Irie Love Releases Debut Album "Life Of Love"

A Hawaii-born artist is taking time off from touring to perform at her CD release party Saturday in Waikiki.
Singer Irie Love is on tour and brought down the house at sold-out venues around the world.

The Kailua native recently performed at a concert in Africa for 36,000 fans.

"There was actually a point during one of my songs when I started singing they just started roaring," Love said.

Her music style is labeled Reggae Soul -- a blend of reggae, R&B, hip-hop and jazz.

After years of taking gigs as a backup singer and sharing bunks in crowded tour buses, the 26-year-old is beginning to see the love, she said.

"The response that I'm getting now and now that I'm really getting a serious momentum going and I have built a fan base worldwide and now it's all rising at once," Love said.

Her star continued to rise when she hit the stage at the Waikiki Shack celebrating the release of her first CD.
Love said there is a different feeling she gets when singing in front of her home crowd.

"They are so loving and so supportive that it makes it a lot easier… come back home and really show my local people that I'm still representing Hawaii all over the world," Love said.

She said it's a dream come true but not without a few bumps in the road.

"I didn't realize how much work went into being a singer. Most people are like, 'You are so lucky. You don't have to go to an office and it's so easy to stay and have fun and you get to party.' It is not all fun and games," Love said. "I think anything you do to be a success is going to be a lot of hard work."

Love's hard work is paying off and she said she is enjoying representing her roots.