Roots Archives Forum

Lady DJ wrote: (maybe that's why, most of my friends are boys)

Girls who like boys as friends are often great fun to be with

Leggo; Mighty. You guys make me laugh good to see you on the forum Lady DJ. If theres anything youd like to discuss on the forums create a topic, we're all nice n friendly here and i personally would be interested to hear/discuss more on those areas.

Yeah James, I often laugh at myself...

As a woman who can't get enough of roots reggae (dub especially - dub from any era...), I have really noticed the lack of female musicians/producers in the scene, which i assumed was for a lot of the reasons already mentioned (culture, religion, male dominance in the music industry in general, etc). i'd love it if someone could direct me to any women that were involved in the early days of dub (or any really good reggae artists actually), i would love to check them out.

in regards to militant female reggae artists if you're interested you should check out d'bi young, she's a dub poet here in canada whose live performance is something to behold! translates pretty well onto her albums too if you can get a hold of them.

peace.

oops, guess i'm just getting the hang of these forums myself, i hadn't noticed the other 4 pages of posts when i posted mine : )

At my weekly DJ gig tonight, there was a very cute girl dancing in the corner who turned out to be extremely knowledgeable about old school reggae. She kept requesting obscure 70s and late 60s songs throughout the night. She knew her stuff. It was great.

here in brazil i see plenty of girls in the rasta, ragga and dub music scene while there are just a few in the ska, rocksteady, early reggae one, but this last scene is smaller in its totality so maybe in the end it's just a matter of proportion in this gender fraction.

Dubvampire-

Check the Love Joys out. Their albums aren't totally dub but their LP Lover's Rock has extended showcase style tracks which are pretty dubby and may have the type of sound you are looking for.

I've never met a girl who can sit n listen to 3 straight heavy roots chunes! b4 complainin dat she's bored...
I take advantage of it n send her off, & I drown myself in d sound thoroughly...
it always leaves me happier, than b4.

ras_gaks

I wish this topic could be renamed "Why So Few Girls." We do exist in the reggae business!

Dubvampire - I have searched long and hard for female roots music from the heavy 70's - and it is tough to find. I wonder why listeners didn't speak up then for the sweet sound of a woman's voice upon a track - (of course other than backup harmony) - since I was born in the 70's, I have no idea what the roots dances were like back then. As a selectress for the past 15 years, I have seen and met many a woman DJ and reggae fan. The network is ever growing. I will be playing a roots sistren DJ dance in Brooklyn Dec 27 and I consider this to be a pretty special, and rare event. I played a "Queens of Reggae" night in Brooklyn March 08, and so many women vocalists were there... If any DJs out there would like to connect, internationally, do drop me a line. Unity is strength.

A short list of roots sistren to checkout, some old and new, I do dig lovers rock so plenty here, sorry if many are totally obvious!, better to list than not to:

K Vibes
Love Joys
Althea & Donna (dj style)
Sister Aisha (UK)
Joy White
Della Grant
Jennifer Lara
Sonya Spence
Sylvia Tellers (lovers)
Queen Ifrica (conscious new reggae dancehall)
Dezarie
Fiona (lovers)
Pam Hall (lovers)
Marcia Griffiths
Hortense Ellis (sister of Alton Ellis)
Brown Sugar

There is a nice Studio One compilation dedicated to women... also a compilation called "Queens of Reggae".... and "Women Hold Up Half the Sky:Volume 1" very good...

Blessings!
Deejay Bella
vishvamusic@hotmail.com
Roots Education Radio Show Mondays at www.globalvortexradio.com