Spice Happy That She Never “Watered Down” Her Dancehall Music Or Image

Queen of the Dancehall Spice says she is happy that she chose to maintain the integrity of the Dancehall music genre, by keeping her songs and image authentic, and not straying from, or diluting the music.

In a recent BET interview regarding her Grammy Award nomination, among other things, Spice pointed out that she was secure enough in herself and the Dancehall genre to be uncompromising and true to her roots.

“At the end of the day, what I love about it, is that I never changed or watered down my music or my image, my likeness or anything,” Spice told BET.

“I did authentic Dancehall.  That’s what I represent.  I am the Queen of Dancehall and I am just happy to know that I am able to have the title, being my authentic self,” she added.

Her compatriot Shenseea, who has long expressed her desire to be an “international Pop star”, has been criticized about her sound in recent times, prior to and following the release of Alpha, which, although released as a ‘Reggae’ album consists of mainly Pop-fusions.  During the US Embassy’s Reggae Month Black History Star-Spangled Sit Down session, questions arose as to whether she was shedding her “Jamaicanness”, thinking it will gain her acceptance from Americans.

When asked about the one thing she wished she had known about the industry when she started two decades ago, Spice told BET: “I wish I knew it would be so difficult to maintain your image, your likeness within the music space.”

She continued, “I also wished I knew more about the music…in terms of how to allocate your publishing and the backend side of it.  Music comes with a lot, that I don’t think people in the music industry, today, really knows that art of really putting out a music; how the split sheets go; and stuff like that.”

“So I wish that I had paid more attention to those parts of it, because baby I’m missing a lot of money that I haven’t collected,” she added.

Spice hailed her Go Down Deh collaborators Shaggy and Sean Paul and noted that the song was “climbing up the charts, all the way in India, to this date.”

The song, which appeared on her debut album 10, has picked up over 67 million views on YouTube since its release in May last year.  It is currently No. 9 on the India iTunes chart.

Her latest songs are Jiggle with Demarco and Meeka, Different Category and Love Triangle.

Spice will be the headline act for Pride Toronto 2022 Festival celebrations this June.

“I don’t discriminate,” she told BET. “It doesn’t matter your race or sexual preferences.  So to see some people discriminating against the LGBTQIA community…you know.. I’m just an advocate for that because I love people.”

“I have fans from all races and they support me and I just want people to know that let people live, let people be themselves and enjoy who they are.  It’s not your decision to choose another one’s life,” she ended.