Visitors to Black Orchid’s home studio in Toronto can expect to hear a potpourri of sounds — from the hip hop and pop she favored as a teen, to the dancehall/reggae she heard on Caribbean radio in her hometown.
She chose dancehall as the backdrop to her latest songs, Show Yuh and Return my Heart, which she produced.
“I would describe my sound as R&B mixed with dancehall and reggae, but when I’m producing I would consider myself versatile,” said Black Orchid.
A recording artiste since her teens, Black Orchid has worked with some of Canada’s leading lights including singer Chelsea Stewart, whose 2019 EP Genesis she contributed to as a writer.
Like Missy Elliott, one of her biggest influences, she is excited about producing songs as much as recording them.
“It’s very important to me. As a woman doing my thing for others who doing the same thing that it is something they can do too,” said Black Orchid.
Growing up in the Toronto suburb of Brampton, she tuned into the songs of Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Aaliyah and 9th Wonder. But she also had time for dancehall and reggae, which her Jamaican parents played in their home and which got extensive play on Caribbean radio in Toronto.
“I was exposed to reggae and dancehall in the ‘90s and that signature ‘bup sound’! Definitely influenced my current sound,” she said.
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