Jemeni



Joanne Gairy (born 1976), better known by her stage name Jemeni, is Canadian hip-hop poet, actress, writer, broadcaster, and community worker.

Life
Jemeni was born in Grenada and grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario and now lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She studied Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson University, Toronto.

She was formerly a host on Flow 93.5 FM and volunteered for the Ryerson University campus radio station CKLN-FM. She is a music critic on Much Music and is an influential young Caribbean-Canadian woman.

She defended Nalo Hopkinson's novel Brown Girl in the Ring for the prestigious CBC Canada Reads book competition in February 2008.

Recognition
The Literature Alive series about Caribbean-Canadian authors (broadcast on on Bravo! Television October 6 to December 29, 2005), produced a documentary about Jemeni called Jemeni in the City.

Jemeni has won the Caribbean Women of Excellence Award, the Warning Award, the Tara Award, and the Canadian Urban Music award.