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Since the 1960s, the Rastafarian way of life has provided the cultural depth that makes reggae unlike any other popular music. Rastafarians have expressed their adherence to a disciplined diet, allegiance to an African homeland and especially the exaltation of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I.
But the Rastafarian female voice is rarely heard in reggae and even scarcer is the Rastafarian female artist who possesses a repertoire of hits appealing to traditional reggae fans and dancehall devotees alike.
Staking her claim towards obliterating Jamaican music’s proverbial glass ceiling is Queen Ifrica whose stirring mix of spiritually empowering anthems, lover’s rock tunes and searing social commentaries have become a lyrical epitahps of our social landscape.
Born Ventrice Morgan on March 25, 1975, Queen Ifrica was raised by her mother and stepfather, and a supportive Rastafarian community in Jamaica’s resort capital Montego Bay.
“The name Ifrica was given to me by my mom; she and my step dad were of the Rastafarian faith and that is where my real cultural awareness comes from,” she reveals.
Ifrica was in her 20s before she really got to know her father, pioneering ska singer Derrick Morgan, but the two enjoy a close relationship today.
“We have a serious connection and we don’t miss the fact that we didn’t know each other for that period,” Ifrica explains. “Sometimes he gives me advice on how to get my melodies people friendly and it is appreciated because he is from where the music began.”
Queen Ifrica grabbed her first ray of spotlight in 1995 when she outshone the other contestants at a talent contest held at Montego Bay’s Club Inferno. But it was an fated December 1998 meeting with reverred Culture Artist and producer Patrick “Tony Rebel” Barrett, following her performance at a concert a Garnet Silk Tribute Concert.
Her renditions of two popular Granet Silk songs so impressed Rebel (who had mentored the beloved Silk early in his career), he offered to cultivate her talent through his Kingston based Flames Productions.
“I saw the same qualities in that performance I have seen in other males who became big stars including Garnet Silk,” comments Rebel, who produced six of the thirteen songs on “Montego Bay”, several of which he co-wrote with Ifrica. “Over the years I watched her develop into a fine artist.”
The Rebel debuted Ifrica at the January 1999 staging of Rebel Salute and shortly thereafter she relocated to Kingston from Montego Bay to fully concentrate on her music. Rebel drew from his wealth of experience and success to supply Ifrica with invaluable insights for refining her writing skills, liberating her vocal delivery and polishing up her stage presence.
“When I listen to songs I voiced back in the 90s, I wasn’t connecting with the words I was singing but now I understand how to relax,” notes Ifrica. “To gain confidence as a performer Rebel said I have to convince people of the story I am trying to tell. He told me to envision myself singing to thousands of people.”
That vision has become a glorious reality as Queen Ifrica now commands audiences of thousands performing at concerts in the United States, at European festivals and continues to feed local fans her unique firey flavour that has earned her the label “Fyah Muma”.
One of the biggest hits of Ifrica’s career “Daddy” courageously shines a light on the often-shunned topic of paternal incest. Produced by Kemar “DJ Flava” McGregor, Ifrica’s deeply emotive approach vacillates between the voice of a frightened child and the observations of an infuriated commentator determined to expose this scourge on behalf of all abused children. Certain sectors within Jamaican society were so disturbed by “Daddy’s” subject matter, they attempted to get the song banned but the masses embraced it and sent it to the top of the charts.
“I wanted corporate Jamaica to realize that if a society is engulfed by violence we have to look at the homes where these violent tendencies are coming from,” remarks Ifrica who despite her hectic schedule spends a great deal of time counseling abuse victims and other disadvantaged individuals through volunteer community outreach programs.
“When politicians want to win elections they run surveys to find out exactly where the most violence is coming from; if they tried to break this problem down from that angle, we would get more solutions.”
Queen Ifrica’s continually defends the children through her music. Her 2008 hit “Keep It To Yourself” produced by Donovan “Don Corleon” Bennett, finds the Fyah Muma blazing against the increasing atrocities experienced by children in Jamaica and worldwide, and the corrupt forces unwilling to penalize such heinous actions.
It takes an exceptionally sophisticated writer to translate topics as solemn as incest, random violence and abject poverty into hit songs; scarcer still is the artist whose uncompromised opinions posit possible answers to these social disorders.
Queen Ifrica achieves that rarefied balance throughout “Montego Bay”, her latest full length release with the strikingly complex Rastafarian female voice she brings to reggae .
“I want people who hear this record to understand what my aspirations are for this world.” she discloses, “All that effort we put towards dispute support we can put towards solution support.”
A lioness is on the rise, don’t you ever have doubt.
