Cherine

Queen of Dancehall Soul Cherine is having fun in the dancehall these days; perhaps too much fun. Laughing as she spoke with THE STAR, she talks about her latest single Haffi Come Back and how much fun it was for her to record the hardcore dancehall song that was released in May on the Coolie Gyal rhythm.

The singer is in the pre-production stages of a video she plans to have out by October. In it, she plans to be at her sexy best. "I intend to do sexy in the video. I want to have fun with it," she says. Cherine reveals that, like she did in How We Living, she will be directing the video that, is being produced by her own Dancehall Soul Production.

Haffi Come Back came about almost by accident after she heard the UIM-produced rhythm and wanted to voice on it. She was given the opportunity and, with the aid of Natel and G Blount, wrote the song in an hour in May this year.

Feedback to the song that is available on iTunes has been very encouraging, Cherine says. It has been getting steady rotation on the local airwaves and has been receiving favourable reception in sections of Africa and Europe. The positive response from her fan base is justification for her venture into hardcore dancehall.

"I've always wanted to be on a dancehall beat, to explore different options," said the woman who over the past few years had released a stellar discography of songs of a more 'conscious' nature, including the most recent Eagles and Doves, How We Living, and the powerful Kingston State of Mind.

The opportunity presented itself when UIM, producers of the song, gave her the chance to write her own lyrics on the rhythm on which several other artistes had already recorded.

"A mi good na-na-na mek him haffi come back, haffi come back mi seh him haffi come back, the na-na wa mi gi him dat a fi him comfort, haffi come back mi seh him haffi come back, anytime him lef ya so him haffi come back," she laughs as she repeats the lyrics. "It's comical, but it pulls you in and it goes hard," she said.