Thursday, August 13, 2015

Throw Back - soaring 90s Dancehall/Reggae artistes

Patra
Haven't seen any major breakthrough in the international market by a female Dancehall artiste in years. However, Jamaican female entertainers have enjoyed being 'on toppa a tings' internationally. Throwback to the 90s when two Jamaican female artistes made name for themselves internationally hitting up US Billboard Top 100 charts and kicking it among big names in the RnB, Hip-Hop and Pop communities.

 PATRA
Patra emerged on the Dancehall music scene in the late 1980s going by the stage name Lady Patra.  She released her first album entitled "Queen of the Pack" in 1993 which peaked at #21 on US Billboard Rap Singles Chart and #89 on the US Billboard RnB chart. Patra there after, released a follow up single entitled, "Worker Man" or (wuka man) which became her biggest hit, peaking at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Top 20 on RnB chart and #1 on the US Dance Chart. Seemingly on a roll Patra landed another hit thereafter entitled "Romantic Call" which had a follow up remix featuring rapper Yo-Yo. In 1994 Patra hit the US Billboard Hot 100 charts once again on a collaboration with Shabba Ranks entitled, "Family Affair" which peaked at #84.

DIANA KING
Diana King is a singer-songwriter who performs a mixture and fusion of reggae, reggae fusion and dancehall.
Diana King
In 1994 Diana King came to prominence after making an appearance on The Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Respect" from his album Ready to Die, she signed a recording contract with Sony Music.  Her first single, "Shy Guy" co-written and produced by Andy Marvel from her debut album, Tougher Than Love, became a hit peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and certified gold by the RIAA in the U.S.; the single also hit No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, peaked at No. 1 on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart and sold close to 5 million worldwide. 

 "Shy Guy," the signature single of Diana King made the soundtrack to the 1995 film, Bad Boys with the lead role played by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.  It also ranked by the Japanese radio station J-Wave as the number-one song of 1995.

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