Buju Banton inspires women in reggae

It's generally not an easy road for recording artistes and an even rockier road for female singers in Jamaica trying to make their voices be heard in a male-dominated industry. Of course, that complaint is not new.

Females generally earn the attention of their listeners by surprise, through drama or having a distinct image. Reggae music's rising star Naomi Cowan says as a female vocalist people are looking to see how far the singing abilities will actually extend.

"You want people to say: 'Oh, she has a beautiful voice', but also be able to surprise the listener at the same time. I usually like to add cool and edgy songs and mix the selection up in order to achieve this," she said.

The Paradise Plum singer's Calabash set included Buju Banton's Not An Easy Road that was remixed with, not only her own singles, but also We Pray by Dre Island.

"Buju Banton's music and that song in particular are legendary in our culture and the dancehall and reggae culture globally. The melodies are beautiful, and it resonates with me, while We Pray has become an anthem for music lovers of this generation. Doing the two together was a natural progression," said Cowan after performing at the event that was held in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth.

Similar sentiment

It was the neo-roots Lila Ike that set the trend, capturing the attention of the Calabash audience first, with a fusion of a soulful new single Second Chance sampling the dancehall lyrics, 'emergency, we a suffer roun' here' before singing Buju's Untold Stories.

Performing with a small solo catalogue, the use of the incarcerated reggae artiste's lyrics only enhanced Lila Ike's performance.

According to a Billboard article on Banton, veteran reggae singer Cocoa Tea says: 'There is a big void without Buju Banton in the music'.

And Etana, a two-time number one album charting reggae entertainer, expressed a similar sentiment after performing at the recent Calabash Festival.

"I think it's a great way to keep them and their music fresh in the listener's mind, and it strengthens reggae at the same time. I always include some songs from veterans in my performances," said Etana.

Despite Banton's current status, Etana's admiration for his work is still a strong one.

"One of my first biggest performances was on his show in Kingston. It was a wicked show with just us. And the last time I performed a Buju song was my last Reggae Sumfest performance. It happened a few years back, probably a little after he was just incarcerated," Etana said.