born in Galina, Saint Mary, (July 12, 1972), part of a still expanding roster of entertainers born in the northeast parish. Saw began performing with local sound systems at the age of fifteen.She went on to work with the Stereo One 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 received significant airplay.She had her first hit with "If Him Lef" and she topped the Jamaican charts with "Good Man".
She soon became known for her "slack" style, with raw, explicit songs such as "Stab Up De Meat". Her performances were banned in some parts of Jamaica, though equally lewd male performances were not. This prompted her to record "Freedom of Speech" in protest.She enjoyed a big hit in Jamaica with "Hardcore" in 1994, and followed it with "Welding Torch] She also recorded "Condom," warning girls of the dangers of unprotected heterosexual sex. She recorded duets with several other major stars, including Beenie Man, Luciano, Dennis Brown, Bounty Killer and Beres Hammond.
By the mid-1990s she had moved towards "conscious" lyrics. In 1999 she had a major hit in the United States with "Smile", recorded with Vitamin C, which peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, also a major hit in New Zealand and Canada, and certified gold with over 500,000 sales.In 2002, her collaboration with No Doubt, "Underneath It All", which reached number three in the US and sold more than three million copies, reaching triple platinum certification.The track won a Grammy Award for 'Best Performance by a Duo or Group'
She is the first female deejay to win a Grammy Award and to be certified as a triple-platinum artist. Saw is also the first woman to headline dancehall shows outside her native Jamaica. She launched her own record label, Divas Records, in January 2010.
Lady Saw was featured along with Nicki Minaj on rapper Trina's song "Dang A Lang" from her 2010 album Amazin'.
In November 2012 she announced that she was turning her back on dancehall and would be concentrating on Gospel music in the future.
Her 2014 album, Alter Ego, which features Beres Hammond, Flo Rida, and Ali Campbell, was released in November, and will help to fund the foundation of the same name that she is setting up to help abused and needy women
Macka Diamond,
Tanya Stephens
Another product of St Mary, and like Saw, a July girl, began recording in the mid-1990s for producers such as Dave Kelly and Philip "Fatis" Burrell. Her 1996 single "Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet", produced by Kelly, brought her to the attention of the Jamaican public, and she had further success with singles such as "Draw fi Mi Finger", "Freaky Type", and "Cry and Bawl".[5] Her debut, Big Things a Gwaan, was released in 1994 (featuring Yami Bolo on a cover version of Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner" and Prezident Brown on a remix of the title track), and second album Too Hype followed in 1997.
She moved to Sweden, where she signed a record deal with Warner Music Sweden and recorded the 2001 pop album Sintoxicated. After returning to Jamaica she released the critically acclaimed Gangsta Blues album in 2004.
Her album Rebelution was released in August 2006 and the first single, the ballad "These Streets" was a number one hit in the Caribbean staying on Tempo's Chart at number 1 for more than 4 weeks. The album was totally sold out in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean.[citation needed] The track "Come A Long Way" is a dedication to black leaders.
Infallible, was released in 2010, initially given free with the Jamaican base German magazine Riddim then made available for free download for more than a year.
Stephens has a daughter, Kelly, born in 1994.
In 2006, Tanya sued American rapper Lil' Kim for plagiarism on the song "Durty" from Kim's The Naked Truth asking for all rights to the song, past, present and future. Stephens claimed that Kim used the lyrics from her song "Mi and Mi God", stating that "she even used a west Indian accent". She claimed that in 1999 Tanya was flown out to New York by Kim, who claimed to be a huge fan & owned her albums, Kim wanted her to record for an album, but her vocals were never used.
In a talk in 2011 at the University of the West Indies, Stephens urged her fellow artists to be more socially responsible, and spoke out against the objectification of women in dancehall lyrics and the promotion of bigotry and violation of human rights, saying "The music that once spoke to and spread messages of peace and love, now merely judges, condemns and provokes."
Her song "Still Alive" deals with discrimination against people with HIV, and it was used in a television campaign dealing with the issue.In 2009 she made her acting debut, playing Nurse Tracey in the CVM TV series Royal Palm Estate. She also opened the restaurant 'H2O' the same year in the Coconut Grove Shopping Centre in Ocho Rios.[22]
Tanya also owns Tarantula Records, founded in 2004 with business partner and producer Andrew Henton which has handled all of her music since thenSpice
Born Grace Hamilton, Spice has trod the sexually charged, over-the-top road of many of her contemporaries. This reached its apotheosis in the infamous "Rampin Shop" combo with Vybz Kartel, in which - lyrically, at any rate - she consentedto having her breasts "dealt with like crushin' Irish" and herself threaten to "pop di c--k" off her partner. Her more recent toppers include "So Me Like It" and 'Conjugal Visit"
Tifa
While attending Wolmer's Preparatory, Tifa (born Latifa Brown) was actively involved in the school choir, drama club and dance troupe. As recognition for her choreographing talents grew, so did her passion for singing and song writing.
In early 2005, she decided to put her music first, recording on her stepfather's record label Diamond Rush Records. She also collaborated with a number of his artistes as well as others and sang backup for a short while.
Tifa has since teamed with many of the top producers in the Jamaica music fraternity to produce hits like "Spell It Out" "Kitty Police" and "Dash Out" .
More recently, she has had great success with her single Crawny Gal
Tifa also released the joint-effort mix CD entitled TNT --Three The Hard Way with Natalie Storm and Timber-Lee Heaven, produced by New York famed DJ Max Glazer and The Federation Sound which was dubbed the 'maddest' mix CD ever.
Also in 2008 she did an extensive tour of Europe with her labelmates and mentors Ward 21, which was very successful, during which she became the first female reggae/dancehall artiste to perform in the Czech Republic.
A slew of other tracks were released including Tick It Like a Clock on Stephen McGregor's 'Boasty' rhythm, New Man on the 'Mash Up' rhythm, produced by Christopher Birch, Sick produced by Equiknoxx Music, Boasty Wid It on the 'Style & Swagger' rhythm produced by Ballaz Production and Why, which is a dancehall ballad revealing Tifa's versatility not only as a DJ but also as a singer. This song was produced by Don Corleone on the 'Feminine' rhythm.
Music wise, Tifa released a cover of Junior Tucker's If I Could Fly to rave reviews as well as eight other dancehall and one-drop tracks.
She was also featured on Ludacris' How Low remix which also featured Ward 21 and rapper Teff
Lady G
Lady G, born 7 May, 1968 as Janice Fyffe, is best known for the feminist anthem "Nuff Respect" and "Round Table Talk" (with her mentor Papa San), but her song "Man a Bad Man" was featured in the hit Jamaican movie Third World Cop. She is known all over the world and has a firm fan base. Lady G other songs include "Certain Friends" and "Breeze Off".
Lady G has performed at Europe's biggest reggae festivals,
Lady Junie
Cecille
Shelly Thunder
Sometimes, one hit, if tis really impactful, can be all a dancehall artiste, male or female, really needs. Before her embrace of Christianity, somewhere around 1992, Shelly, born Michelle Harrison, put male slackers on notice with the very direct "Man Fi Get Kuff" (kuff being a slang term for a solid punch or other blow, usually across the head), which immediately shot to the top of local and regional charts. Follow-up "Walk Out A Mi House (Bwoy Nuh Come Back)" made minimal noise in comparison and, before anyone really has time to assess, Thunder has left the secular music world behind. Maybe some men were relieved by this switch, but there's always the thought of what might have been.
Sister Nancy
And the first shall be (featured) last.born Ophlin Russell on 2 January 1962) is widely acknowledged to be the first female dancehall DJ and was described as being a "dominating female voice for over two decades" on the dancehall scene.One of her most famous songs is "Bam Bam", labeled as a "well-known reggae anthem" by BBC and a "classic" by The Observer.
by her mid-teens, she would occasionally perform on the Twelve Tribes of Israel soundsystem Jahlovemuzik sound system that she worked with,[4] and worked for three years on the Stereophonic sound system with General Echo.In 1980, producer Winston Riley was the first to take her into the studio, resulting in her first single, "Papa Dean" for his Techniques label.Russell-Myers went on to perform at Reggae Sunsplash, making her the first female deejay ever to perform there, and she is also the first female Jamaican deejay to tour internationally. She had further success with singles such as "One Two", "Money Can't Buy Me Love", "Transport Connection" and "Bam Bam". Her debut album, One Two was released in 1982. She went on to work with producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes, recording "A No Any Man Can Test Sister Nancy", "Bang Belly", and a collaboration with Yellowman, "Jah Mek Us Fe A Purpose".She continued to appear live, sometimes on Jahlove Music with her brother. The sound system toured internationally, with both Sister Nancy and Brigadier Jerry making their debut UK performances at the Brixton Town Hall, London in 1982.
The Observer cited Russell-Myers a role model for a successive generation of female acts, including Lady Saw, Sister Carol, Mack Diamond, Lady G, Shelly Thunder, Carla Marshall, Lorna G, Lady English, and Lady P.
In 2007, Russell-Myers released the second of her two albums, Sister Nancy Meets Fireproof, produced by djMush1, formerly of the Slackers (NYC Ska) on Special Potato Records. The album was distributed by Jammyland Records in New York, NY. The album features four original compositions, as well as four instrumental versions of the aforementioned songs.
In 2014, the Sister Nancy song "Bam Bam" was featured in the Seth Rogen - Evan Goldberg movie The Interview.It topped the iTunes Reggae Chart
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