5 Questions with Macka Diamond

Today, the Money-O! goddess, Charmaine Munroe, better known as Macka Diamond, makes another trip around the sun and she is in celebration mode. Still feeling the energy from her giant-sized Sting performance a little more than two weeks ago, the veteran entertainer is ready to claim 2024 as her year to shine bright like diamonds. The new year has brought new music in the form of the saucy, in-your-face declaration, Still Got It, three words which her fans seem to heartily endorse. And Macka promises that there is much more where that is coming from.

Five Questions With ... was delighted to have a quick chat with the birthday girl.

1.How have you spent your most memorable birthdays?

The memorable moments are usually when I buy myself something, or if I keep a show and it is successful, like the all-female show that I kept in 2003. That was really memorable ... all the top female acts represented and we had a great time. My birthday comes after the Christmas season when people go really hard, so by January things thin. So, I stop celebrating Christmas and go hard for my birthday instead.

2. A few years ago you were trolled about your age, and persons even tampered with your Wikipedia bio. Did that affect you then, and can you laugh about it now?

Honestly, trolling me about my age doesn’t affect me because I am not scared of age. I keep my private life private. I don’t reveal things about my family or anything. What confuses the trolls is that I look so good for my age. There are female artistes out there who are older than me and they are still working. The only thing it does is that it affects my career because they use that to try to slow me down. But I keep pushing back, because they are not going to win. They will never win.

3. Your latest song declares that you still have it. How long have you been in the dancehall and how did that song come about?

Still Got it came about when I was making my preparation for Sting and I heard the riddim and said ‘Wow’. I wrote the song but I didn’t perform it at Sting, I decided to make it my first song for 2024. Mi inna dancehall all my life and I’m still here and mi still got it.

4. You are constantly reinventing yourself. Why?

Reinventing and elevating myself comes from within. I know the business and I know you have to keep up your image. You have to hire new teams to get things done. And that’s one of the things I did for 2023. I believe that if you are a star in certain careers you have to elevate and keep changing.

4a. Were your parents supportive of your decision to make music your career after leaving high school?

My parents were always separated, and my mom wasn’t even in Jamaica when I left high school. I did the business subjects at Holy Childhood and they expected me to be an accountant or some other professional. So I kept it to myself ... I was too scared to even tell my mother. My father was in the music so he wouldn’t have a problem with it. But after a while my mother found out and realised that I really loved music and she was okay with it.

4b. If you were no t in dancehall, what would your career be?

Maybe I would be singing somewhere else. But I had two more passions so perhaps I would be in the fashion industry because I always loved style and designing...and the second passion was flying planes. I always wanted to be a pilot.

5.Female artistes are sometimes accused of lacking unity. Do you think this is a necessary ingredient for dancehall to be highly successful?

Females artistes lack unity and I think part of it stems from the management team. Females tend to be close to their producers and they do whatever the producers tell them to do. But, women tend to be a little ‘picky’ among each other and this happens in normal life ... not just in the dancehall ... a secretary, a bank woman, professionals and the ghetto girl, they fight among each other. Unity is always a good look and it can contribute to your success in any field.

BRAWTA

Share with us something that people would be surprised to know about Macka Diamond.

(Laughs) What would they be surprised to know? That I’m still a virgin. I’m only kidding. That I only have one son and no grandchildren ... so I’m still not a grandmother.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com