Lady Saw is known as the "Queen of Dancehall," a trailblazer for other female artists who want to express female sexuality in song. Marion Hall, as she is also known, is a mother, a nurturer, and a healer. Her honesty about the female experience may shock some, but it empowers others. "I remain Marion, and yet, I'm Lady Saw," she says of the divide.
Hall's career took off with Jamaican sound systems when she was 15 in the early 1980s after she took the name Lady Saw in honor of reggae artist Tenor Saw. She is the first woman to headline dancehall shows outside of Jamaica, and she won a Grammy in 2002 for her triple-platinum duo with Gwen Stefani, "Underneath It All."
When we spoke, Hall was holed up in Florida, writing new material.
Hall's career took off with Jamaican sound systems when she was 15 in the early 1980s after she took the name Lady Saw in honor of reggae artist Tenor Saw. She is the first woman to headline dancehall shows outside of Jamaica, and she won a Grammy in 2002 for her triple-platinum duo with Gwen Stefani, "Underneath It All."
When we spoke, Hall was holed up in Florida, writing new material.
The album will also include a song she did with UB40 singer Ali Campbell. It takes on a topic she's familiar with: cheating. "I also sing songs about cheating, because I'm a woman, and I've been through a lot of that. Broken marriages and broken dreams, things like that, that's what I'm touching on right now."
A relationship of 16 years had just ended when we spoke. "I left before he left," she says. "I didn't shed a tear. But I guess there'll be days when I'm down and days when I'm sad, but I pray about it, and God knows what's ahead of me and what's best for me."
The adoptive mother of three, Hall bravely took on a taboo topic her song "No Less Than a Woman (Infertility)." "It was based on my story when I had four miscarriages and was having problems holding a baby," she says. "I also touched topics about rape, because I lived in the ghetto for part of my life when I was younger, growing up. I went through things; I listened to other people's stories."
As one of the first women to sing explicitly about sexuality, her gentler side also recognizes the universal challenges women face. "I feel all women have the same experience. It doesn't matter where in the world you live."
Part Two will appear on County Grind on Monday, March 5.
Lady Saw will be performing jazz, blues, gospel, laid back reggae, and some country as Marion Hall at the Icons of Reggae in Concert presented by Effective Music and Entertainment on March 11 at Central Broward Regional Park (3700 NW 11 Place, Fort Lauderdale). The show starts at noon and tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.
Lady Saw will be performing jazz, blues, gospel, laid back reggae, and some country as Marion Hall at the Icons of Reggae in Concert presented by Effective Music and Entertainment on March 11 at Central Broward Regional Park (3700 NW 11 Place, Fort Lauderdale). The show starts at noon and tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.
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