International
Foul play ruled out in Johnny Kemp death
Apr 24, 2015 - 10:04:46 AM

(Updated) Police in St. James, Jamaica have ruled out foul play according to news stories in both the Gleaner and Jamaican Observer.

The 55 year old Bahamian musical icon was found floating face down said reports on the morning of April 16th. "Bahamas Honorary Consul in Jamaica was notified by the Royal Jamaican Police Force that a fully clothed but unresponsive man was recovered by the Jamaican Maritime Police in the waters off One Man Beach, Gloucester Avenue, Montego Bay, Jamaica in the Parish of St. James. Identification in the clothing revealed the name Jonathan Kemp in a Bahamian Passport, said a Bahamas government statement.

Kemp was set to joining up with the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage cruise, along with other stars such as Jennifer Hudson, R. Kelley, Fantasia, Earth Wind and Fire, LL Cool, The Jacksons, and TLC. A tribute was made by Teddy Riley on that cruise, who was supposed to perform with Kemp.

Jamaican police say that they have "interviewed several passengers aboard the cruise ship on which Kemp was a passenger and based on their investigations, he died from natural causes."

The Observer reports, "Kemp -- who was seen walking on the rocks earlier in the morning -- is believed to have lost his balance, fell, hit his head and drowned."

Born August 2, 1959, Kemp Johnny Kemp began singing in nightclubs in the Bahamas at the age of 13. He moved to New York in 1979 with the band "Kinky Fox." His self-titled debut album came out in 1986 and he scored a minor hit with "Just Another Lover."

Kemp is likely most known for "Just Got Paid" an "all-star finale" on Keith Sweat's 2007 DVD Sweat Hotel Live, recorded at a February 2006 concert in Atlanta, Georgia. The song got him a Grammy nomination in 1989 in a category that included Bobby Brown and Luther Vandross. The song was a No. 1 hit on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart.

He is survived by wife Deidre, and two sons.

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