Featured Artiste: Ruth
With an intense passion for writing poetry combined with an undeniable talent to woo others with her voice, Jamaican singer and songwriter RUTH (born Ruth-Ann Brown) launched a career on the Reggae music scene in late 2005.
She was born to Frank Brown, a primary school teacher and farmer, and Janett Hemans, a high school teacher and dressmaker, on August 28, 1984 in the small community of Chesterfield, in Westmoreland.
Unlike many other artistes, RUTH did not grow up listening to Reggae music, neither were her parents involved in the music business in any way. Her father played the guitar, piano and harmonica leisurely and her mother sang and still sings in her church choir. One would wonder where she learned to write to Reggae rhythms when the only background she had in music was singing on the church choir. Brought up in a strict Seventh – day Adventist household, RUTH only heard ‘secular’ music as she passed by shops and bars in the vicinity of her home. This was the kind of music she gravitated towards.
She was always singing at home while doing chores, and she was known around the community for performing at church crusades, weddings, and funerals; at school, she was known as a poet, who preferred to write several poems each day than to eat lunch or play. Her friends encouraged her to take singing seriously but she did not take this advice until 2005 when she recorded her first single, ‘As It Is’ on the Di-Mon Cut label. This song, about a triangular affair, received tremendous airplay on various radio stations in Jamaica.
Her voice has been described as smoky, strong, soulful and melodic while her lyrics are compelling, straightforward, and unusual, ‘hitting the nail on the head’ and reaching out to a wide audience whose members can relate to the concepts she highlights. A sentimentalist, who finds meaning in every thing, RUTH enjoys writing about personal experiences relating to love, family life, social issues, injustices, among other timeless topics.
RUTH’s main musical influences include Sade, Sinead O’Connor, Tanya Stephens, Sizzla Kalonji, and the Marley family. Of course, she is yet to perform alongside these icons. Her music, however, has been featured on various Jamaican radio stations including IRIE FM, RJR, FAME FM, ROOTS FM and ZIP 103 and she has been interviewed on CTV and HYPE TV in Jamaica and WPFW in Washington DC. She has shared the stage with Freddie McGregor, Beres Hammond, Ky-Mani Marley, I-Wayne and many more.
After signing to independent label, Bran-Nu Entertainment in 2007, RUTH began working on her debut album, which features her first two singles on the label, ‘Unfamiliar Feelings’ and ‘Chillin with my Baby’ which were released on February 14, 2008. The not yet titled album which is a collection of personal experiences about relationships, issues related to migration, work, and life in general and features songs like ‘Jamdown’, an ode to her home country is soon to be released.
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