{"id":114328,"date":"2017-04-07T11:49:23","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T16:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kingston12.net\/?p=114328"},"modified":"2022-11-22T16:09:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T21:09:18","slug":"ikaya-writing-her-name-across-many-hearts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/2017\/04\/07\/ikaya-writing-her-name-across-many-hearts\/","title":{"rendered":"IKAYA: Writing Her Name across Many Hearts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The reggae music industry is heavily male-dominated.\u00a0 Throughout the years female artists like Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley and Carline Davis are among the very few that became \u201chousehold\u201d names.\u00a0 Today there is a new group of female artists who have kicked the door wide open. Artists like Alaine Laughton \u2013stage name Alaine, Ventrice Morgan \u2013 stage name Queen Ifrica, Shauna McKenzie \u2013 stage name Etana, Tessanne Chin and Cherine Anderson are writing their own story in reggae music. One such artist that jumps out of the bunch is a singer who I heard for the very first time 2013 when I hosted a Friday afternoon reggae show in Tampa, Florida. Her name is Kadian Blair \u2013 sage name Ikaya.<\/p>\n

\"IKAYA\"
IKAYA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ikaya stands out among a small group of female reggae artist and song writers who can really sing. Not women who have to purr seductively over highly syncopated tracks and auto tune \u2013 as writer Patricia Smith once note – \u201cwho writes checks with advance hype that their voices couldn\u2019t possible cash\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 There is no screeching and snarling in her rhythms. There is no over sampling to attempt to hide anything in her voice. What she delivers is what you hear \u2013 all natural, all hers. Her songs come from the heart – odes of love and life.<\/p>\n

Ikaya was born Kadian Blair in the heart of one Kingston\u2019s \u201ctough zone\u201d called Waterhouse (also the birthplace Jamaica\u2019s multi-Olympic gold medal winner \u2013 Shelly Ann Frazer). It is said that her parents (which include the man we call coach \u2013 Hugh \u201cBingy\u201d Blair) loved R & B and classic reggae music. As a result, Ikaya began discovering her talent at the tender age of 4 \u2013 while auditioning for her pre-school choir. As a teenager she performed at various small venues and soon ventured out while still in high school with a group called B2K.\u00a0 In 2001 she was introduced to the popular reggae artist Clifton Bailey \u2013 stage name Capleton, aka the Fire Man. She became a background vocalist and later opening act for Capleton \u2013 accompanying him on several world-wide tours. \u00a0She also had the opportunity to collaborate with him on one of his mega hits \u2013 a track call \u201cFire\u201d.<\/p>\n

While some might reference the influence of R & B and Dancehall music on her reggae style as \u201cold school\u201d, I simply call it original. It is original because it was R & B, American Jump Blues and Dancehall music combined with the African Kette drums that gave us reggae. Reggae music has its roots in the original sound system\/dancehall culture \u2013 the culture of King Edwards the Giant, Duke Reid the Trojan, Count Bells the President and many others.<\/p>\n

Today her extended list of hit singles includes enough songs for three albums. Her 2016 \u201cUgly Girl\u201d and accompanying video had many in and out of the entertainment industry talking. Another 2016 hit \u201cLove Note\u201d is still in regular rotation on kingston12.net, and reggae formatted, digital stations throughout the world.\u00a0 Other hit single include \u201cMy Man\u201d (2015), \u201cWrite Your Name\u201d (2010), \u201cBroken Wings\u201d (2013) and \u201cStuck in the Middle\u201d (2016). Ikaya is a multi-talented artist with talents that include rapping\/DJ which she demonstrated on two of her songs \u201cFly Away\u201d and \u201cAin\u2019t Giving Up\u201d.
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