Despite everything that life has thrown at him, reggae artiste Jimi D does not believe in giving up.

Early last year, Jimi D was looking forward to going on tour with his legendary, reggae star Don Carlos alongside popular California reggae band, Slightly Stoopid.

Jimi D and his uncle were also working on an album that was scheduled to be released before the tour that was supposed to take place in the summer. However, the coronavirus (COVID-19) put everything on hold indefinitely.

“Things were looking very bright early last year until the COVID-19 pandemic hit the US. This was a big setback for me in so many ways,” the entertainer said.

As if things couldn’t get worse, Jimi D, who is also a paramedic in Texas, contracted COVID-19 three times last year.

“I caught mild cases of COVID-19 in January and June last year. Both times I recovered very quickly but when I caught it again in October, I spent several weeks in the hospital,” he explained.

“This was a very scary experience; I could hardly breathe and I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t even eat or drink anything, trying to drink water was like trying to drink nails. There were times when I wondered if I would survive this ordeal, but I never gave up hope.”

His new single, titled Defiance, was inspired by his recent near-death experience with COVID-19.

“I wrote this song to let people know that no matter how tough life gets, we cannot give up. I’ve been through a lot personally but, as long as I have life, I will never give up,” he said.

Defiance was produced by Jimi D and released in November on his C&E label.