The Sunday Mail
Cécile
Cécile born Cecile Charlton in Manchester Parish, Jamaica is among Kingston’s hottest songstress of the reggae dancehall genre.
Together with boyfriend Christopher Martin, who is also among the finest chanters to emerge from Jamaica in recent times, they are famed as one of the hottest celebrity power couples in Jamaica. Martin is eleven years Cecile’s junior.
Her first major success was with the single “Can You Do the Work” with Sean Paul in 2001, which appeared on the album Duty Rock that same year. The album went on to sell over 2 million copies in the USA also winning a Grammy.
In 2003, she signed with Delicious Vinyl Records where she unfortunately was not given the chance to release an album. Instead, she released singles in collaboration with other artistes. Today, Cecile is among Jamaica’s top acts, with five hit albums under her belt.
Queen Ifrika
Ventrice Morgan also known as Queen Ifrika or simply the Fyah Muma is daughter to legendary ancient ska musician Derrick Morgan.
She is a singer, songwriter and deejay of repute hailing from Montego Bay in Jamaica.
She first drew notice when she won a talent contest at Club Inferno in Montego Bay in 1995.
She was again to warm the Jamaicans’ hearts when she upped the tempo at the Reggae Sumfest’s Singer’s Nite, dishing out a hearty performance soon after a set by the legendary Buju Banton, an uneasy feat given the stature of the Gargamel (Buju Banton) in the reggae industry.
A Rastafarian by faith, she is known for her hard hitting lyrics which reflect deeply personal feelings which have brought her many enemies than friends.
Lady Saw
Born Marion Hall and hailing from Galina, Saint Mary which is famed for producing other reggae-dancehall icons such as the man popularly known as Clifton Bailey or simply Prophet Capleton. Lady Saw is widely regarded as the queen of dancehall.
She began performing with Jamaican sound systems at the tender age of fifteen and went on to work with the Stereo One sound system in Kingston. Her performances brought her to the attention of record producers and she recorded her first single for producer Piper, and “Love Me or Lef Me”, produced by Olive Shaw which received significant airplay. She had her first hit with “If Him Lef” and she topped the Jamaican charts with “Good Man”.
Lady saw has created a lot of controversies especially with regards to her raunchy stage performances and her explicit lyrics.
She is the first female deejay to win a Grammy Award and to be certified as a triple-platinum artiste and is also the first woman to headline dancehall shows outside her native Jamaica.
Lady Saw launched her own record label, Divas Records, in January 2010.
Alaine
Alaine Laughton popularly known by her first name is a Jamaican American.
She was born in New Jersey in the United States of America, but moved to Jamaica at the age of three. Alaine appeared in the movie Heart alongside Whoopi Goldberg in 1988.
Through the late 1990s and early 2000s, Alaine lived in the United States and did songwriting and singing back up for Rocafella artistes such as Cam’ron and Freeway.
She moved back to Jamaica in the summer of 2004 to focus on her own music after working as an investment banker for JPMorgan Chase. Alaine later met with Craig “Serani Marsh of DASECA, and started working with him.
Their immediate chemistry provided Alaine with her first song on the radio within days of her arrival back to Jamaica.
In 2005 single “No Ordinary Love” on Don Corleon’s Seasons Riddim was a breakthrough single in the reggae scene, and Alaine was quickly praised for her special talents.
In 2005, Alaine performed at Reggae Sumfest, Jamaica to positive reviews. She has been spreading positive messages of HIV and safe sex to high schools throughout Jamaica.
Her debut album, titled Sacrifice, was released in early 2008.
