Updated Friday, April 17, 7:25 p.m. EDT: According to the Associated Press, Jamaica police said Kemp was found floating at a beach in Montego Bay on Thursday morning.
Updated Friday, April 17, 4:58 p.m. EDT: Reach Media, the company responsible for the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage, has issued the following statement: “We have received confirmation that Johnny Kemp has passed away. We do not have any other details. We can confirm he was not on the ship for the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage Cruise.”
Earlier:
R&B singer Johnny Kemp, best known for his hit song “Just Got Paid,” died Thursday at the age of 55, according to the Bahamas Weekly. Kemp was scheduled to perform for the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage Cruise.
Kemp started his singing career as a teenager in the Bahamas before moving to New York in 1979. Kemp’s hits included “Just Another Lover” and “Dancin’ with Myself” from his Secrets of Flying album. Kemp also appeared on Keith Sweat’s DVD Sweat Hotel Live.
Kemp is survived by a wife and two sons.
Editor’s note: An earlier report that Kemp died on a Tom Joyner cruise has not been confirmed and was removed from the Bahamas Weekly article.