Late Dancehall Legend Sister Charmaine Was Treated Like An Outcast, Lady Ann Says

Veteran Dancehall Deejay Lady Ann, has slammed members of the ‘old school’ Dancehall music fraternity, for treating her late friend Charmaine ‘Sister Charmaine’ McKenzie like an outcast, over the decades.

Charmaine who died last week in her sleep in the United States was a top Dancehall act in the 1980s churning out tunes such as Glammity, Granny Advice, Strong Body Gal, Tightness and Man Look Nice.

Lady Ann, who was the best friend of the late Trench town native, did not mince words as she ripped into her female Dancehall counterparts from her era, whilst speaking during an interview on the popular entertainment programme Onstage, which was aired on television on Saturday night.

“The female dem don’t support each other.  They don’t.  They don’t have no love and they hate Sister Charmaine a lot.  Why dem hate har suh, mi nuh know… inna di time when she need us most dem kick har dung.  Dem tell promoter seh ‘wi naw duh nuh show wid Lady Ann and Sister Charmaine’.  Once dem hear seh har name deh pon di bill, dem turn dung di show.  Dem nuh do no show wid us; they don’t,” she declared.

“Charmaine and none a dem nuh close caw dem nuh like har.  Dem nuh inna nuttn wid har.  Mi a di only one weh shi close wid,” she added.

Lady Ann did not fully elaborate on why there was opposition towards Sister Charmaine, but noted that she had a scathing tongue.  Nevertheless, she said she had to, come what may, stick by her friend who was having personal challenges, even cutting off her other friend and fellow deejay Sister Nancy in the process.

“As a matter of fact, it was me and she and Sister Nancy did close.  But as mi tell yuh, she play and shi play rough.   Right now me and Sister Nancy don’t speak more dan 12 years because of Sister Charmaine.  Because she and Sister Charmaine a run dem joke; she run a joke with Sister Charmaine and Sister  Charmaine run a hotta  joke and shi get mad and call mi and seh: ‘who?   Hey Ann, mi nuh like nuh female deejy enuh and a you meck mi chat to dem gyal deh enuh and mi nuh want no illegal immigrant meck mi feel uncomfortable becaw mi a citizen,’” Ann said.

“And when she seh dat to mi, mi just seh: ‘OK Nancy’ and mi heng up mi phone and mi neva talk back to her.  Neva!” she vented.   “Das why mi nuh do much interview an mi nuh talk  becaw mi a guh talk di truth and dem a guh vex!  Di whola dem whe a run an a gwaan an a hype like dem did like har, nooo.  Di whole a dem kick har dung! Everyone a dem.  Kick har dung when she needed us di most!   She did need that love and support and none a dem, not one a dem!   And it hurt mi.”

According to Ann, Sister Charmaine was being blocked from being booked for performances, which resulted in her not being able to make a good income from her craft.

“Charmaine was not getting any shows becaw dem seh she a ‘ole nayga’. Yu have a set a female who deh send to California every year.  So people a seh wha happen to di girl weh do di song name Murdera?  Suh when dem call me now, I don’t leave Charmaine nuh where.  When di promoter call mi and mi seh wha happen to Sister Charmaine, him seh ‘mi nuh want Sister Charmaine a mi show becaw Charmaine a ‘ole nayga’.  Mi seh ‘sir Charmaine a nuh ‘ole nayga’,  so mi nuh know weh weh yuh get dat from.  Charmaine a one a wi enuh.”

“Him seh, ‘lListen, if yuh waa bring har, you on your own’… Suh mi charge him 2000 fi di show.  Mi seh buy har plane ticket and mi bring har a di show.  Min uh leave har noweh,” Ann said.

Lady Ann said Charmaine took the ostracism and criticisms from the music fraternity of her era very hard, so much so that it even affected her physical and psychological health and well-being.

“Mi haffi monitor har; mi haffi a watch har fi mek sure she shi alwrite, becaw shi teck di ting so hard and she was going through a lot.  She’s very private.  She doesn’t talk about what she is going through.  She teck it so hard,” she said.

“If dem see har a drink a one beer, dem seh shi a junkie.  They said the worst possible things about har.   Dem nuh teck di time fi seh ‘why is she drinking?’ ‘why is she like this?’  None a dem did.  Everybaddy just teck it seh shi a ‘ole nayga’ and dem run wid it.   If shi guh a one stage show door, dem naw let har in.  Dem treat har so bad.  It hurt.  And shi teck it so hard,” she lamented.

“Mi hurt fi know weh shi guh through and how dem tear har dung… The industry did not embrace her, did not give her tat love and shi teck it to heart,” Ann added.

Lady Ann recounted as an example, an incident two years ago, when a single she voiced with Sister Charmaine was rejected by a producer because he did not want the Granny Advice singer on his riddim, a circumstance which she said which hurt her to the core.

“A producer send mi a riddim two years ago for me to record a song.  And when him send di riddim at di time, mi kidnap Charmaine.   Caw mi have a time when mi kidnap har and keep har a mi house fi all six months.    Suh mi kidnap har di whole a 2019, and when him send di riddim come gi mi, mi and har guh a di studio and when di riddim start play suppm seh to mi seh record di song and mi seh come meck wi pencil dah song yah.  Me and you a guh record dis song,’ she explained.

“And when wi record di song and mi send back to di producer and him hear har on it, dem call mi and seh to mi see ‘yuh know seh wi naw guh badda use dah song yah.  Why you alone neva dweet?   You alone guh back inna di studio’.  And mi seh ‘yuh si if Charmaine naw guh deh pon it, onu can figet it’.    Now dat shi die, dem a call mi a tell mi fi meck jingle seh ‘dis was di last recording session’ (by Charmaine).  And yuh know seh mi naw dweet.    Caw dem nuh understand, if di shoes was on di odda foot, Winford, dem woulda treat me the same,” Ann said.

She added: “She was more than a friend.  She was like my sister.   Di only ting weh mi sorry seh, she neva strong like me. Cause if shi did strong like me, she would still be alive today. She just didn’t strong like me. And a just dat a har big problem.  She nuh strong.  She weak.  Shi give up.”