Ce'Cile's Still Running

Three years after the release of her last album, Jamaicanization, dancehall entertainer Ce'Cile is getting ready to drop her latest album, Still Running, next month. The 40-year-old singer recently released Turn It Up, the first single from the album, which she reveals gave her a chance to really express herself.

"I was able to express myself more in terms of like the stuff that I buy. And even though my last album, Jamaicanization, was good, I still didn't express myself, because there are some things that I will say in poetry that I have not got a chance to say on my album," she said.

In addition to the new single, there are several excellent tracks on the album that features the production skills of Vinnie Vin Dito, who has produced for luminaries like Eminem, Rick Ross and Nikki Minaj; Richie Loop, John FX and Ce'Cile herself. Still Running also features vocals from Bryan Rucker, Anthony B, Brian Stacks and Richie Loop.

producer Vinnie Vin Dito

"Turn It Up is produced by Vinnie Vin Dito," she said. "It was so awesome working with him. He produced two tracks on the album. With Do You Know, he came into the studio and did that from scratch. He said, 'I've been listening to your stuff and you can go deep. I want to know what you want to say' and no producer has ever said that to me."

There are other tracks on the 16-song album that have special meaning for the veteran entertainer. "I have always wanted to write a track called One Love," she said. "I wrote that when everybody was doing the Bring-Our-Girls-Back and everybody was taking a picture and putting it up. I decided that I wanted to write something that could have helped in a situation like that but globally - in terms of somebody actually hearing the song and liking it and saying I am touched by that. So that was my ode, but it is much broader than that."

Dancehall tracks

Dancehall-wise, there is, I Want You on Me, and there is a reggae track called Awesome, that Ce'Cile says is dedicated to all the wonderful men in the world. "I wanted to sing on behalf of every woman out there who is with somebody and you don't get to really tell them how you feel about them because you are running around with life's stresses and you forget to say, 'Baby you're awesome,' so I say that on behalf of all the women." There is also a song called New Shoes, which she says is about a woman stepping out for the first time after a break-up. Then there is Contagious, which features the vocals of Richie Loop.

Ce'Cile says she is grateful to her label, Sobe Records, for allowing her to express herself on this album, something she has wanted to do for a very long time. "They love music, they really love reggae music, so I was able to do what I wanted to do and say what I wanted to say," she said. "They also wanted me to explore EDM and some other genres which are not foreign to me. I wanted to bring it across on the album because music has changed. Fans are not just fans of Jamaica or fans of reggae, they are fans of Ce'Cile, so they like whatever Ce'Cile does because it's always authentic."