Global Reggae Charts - Issue #5 / September 2017

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Hempress Sativa global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017 8
ARTIST FEATURE global reggae charts featured artist Women in Reggae Text: Thomas Euler // whagwaan-magazine.de Reggae and dancehall historically both had their fair share of highly talented and artistically impactful women. Still, by and large the two genres certainly qualify as male-dominated. For every Marcia Griffith, Sister Nancy, Tanya Stephens or Lady Saw, there always used to be a multiple of male artists with comparable standing. At least when judging on the grounds of their commercial success which often didn’t measure up to the critical acclaim and the fan’s appreciation. Multiple factors contributed to that development, ranging from industry dynamics (some might describe them as patriarchal) to societal structures. What certainly didn’t contribute is a lack of talent. Through the years, the great ladies of reggae have created some of the genre’s very best records, among them several all-time classics. As such, it is great to see that today’s generation of reggae and dancehall artists features a number of women at the forefront: Jah9, Etana and Spice are among Jamaica’s most notorious artists. And the Australian singer Nattali Rize has gained momentum internationally (her current album Rebel Frequency topped the Global Reggae Charts for two months straight). And once you look under the surface and dig a bit deeper than the highest-profile names, you’ll find a lot more. There is a whole bunch of highly talented and very promising young women like Xana Romeo, Toian, LMK, Marcy Chin, Ishawna, Sevana or Shanique Marie. None of them appears to be contempt with the status-quo of women in reggae. And, more importantly, none them seems particularly affected by historical limitations the genre might have put in front of female artists. Another name that definitely needs to be mentioned in that context is Hempress Sativa. In early 2017, she released her debut album Unconquerebel which gained a lot of positive feedback from fans, critics and fellow musicians alike. Before that, her single Rock It Ina Dance had already achieved notoriety on dances and radio alike. The song illustrated that Hempress is well-versed in old school dancehall vibes and capable of reworking them into a fresh sound. To get there, she worked with no other than Hopeton Overton Brown - better known as Scientist. Having a reggae and dub legend in her inner circle - Scientist mixed another three songs from the album - is a good indication of her appreciation for the music’s pioneers. Which isn’t a coincidence. Her father, Albert “Ilawi Malawi” Johnson, used to be a selektor at Jah Love Muzik, a Sound System that was pretty popular from the late 70’s throughout the 80’s. Growing up in a musical household meant Kerida Johnson (Sativa’s birth name) came in contact with reggae music from a very early age. In comparison to other kids whose parents are music fans, though, said contact wasn’t limited to listening to the music. Instead, by virtue of having a music professional as a parent, she also learnt what it means to be in the music industry. That, interestingly, isn’t an uncommon theme among today’s generation of Jamaican artists. Here is a brief (and very incomplete!) list of artists whose parents were professionally involved with reggae in some capacity: - Chronixx (father: Chronicle, singer) - Protoje (mother: Lorna Bennett, singer) - Keznamdi (both parents: Chakula, band) - Xana Romeo (father: Max Romeo, singer) - Marley siblings (father: Bob Marley, singer; - Stephen & Ziggy also: mother: Rita Marley, singer) - Queen Ifrica (father: Derrick Morgan, singer) - Ishawna (father: Don Angelo, singer) - Meleku (father: Sizzla, singer) - and many more 7 global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017
Page 1 and 2: issue # 5 | september 2017 monthly
Page 3 and 4: editorial Welcome to a new edition
Page 5 and 6: Album Charts | top 10 Period Ending
Page 7: WEB RADIO GERMANY global reggae cha
Page 11 and 12: ON Air global reggae charts radio s
Page 13 and 14: media partners Imprint Publisher: B

Global Reggae Charts - Issue #5 / September 2017

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