Minister Marion Hall Embraces Lady Saw’s Royalties: ‘I Bless It And Use It For The Right Reason’
Minister Marion Hall doesn’t care to be called Queen of Dancehall or perform the hits that made her Lady Saw. But the gospel singjay certainly enjoys the royalties from her secular past and makes no apologies for it.
“The Bible say, ‘The wealth of the unjust is laid up for the righteous’, and one Bible say, ‘The wealth of the wicked,’ so wherever it come from, yuh bless it,” she told the TVJ’s Entertainment Report.
Hall has been vocal about enduring financial strife since joining Christendom in 2015, detailing a bout of homelessness and living off offerings from her Holy Ghost Pentecostal congregation. Per her latest release, I’m Doing Better, she’s in a more stable place, even moving into a beach condo in Florida.
“I just got some money recently and it was money that was somewhere stuck and I have a lawyer and when that money came, it was right on time,” she said. “I blessed it and I use it for the right reason. My cheques are my cheques – they never bounce.”
To top things off, she’s celebrating her Grammy-winning No Doubt-feature Underneath it All, getting platinum certification in the United States, and is eyeing more income opportunities.
“I know some people have some money for me; I’m go’ get it,” she declared.
The I Won’t Worry artist is in Jamaica for her return to Reggae Sumfest on July 22 at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay, St. James. It’s among a list of popular events she’s been availing herself to, having focused on building her church over the last three years. Part of the territory comes with some promoters asking her to sing her secular repertoire, but she’s found a workaround.
“I’m not going back there, but I can say (on stage) that yes, I used to (sing those songs), but then I will flip and do some things that you weren’t expecting.”
Which she did last month at Groovin’ in the Park in New York. Hall told attendees that she had once sung songs like Sycamore Tree and If Him Lef, before reeling off fiery but Christ-themed freestyles, like the viral Kiss Out Mi Bible.
“People ask me everyday, ‘Why not use I’ve Got Your Man and say I’ve Got God?’. I say, ‘God gave me an overflow’. I have so much songs that my phone can’t hold them.”
And for those still holding on to who she once was, “I can say that’s not me, I used to be, but everyday people say, ‘Lady Saw’… What can I do? I’m like, I’m not that but they still say, ‘that’s who we know you as and you’re still our queen’. Everyday is like that but I don’t wanna be.”