Having recently won the Chicago Music Award’s, Best Reggae Entertainer of the Year, the Haitian, Chicago-based, Reggae/ Pop sensation, Rooby Man, who has performed over 80 shows in 2011, continues to take the industry by storm. This time he is nominated for the highly coveted IRAWMA award, in the category of Entertainer of the Year.

From his teenage years Rooby Man has been rocking stages throughout Haiti, performing to hundreds of thousands. Back then he was a singer in a group called King of Kings, who earned the title of Best New Hip-Hop/ Reggae Group. They were later crowned at carnival as the Most Popular Artiste in the youth category. It was only natural, when Rooby Man migrated to Chicago, USA, that he gravitated towards the music scene, joining a local band and later launching off on his own solo career. Since then he has written, co-produced and recorded countless tracks, performing many of these, including his hit single “Showtime”, at venues throughout the Chicago-land area. Signed to StreetFame Music Group, other highlights of his career, to-date, include being featured on VH1’s “The Hungriest Rapper in Chicago” and performing as the opening act for Chicago’s own R. Kelly at the 12 Play Exclusive All White Affair, with Jive Records artiste, John Blu.

Rooby Man is currently preparing for his first trip to Jamaica in April, hot on the campaign trail for his latest sexy single entitled “Punishment”, currently available on iTunes. When asked how he felt about his IRAWMA nomination he stated:

“Wow! When I heard the news I was speechless. Growing up in Haiti watching these icons on TV, folks like Beenie Man, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Shabba Ranks, Ziggy Marley, Lady Saw and much more... Now I will be able to walk on the same red carpet with them, be in the same VIP, shake their hands and talk to them. It’s amazing... I've arrived!”

The 31st IRAWMA is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 5th, 2012. It will be dedicated to Jamaica’s 50th Year of Independence in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary of the International Festival of Life (IFOL), which runs July 4-8, 2012 in Washington Park, Chicago, Illinois, walking distance from President Barack Obama’s home.