Cherine Anderson sharing ‘A Cup A Day’

Cherine Anderson is a name that is known in arguably most Jamaican households here and abroad. From acting in films such as Dancehall Queen and One Love, and a long career in music to becoming a realtor and motivational speaker, she has got her hands in many pots. Now, in 2023, she ready to peel back the layers and sit and talk just as ‘Cherine’ on her new podcast A Cup a Day.

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, Anderson says she is prepared to showcase all the layers of herself and walk with Christ as she hopes to touch and have an impact on the lives of those who join her on this journey.

“Everything with A Cup a Day is led through my own conversations with God and my own devotions with God and what He is working on in my life. We will be discussing a lot of important topics that I have dealt with. Pride is one of them, forgiveness is another. There is stuff about family that will be addressed. Love is another topic. We will be doing the cultural stuff, relationship stuff, the entrepreneurial stuff. Just expect conversations that are going to rub you a little bit differently. At the base of it is grace, truth, love,” she shared.

Speaking of the new venture, Anderson’s passion was clearly evident. “ A Cup a Day is like a labour of love for a really long time because initially, I started by just jumping into my car and doing little videos. I really wanted to see positive messages online, and I really was not seeing it, so I said ‘I am just going go out there and say something positive’, and I have always been encouraged by so many to make it into a longer form or them asking me if I have ever thought about making it into a show [on] TV or podcast. A podcast sounds less daunting, but I said if I am going to do it, based on how everybody has known [in] film and all these other places, I was thinking if I am going to do it, I want to do it right. I need all these resources and a team, so we delayed, but then God said it was time, and I was, like, ‘Well, you not going to take me to dinner and not pay the bill’. I needed to do A Cup A Day in a very specific way, and the people came, the resources came and the topics came,” Anderson continued.

The first episode was aired on February 7. Noting that the best outcome from this new venture would be to have at least one member of her community led to Christ through something that was said or discussed on the show, she says in achieving this, she is open to being vulnerable and showing up as her truest self so others know they are not alone.

“There is a point you get to in your life where for some people they talk through the things they are going through. For me, I don’t share unless I am healed and God has given me the okay to release something on that topic. I am not worried about the feedback that may seem negative or positive to people. We have to grow through some things. The topics I am discussing are things that I have gone through. I won’t say something that I am not healed from unless God is going to use the podcast as a point of healing. I know that people are going to be freed by a lot of the topics we discuss and there is just a freedom that comes with being able to look at something that is an issue in your life and call that thing what it is and say the truth about what you are going through and realise that you are not alone,” she explained.

MORE MUSIC ON THE WAY

Though she continues to juggle many hats, she is plain about ensuring she shares her talents with others and allowing her faith in Christ to give her strength. It is for this reason she continues to push herself in all her ventures including music. She has already made two releases since the start of the year, Eagles and Doves and No Peace In War, and is planning to follow these up with much more.

“When I originally wrote Eagles and Doves, I wanted to get it on a producer’s rhythm and at the time we didn’t and so much has happened since them. I literally hear no from a lot of people and seen people not pick up their phones. I have asked for rhythms to put it on; I have been blocked form certain stages, so it has been a lot. So, though the song conceptually has been done long ago, we did not get a video until 2023. So here comes Eagles and Doves in a way that is fresh and new to a whole generation,” she said about the new track.

“ No Peace in War is kind of different. There is a side of me that my community will tell you ‘she go talk the truth and she go she the ting dem’, so No Peace In War is just about being very honest about what is going on in society. We cutting hard; we speaking truth in love. Yes, it might rub some people the wrong way but we need to get over ourselves because Jamaica needs fixing and the solution is all of us. There is more music coming this Friday and the Friday after that and the Friday after that. Maybe we will drop an EP. I am just having fun with music right now. There is so much music. I write a song pretty much every week so if I write something on Sunday and I feel like releasing it, it is coming out. That is where I am with music right now, plus, we have about 3 albums worth of music just sitting [on] right now so I am just putting music out. It is fun and it is all about my community,” Anderson continued.

With all that she has done an accomplished so far, it is safe to say Anderson is no longer that young girl playing ‘Tanya’ in Dancehall Queen. As she continues to walk in that light in 2023, she says the key for her is sticking to her roots.

“If you are walking in what you are called to do, your story is an inspiration to at least one person. I didn’t necessarily think I would be loved in so many different areas but I live how I know I have been raised. I am not perfect; I am going to do some things that people may not be so proud of. That may not be out there but I am not perfect but I am doing the best I can with all that I have been given and if my story in any way can inspire and motivate anyone, to go after that dream then my job would have been done.”

aaliyah.cunningham@gleanerjm.com