| BY KEVIN JACKSON— Observer writer— |
LONG before there was social media or streaming platforms, Lady G was a hot commodity within the dancehall space.
With a career spanning 38 years, Lady G came, saw and conquered. The winner of the Female DJ Of the Year award on multiple occasions (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, and 1998), Lady G truly paved the way for many female dancehall artistes of today.
But her love affair with music began as a child while living in Dela Vega City in Spanish Town, St Catherine.
“Growing up as a little girl, I always loved entertaining. I used to attend functions with my grandparents and then I got involved in drama. I also did poetry and I loved to sing. I later found out that my father (Ken Fyffe) was a musician and, from then, I decided that I wanted to be a part of music,” Lady G told the Jamaica Observer on Sunday.
The elder Fyffe toured with The Congos and also worked with vintage acts like The Sparkles and The Eternals.
Living in a community with entertainers such as Papa San and his brother Dirtsman, also stirred Lady G’s interest in pursuing music.
“Growing up in Dela Vega City, I was neighbors with Papa San and Dirtsman. I used to watch San writing lyrics and deejaying on the sound system. Then I started writing my own lyrics and whenever we had functions in the community, I would participate,” Lady G recalled.
She continued, “There was a talent competition in Spanish Town and I performed. Then I met Daddy Meekie and he took me to Black Scorpio and that’s where I started deejaying on a sound system. I’m happy I was able to work with some respected entertainers and sound owners who really respected my talent and helped to elevate my career.”
Dirtsman was shot and killed in the community by unknown assailants in December 1993.
Unlike the artistes of today, Lady G honed her craft on sound systems before recording a song.
“My only regret in the music industry even though I have achieved a lot, and I am not going to be ungrateful, I just wished that, at the time, I had recorded more songs, because I had the platform. I was focusing on live performances, which was the in thing at the time,” she explained.
Lady G made her debut in 1984 with Ghetto Rock, produced by Maurice “Jack Scorpio” Johnston and appeared on the Black Scorpio label.
“Jack Scorpio was the first producer who took a chance on me as an artiste,” she said.
Through the years, Lady G (given name Janice Fyffe) has scored a number of hit songs, including her 1988 number one hit Nuff Respect, an anthem for the females and produced by Gussie Clarke’s Anchor Records.
“ Nuff Respect was my first hit song and it really changed my life. It proved to the people that I am also a recording artiste. At the time, I was mostly performing on the sound system. Nuff Respect gave me the opportunity to travel all over the world,” said Lady G.
The song topped the JBC Radio Top 30 chart as well as reggae charts within the United Kingdom, the Caribbean, and in New York.
A year later, she would score two hits, Samfie Lover with Hopeton James of the Techniques (number 19 on the RJR Top 40 chart) and Legal Rights with Papa San (number one on every major chart in Jamaica).
But it wasn’t until 1990 that Lady G’s popularity went through the roof with Round Table Talk, another collaboration with Papa San. She sees this as the highlight of her career.
“Everybody was singing it. We also did the video and everything started happening for me. Another highlight for me was performing at Sting 1988,” Lady G shared.
Round Table Talk was the song of the year for 1990 on the RJR Top 100. The video won the JAMI Award for Best Music Video.
“ Round Table Talk really helped to raise my profile as an artiste and it put me up against the big DJs at the time in the business. And to see myself as a female artiste standing up there with an artiste like Papa San, really did well for my career,” she added.
Another of her hit songs was Breeze Off (Juvenile Records), produced by Danny Browne, and which topped the charts in 1997.
However, in 2000, Lady G and then labelmate at Main Street Records, Crissy D, teamed up with British garage music outfit B-15 Project for the hit single Girls Like Us, which reached number seven on the British pop chart, number 22 the Netherlands (where it has been certified gold), and number 35 in Scotland.
The success of Girls Like Us saw Crissy D and Lady G performing the song on the highly rated and popular British television pop show Top of The Pops.
In 2020, Lady G was honoured by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) with the Iconic Artiste in the Music Industry Award.
Her advice to up-and-coming female artistes in the music industry is to do songs that they will be proud of in their later years.
“I want the new crop of females to do songs that when you are older, you can feel proud with yourself and perform them on stage and people can enjoy it. Be true to yourself. Sing something that you believe in and have respect for yourself and others. Don’t do anything that, in the long run, you will regret. It’s not all about the money, it’s about your dignity,” Lady G concluded.
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