Queen Ifrica Addresses “Dutty” Sam Smith During Performance At Rebel Salute 2023
Reggae singer Queen Ifrica had a few choice words for English singer Sam Smith during her set at Rebel Salute 2023 over the weekend. Ifrica, who is a staunch follower of the Rastafarian faith, alluded to her disapproval of Smith’s queer lifestyle.
“Hey dutty Sam Smith, mek mi tell unuh supm da country yah belong to God, yer dat?” Queen Ifrica said. “Unuh nuh haffi like mi again, ‘cause unuh done nuh like mi already.”
Ifrica then wrapped up her 20-minute set with the chorus to her 2009 track, Keep It To Yourself, produced by Don Corleon on the Secrets riddim. In the song, Ifrica lashes criminality and the “ticklish” issue of homosexuality, which she deems unhelpful for Jamaica’s progress as a nation. The chorus goes:
Yu feel like a bad man (Keep it to yu self)
Doan bring it to Jamaican (Keep it to yu self)
We nuh want dat a jamrock (Keep it to yu self)
Wi can’t tek no more slackness (hear dis)
Ifrica’s rebuke comes after Smith, who came out as non-binary in 2019, released a collaboration with Jamaican singer Koffee and Jesse Reyez, titled Gimme on January 11. The song’s music video, released on January 13, was shot in New York and followed the three into an underground gay club. Even though Koffee’s performance only included her enjoying the company of a few female friends, the visuals left many Jamaicans with mixed views.
During a post-performance interview with YouTuber Dutty Berry, Queen Ifrica noted that she will always speak up as a “cultural ambassador,” unlike those who, according to her, “love the money more than the message.”
“It shouldn’t be me alone; it should be everybody that hold a microphone but some people love the money more than the message suh dem choose the money ova di message but some a wi aguh always stick to di message because Bob Marley is my icon because of that. He said he’s doing what he’s doing an’ di money come after. An’ doing what he’s doing is telling people how to get along, how to do it, how to rise above dem circumstances,” she explained.
“Music is di quickest spread. A song can spread across di globe in a minute so I prefer to be on that side where there’s a moral compass to remind people that music is that tool that can be used to get the change that we want in our lives and I’m just gonna be on that side forever,” Ifrica added.
When Dutty Berry alluded to the possible backlash that her statements might arouse, the Lioness On The Rise singer said she will be unmoved. “Anything we wah do wi do. Look pon mi good,” she said before, plugging her new song Proud A Miself.
Gimme was co-produced by Jamaican Anju Blaxx, who defended his involvement in the project, which will appear on Smith’s upcoming album Gloria.
“I have not met Sam Smith in person, but nobody can judge me for who I work with or work on productions for,” the producer told The Star.
“I do music to do music. Music has no face or gender. There is also no timing to music. That’s my approach and I’m making music with the intention to leave my mark on whatever project my creativity is put into,” he added.
The song has since debuted at No. 60 on the UK Singles chart, earning Koffee her fourth entry on the weekly listing.
“It is undeniably dancehall,” Blaxx said of the song. “We can’t complain that dancehall is not going anywhere. It is visible. It is happening. And with this song having the original dancehall sound, the ‘boop boop’ drums and bass, it is different from what persons expect from Sam Smith.”
Back in 2013, Queen Ifrica ended up in hot water with some government officials after expressing her disapproval of homosexuals at the grand gala that year. During an interview with The Fix Podcast in 2021, Ifrica said she was met with staunch criticism.
“When they called me for the grand gala, I decided that I was going to address the two topics that were hot at the time, marijuana legalization, and the topic of whether or not we should be bashing homosexuality,” she said.
“When my mic turn down, it was someone in a high official place that told me they were sitting beside the person that gave the order to turn off my microphone. Hear weh mi guh up guh seh, ‘All Jamaican weh know she dem straight and love man and woman and wi seh wi nah change nothing’. That’s all mi did seh,” the Welcome to Montego Bay deejay said.
She continued, “Before the night done, Lisa Hanna [the then Culture Minister], love you babes and everything, we can make it up if you wish was the first to put out that she regretted inviting me there, and I was like for why though?”
Ifrica, whose given name is Ventrice Morgan, began her career in 1995 after shining at a local talent contest in her hometown of Montego Bay. She joined Tony Rebel’s Flames Production in 1998 after a show in honor of the late Garnett Silk. Rebel, after hearing the clean vocals and the unmistakable quality of her performance, asked her to join his team.
Since then, Ifrica has become among the most respected women in Dancehall and Reggae music, touring extensively and being a staple act on Rebel Salute and Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay over the years.
In May 2010, Ifrica was the toast of the International Reggae and World Music Awards, which was held in Queens, New York. Her Montego Bay album was one of the most popular reggae albums of 2009, and for that masterpiece, she copped four awards – Artiste of the Year, Most Educational Artiste of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Best Female DJ/Rapper.
Among her hits are Serve and Protect, Times Like These, Far Away, Randy, Below the Waist, Let’s get Silly and Daddy.
A big champion of women’s empowerment, Queen Ifrica has also released songs such as Black Woman, Lioness on the Rise, and Girl Like Me.