There are so many names for Lady Saw: The Queen of Dancehall, The First Lady of Dancehall, or the latest one: Mama Saw. The latest name, however, is quite befitting at this point in her career because she is The Matriarch for all female dancehall deejays, and arguably some female rappers. She is the first female deejay to win a Grammy (which she did with No Doubt for “Underneath it All” –Best Performance by a Duo or Group with a Vocal), to go triple platinum (with said single), to go gold (with Vitamin C for “Smile”), and to headline shows outside of her native Jamaica . Even before Gwen Stefani and her cronies tapped Saw for their multi-successful, mainstream single together, Missy Elliott and Foxy Brown had long contacted the singer/ deejay/ producer/ songwriter to weigh in on their hip-hop/reggae flirtations. Truly, this Mama has made an impact, not only in the smoky corners of the dancehall where her sensuous lyrics cause couples to bubble and wine, but internationally. Her style, a blend of rude gyal, pump-your-fist-ladies anthems and raunchy, risqué rants about real and surreal sexcapades, is in demand now more than ever.

It was the late ‘80s when Lady Saw (born Marion Hall on July 12 in the 1970s), just 15 at the time, left behind her little tomboy self who used to sell fruits and race wooden karts for the young woman who made it out of the Kingston ghetto to become a first-rate recording artist. She became a regular in the studio after quitting her sewing job at The Free Zone on the outskirts of Kingston . “That job wasn't for me”, she says. “I would deejay at work during the day.” During a stint with the Diamond Label she released most of her dancehall hits from the early nineties (“If Him Lef,” “Find a Good Man,” and “Stab Out Di Meat,”). VP Records became interested in Saw when they realized how captivating she was. She's been signed to the label for almost ten years. Since then, her more commercial hits include, “Healing” with Beenie Man, “No Long Talking,” and “Sycamore Tree.”

Today, Lady Saw has her own production company, Hall Productions. She's produced two riddims: Blindfold and Lock Jaw. She's produced major dancehall artists Capleton, Spragga Benz, Sizzla, Bounty Killer, and Beenie Man. She's a mentor to up-and-coming artists on her imprint as well as to Ce'Cile, her artistic progeny. She's recorded for Shaggy, legendary producers Sly & Robbie, Funkmaster Flex, and Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes . She's appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “The Rosie O'Donnell Show.” And she's the only dancehall artist to have had her song, “Give Me the Reason,” covered by a country singer.

Lady Saw aspires to speak for all women. For one, she can relate. She is a Mama to three adopted children: one girl and two boys. She's almost married, has been through her share of heartbreak and infidelity. And being one of the few females in a male-dominated industry, she's definitely experienced sexism. While some prudish people find her expressions, both the lyrical and the physical, to be offensive (she was once banned from some important stage shows), she continues to address, with each stroke of her pen, what she considers to be the real issues women face: Being daughters, wives, girlfriends, sisters, and mothers in this modern world while still being strip teasingly sexy.

Source:ladysaw.net

Hailing from St. Catherine High School, a businesswoman, an artiste and now a mother, D' Angel is the epitome of a true Caribbean woman, focused on fulfilling her life’s dream of becoming one of the top dancehall artistes on the world stage. D’Angel continues to break down barriers and is a role model to numerous young women. She’s resiliently confident, a very hard worker and most of all she continues to be in demand.

Those close to D’Angel from childhood knew that she was destined to be on stage because at an early age her friends and family would often served as her audience while she practiced her vocals while entertaining them. Eventually she was performing at school parties, concerts and even in class. However, like most life journeys there is sometimes a detour and this was the case for D’Angel’s musical journey.

She drifted from her musical pursuits and entered the world of glitz, glamour and couture when she took on a modeling career in the early 90s. Strutting runways and landing alluring photo shoots for brands such as Rocawear only prepared her for the bigger spotlight that she would later receive in the music fraternity. The promising A-List lifestyle and popularity were not enough, though to keep D’Angel away from Jamaica and in 2002 she returned home and immediately capitalized on her entrepreneurial skills by opening her unisex fashion boutique 'Angel’s'.

D’Angel felt like something vital was missing from her life despite her modeling career and a fashion boutique 'in the bag'; it was her ultimate love and dream for Music. She began to pursue her musical career by writing songs and doing studio sessions and her first solo effort was released in 2004, titled ’Hottie Girls’ which was produced by Kevin Blake. Subsequently followed by her break-out single ‘Downtown Girl…Livin Uptown’ in 2005, which danced its way to number one on several local charts under the banner of her label Champagne International Records.

In 2006, D’Angel dominated local and international media with her celebrity marriage to Dancehall Mogul Beenie Man and both collaborated on the hit single: One Man, which could be heard on all local radio stations, car stereos and dancehall sessions. She released several singles including; Woman Power that petitioned the strength of a woman and implored society to give women the respect and opportunities that they deserve. D’Angel then teamed up with dancehall lyricist Vybz Kartel on Baby Father, another major hit which became a huge dancehall anthem for the women.

D'Angel took her vivacity and energy to various stage shows locally and internationally. Her spicy lyrics and charismatic stage performances landed her numerous nominations and awards from then until now. In 2006 and 2007 she was nominated as one of the Female DJ of the year and was awarded Best Dressed Female Artiste in those same years. Despite the media hyped personal problems in mid 2007, D'Angel was able to reaffirm her place as a dancehall diva after the release of her hit single Blaze (Up and Live Riddim) produced by Arif Cooper for Fresh Ear Productions and the groundbreaking video which quickly rose to the top spot on all the video charts of all the local cable stations and was in heavy rotation on radio as well.

In early 2008, with the propelling success from Blaze, D'Angel boosted her presence in the music fraternity locally and internationally as she was a performer at the 27th IRAWMA Awards in New York and a nominee for Best Female Deejay. In addition to a plethora of singles claiming heavy rotation on the local airwaves including the singles: Caan Stall featuring Vybz Kartel, Lucky Charm, Whisper, Good Day, High Intensity, Hustling Ladies, Real Gangsta, Talk is Cheap, Don’t Hate, Naw Go Nuh Weh and the mega hit single Stronger, which went Number One on all major charts in Jamaica and was steady as one of the Top Five songs on the New York and Florida Top 30 Singles Charts. The video for ‘Stronger’ stopped no short of Number One status on all the video charts as well and easily became a household song that appeals to the women who have been through relationship problems similar to hers.