Queen Of Dancehall Spice Says Her Successor Will Be The Artist Who’s “Consistent And True”

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Spice

Queen of Dancehall Spice says any female artist aspiring to wear the crown which she now holds, will have to ensure they are as steadfast and persistent as herself and her predecessor, Lady Saw.

“There was a Queen before me and now that I am officially crowned Queen, there definitely will have to be another Queen after me,” Spice said in a Television Jamaica interview with Debbie Bisson, after being crowned Queen of the Dancehall at Reggae Sumfest.

“I just hope that the Queen after mi will know seh it teck resilience and hard work, dedication and motivation.  Because a lot a current females out there that is doing good, but I’ve been in the business for 20 years and to be consistent for 20 years, that’s the key.  So it’s not about who hot now and who a do dem ting now.  Let’s see 10 years after this, who’s gonna remain true and stay consistent.  That’s where it all lies,” she said.

According to Spice, who turns 40 on August 6, Dancehall fans can now watch and make their assessment to see which female artist stands the test of time, in order to determine who becomes her successor.

“Lady Saw did – I don’t know if its 20 years or more than 20 years, but she was the mumma.  She’s left a big a big gap for me to fill [and] step up to di plate.  Mi do 20 years; dat’s two decade, suh let’s see after this who’s going to stay consistent.  Because it nuh easy,” Spice pointed out.

Spice was crowned Queen of the Dancehall on Concert Night One at Reggae Sumfest, by CEO of DownSound Entertainment and promoter Reggae Sumfest Josef Bogdanovich.  She was initially set to be presented with the Queen of Dancehall title at the 28th staging of the Reggae Sumfest in 2020, but the music festival was aborted due to the pandemic.

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Spice and her son ‘Nicho’ at Reggae Sumfest

At the time, Bogdanovich said that Spice had been among the Jamaican female artists who had taken what he described as a “leading role in the music industry, both locally and internationally”.

Back then he had said that many younger artists have Spice to thank for laying the foundation that has led to their success.   Describing her as an amazing artist, he had also said that Spice had performed at Reggae Sumfest more than 10 times, so it is only fitting that she receives the title on the festival’s stage.

In addressing her “freedom” from VP Records, and her upcoming plans, Spice, who is set to release her sophomore album Emancipated on August 19, said that she would now continue to show people that what she had set out to do in terms of not veering away from Dancehall or diluting her music, was possible.

“A lot of people feel like I couldn’t stick to doing my authentic Dancehall music, that mi did haffi put een a likkle ting, (that) I did haffi sound Hip Hop.   I stood true to authentic Dancehall music and it is still relevant to this day,” she explained.

In 2012, Reggae Sumfest had crowned Lady Saw Queen of Dancehall, for outstanding contribution to Jamaican music and popular culture, on a stage that the If Him Lef artist said was the same one from which she was banned more than a decade earlier.

In her acceptance speech, Lady Saw had paid homage to the female Dancehall artists who preceded her reeling out names such as Sister Nancy, Junie Ranks, Lady G, Sandi Starr, Macka Diamond, Queen Paula as well as Spice, other female artists she said had been carrying the genre’s musical banner.

She had also singled out Tanya Stephens for special mention, describing her as “one a di baddest ting inna Dancehall”.