In the early stages of her career, singer INique got some learned advice from one of dancehall’s elder statesmen.
“I met Mr Cocoa Tea and Mr Tea sey, ‘INique, yuh cyaah sing pon nuh deady-deady riddim. Yuh haffi sing pon di riddim dem weh mek di people dem cyaah duh nutten else but dance’. So yeah, that’s my intention,” she said.
Since launching her career four years ago, INique has hopped on quite a few rhythms. The latest is the Feel It, produced by Hopeton Lindo, another veteran artist, who introduced her to Cocoa Tea.
Her song on that beat, released May 29, is Give It Up, written by Lindo.
“Well, it’s very important to continue releasing songs, to create my lane, to strengthen my presence, to hone INique’s style and vibrations. Each time I work on a project, I am challenged and I grow from it,” said the Lakeland, Florida-based artist. “I tend not to pass up on opportunities that fuels my growth. Give it Up, on the Feel it is in my opinion the hottest riddim that I have been on so far.”
This is the latest project INique has done with Lindo, a respected singer/songwriter who has written classic songs for Shabba Ranks, J C Lodge and Gregory Isaacs. Her previous songs produced by him are My Comforter and Different Worlds.
Her biggest success, however, has been with Man Next Door, a song made popular in Jamaica by The Paragons. Her version, released in 2017, is produced by Richard Grant.
INique was born Monique McDonald in St. Mary, a rural parish in eastern Jamaica. Lindo, Cocoa Tea, Beres Hammond and Marcia Griffiths are her biggest influences musically.
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