By Yasmine Peru – STAR Writer—
Dancehall Queen Carlene—
Dancehall Queen Carlene believes that persons who are doing their own ‘off-the-beaten-track thing’ in dancehall are bringing the genre into disrepute.
“Each person is going to do what is best for him or her. It is only unfortunate that some of them come under the dancehall umbrella and this creates a confusion in people’s minds, because the focus is not your talent as a singer, deejay or dancer. It’s like everything is now being taken to another level,” she said. “There are no morals, no respect of self, it is all about money rather than the music. But the truth is that good music still sells and doesn’t need gimmicks and nudity.”
The former dancer used to set pulses racing with her racy outfits in the 90s and early 2000s, but emphasized that her mission back then was to bring dancers to the forefront and get them the respect they deserved, while showcasing that aspect of the culture to the rest of the world.
ENHANCE THE MOVES
“As a dancer, I wore various costumes, and the purpose was to enhance the moves and the movements. I knew from back then that there was a whole community of girls and boys who could make a living out of dancing. After all, is not everybody can be doctor, nurse and lawyer. But nobody was paying them much mind,” she said.
Carlene said that while other entertainers were using foreign talent in their music videos, she was busy creating dance groups and took other girls along to the shoots.
“Sometimes I even chose not to go in a video because I didn’t want to take away any of their shine, since I was the bigger name. And it worked, so I am very happy that I was able to play that role and that there are other dancehall queens,” she said. Carlene recalled the challenges that she had to surmount as she strutted through the dancehall in skimpy outfits.
“I was turned away from Mirage twice because I was wearing a b***y rider. And, one year when I was supposed to dance at Reggae Sunsplash beach party for Junior Tucker. A woman, whose name I will not call, barred me, my sister Pinky and my other dancers. Junior had to intervene for us to be allowed on stage,” she said. But revenge was sweet, because by the following year, Dancehall Queen Carlene was billed to perform with Chakademus and Pliers on the big Sunsplash stage.
You must log in to post a comment.