‘Rude girl roots’

Not your ordinary ‘roots girl’, singjay Yeza is gearing up to show off what she really means when she says her catchphrase ‘rude girl roots’ on her upcoming debut album, Star of the East.

Hoping to give fans a better idea of who she is beyond what she wears or her mannerisms, she believes the music will tell her true story.

“ Star of the East is literally the lane where I grew up. I kind of decided to take it on and then my team agreed because when we reviewed the album, I was talking a lot about where I grew up and that stuff. We worked with the vibe because it really is sort of an introduction to who I am as a person and an artiste. Star of the East is not only the road but sort of represents the journey from where I started to where I am now,” she told The Gleaner.

“People probably don’t know me that well, but I think the album is definitely going to give people a real idea of who I am. I realise some people have mixed opinions about me and what I stand for and with the album people will definitely know for a fact. They know I am coming with roots energy and then I come with the rude girl vibes because I am influenced by dancehall culture as well. I stay true to myself, I am not a long-frock-wearing roots girl, I am just myself,” Yeza continued.

Yeza, who declared during her performance at Rebel Salute earlier this year that the future of reggae music is in good hands with this generation, has been working on this project for about five years to ensure that it is a solid representation.

“The process was lengthy. But it was still rewarding. It was an experience of self-discovery as well. Having listened to the riddim dem and figuring out what I personally wanted to say was like a discovery of my real passion and desires and what I really wanted to put out there. It was magical,” she explained.

“I have to make sure seh everything wah me put out there is representative of me right now and forever more. There is nothing that I want to put out there that I want to regret when I reach certain age or when my pickney dem come inna Earth. I wanted to keep it real and keep it so I could always be proud of it,” Yeza continued.

The album was produced by sound system great Rory Stone Love, and according to Yeza, it was a dream come true.

“I think me and Rory artistic-wise have a good connection. I would say that a lot of his ideas fuse with my ideas. Before I started working with Rory, I used to say I really want a sound like the Black Dub sound which is his production, Black Dub Music. It was just so international and still is very clean and of high quality. I love working with him, he puts quality over quantity,” she shared.

The album also features live music recording with backing instrumentalists such as Dean Fraser, the late Danny Bassie and the late Courtland ‘Gizmo’ White. The title track and video have also already been released and she is pleased with the feedback so far.

As she prepares to release the album in time for the summer, she reflects on how growing up on Star of the East lane has shaped who she is today.

“I think it was there that I started to fall in love with music because we had a lot of sound systems and dance. You never even needed a venue, the road was the venue. People from all ‘bout came. Cars parked from the top of the road to the end and people flocked the middle of the road. You had some massive sound systems and they would come out for the big dances and I was very influenced by that. Then you had roots culture cause you know they play the reggae songs when the dance just starting and I would love hearing Beres [Hammond], Marcia [Griffiths], Bob [Marley], Dennis [Brown], so I created this vibration of ‘rude girl roots’ because it was so seamless based on the influence of dancehall and roots music,” she said.

For the rest of this year, she said she looks forward to the roll out of her project and eventually going on tour.

aaliyah.cunningham@gleanerjm.com