Sophia Brown

Entertainer Sophia Brown heads off to Florida this weekend to the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) Show where she was nominated for the award of South Florida Entertainer of the Year.

Considering that earlier this year she was planning on quitting her singing career, the nomination came at just about the right time.

"Earlier on this year, I got so frustrated with the business that I said to Feonia, my assistant, that I am over, completely over." Brown said her assistant discouraged her from giving up on her career and going full time into producing. "That was like, the Sunday. The Wednesday, I was sitting down talking to my son and told him, and he opened his two big brown eyes and looked at me and asked me, 'So if you quit, what else are you going to do?' So I said, 'Producing'. He said to me, 'No, no-no-no; you can't do that', and about two days later I got an email telling me I was nominated for the IRAWMA. That kind of just sprung a different thing within me that let me know that I need to get back to work."

The International Reggae and World Music Awards, established in 1982 acknowledges and honours the accomplishments and contributions of reggae and world music artistes, including: songwriters, performers, promoters and musicians. The impetus behind the IRAWMA is its commitment to promoting greater participation and acceptance of reggae, Caribbean and world music, Internationally.

This year, the award show will be held on Sunday, May 2, at the Coral Springs Centre for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and will be hosted by Freddie McGregor, Dean Fraser, Etana, and Mr Vegas.

"I am so privileged to be a part of the awards. I attended in 2006 as a patron, so this year, to attend the award as a nominee is great," she said. "I am looking forward to it, the red carpet and interviews and just doing my thing."

Things were turning around for the singer as her Catch Me If You Can album was also in the preliminary rounds for consideration for the Grammy Awards that were held in February. This meant that the album was among the top 25 reggae albums listed for consideration for the award of Reggae Album of the Year. "Just to be considered was a big thing for me," she said. The plaque acknowledging the achievement hangs proudly on her office wall.

decision to quit

Brown said the initial decision to quit was prompted in large part because, "I wasn't getting what I thought I deserved, especially here in Jamaica," she said. "So my main focus is elsewhere. My good friend Denise Gore from Los Angeles tells me that I must not focus too much on the Caribbean-based festivals; that I am to look outside because elsewhere people are looking for good reggae artistes."

Gore, she said, had approached her after seeing her perform at the Hollywood Park Casino. Since then, she says, she has met with other people who have been telling her the same thing; that she should work mostly outside of the Diaspora. "I am looking forward to doing just that," she said.

Brown is now focused on a new single that she plans to release in the coming weeks and plans are already in place for an accompanying video. "I am working on a new single called Touch Me Right Here. It's a very sexy song and then we're looking to do the music video. I am thinking about dropping that near the end of June. We're going to go to LA to get the video done, plus working on some other things we have going on there in Los Angeles. Going forward, I just feel within myself that it is worth my while continuing. Now that I feel rejuvenated and I realise the space is there for other female reggae artistes to emerge, I am getting myself and my thoughts together."

Brown is now working with Samuel Quinn, a concert promoter, who will handle some of her business and who has also helped her set up a band in Los Angeles. "I am putting my career in his hands in terms of bookings, as I am looking to go in a different direction like Roots Underground, Steel Pulse, and Don Carlos, who might not be playing here in Jamaica but the whole world knows of them."

Plans are also in place for a US tour in July before Brown heads to Europe for two weeks to perform.