabeth in southern Jamaica has been in the news a lot lately. Hurricane Melissa decimated most of that parish. However, it is a catastrophe of another nature that inspired Richie Innocent’s latest song.
Titled Dear St. Elizabeth, it decries rising crime among wayward youth in a parish considered Jamaica’s bread basket, due to its vast farmlands. The self-produced song is expected to be released in June.
“I felt that I had to write a letter to my parishioners to influence and disrupt the unfamiliar lifestyle that is new to us, especially since we are also known as St. Bess. We can’t afford to become the worst, being that we are the first parish that had electricity, therefore this expression of darkness is unacceptable,” said Richie Innocent.
In 2025, police reported the lowest homicide rate in St. Elizabeth for 25 years. But there has been a recent spike in violent crimes, most notably the murder of 39 year-old bartender Nicola Facey in early April.
Richie Innocent was born in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, but raised in Santa Cruz, one of St. Elizabeth’s main commercial areas. He considers the parish his home and recalls being surrounded by industrious people in his youth.
“When I relocated to St. Elizabeth in the ‘80’s, it was a paradise. We walked the streets and it was friendly with no concern of crime and violence,” he said. “But over the years, things began to change gradually, then became volatile.”
A New York resident for many years, Richie Innocent visited St. Elizabeth in March. It was his first trip there since Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on October 28 and caused severe damage to St. Elizabeth, and western parishes of Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James and Trelawny.
Initially a deejay, Richie Innocent switched to poetry over 15 years ago. His songs include Where Are The Warriors and The Passover.
Best Poet/Spoken Word Entertainer Nomination
He is one of five nominees in the Best Poet/Spoken Word Entertainer category for the International Reggae And World Music Awards (IRAWMA), scheduled for May 17 at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center in Lauderhill, South Florida.
