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Address the distress
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by ERIN MACLEOD One of 2008’s breakthrough artists, Etana’s tunes combine reality reggae with an R&B flavour. When the Mirror spoke to the singer, who fittingly chose Etana for her name because it means “the strong one” in Swahili, she was a little hoarse. No wonder, since she’s been performing pretty much everywhere and all the time. Miami-raised Shauna McKenzie went back to Jamaica to start an Internet café, but ended up getting the attention of Fifth Element Records’ Richie Spice. Etana told the Mirror what happened next and why she’s so passionate about the message of her tunes. Mirror: Tell me about going back to Jamaica. Etana: I was in a group in Florida. There were four girls. It was R&B and rock. But the outfits we had to wear… I remember the last time we did a video, I was in Victoria’s Secret lingerie. It wasn’t my scene, I wasn’t happy. I wanted to come to Jamaica, start a business, then go back to Florida and slowly pull out of the group. I ended up not going back. I was asked to do just one show with Richie Spice as a back-up singer. After I did that show, there was another one and another one. So I ended up on the road for a year. People kept asking, “Who is that girl?” So they wanted to do a song just to hear how it would come out. We recorded “Wrong Address,” and they released it, and after that [laughs], I’ve been on the road ever since! M: Your lyrics are quite serious and pointed. E: I met this little girl who was about five years old, who said, “Me know your song!” And she started singing. It was a very sexual, raunchy song that I had done a long time ago. I said to myself, I just introduced this little girl to sex. I wanted to give that little girl something else, show her another direction. We, as women, are not just our sexual organs. We are much more powerful. I decided, I’m going to write lyrics to educate and strengthen the minds of the youth. That’s when I decided I would never write another sexual song again. M: Can you tell me about the song “Wrong Address,” as an example? E: Where you’re from doesn’t make you who you are. My mother was born in August Town, Kingston. If anybody knows anything about August Town, they know that it is a small town divided by politics and war. Every election, believe me, gunshots fire like raindrops. My mother graduated from college and became a court reporter for the Supreme Court. You have doctors, lawyers, people from all walks of life who are from the garrisons, the ghetto. Just because of this, it doesn’t mean that they are not striving to be the best. So when my aunt applied for a job in an office, the secretary asked her, “How do you expect to get a job with an August Town address on your application?” That is prejudice. It’s like a system that is already set, and that is just the way it is. Uptown people, they look across the downtown people and they think, “Downtown is downtown and we don’t go there.” Downtown don’t come uptown. This is why I think reggae music plays a major role, reminding the young ones of who we are and where we’re supposed to be. Real reggae music—there is no other way to teach the youth. WITH NEW KINGSTON BAND, KYA |
