QUEEN IFRICA as part of Island Soul at Harbourfront Centre (235 Queens Quay West), Saturday (July 31), 9:30 pm. Free. 416-973-4000.
Queen Ifrica is an anomaly. She’s a female artist who’s managed to sustain a healthy career in reggae, the one genre even more testosterone-fuelled than rap. Mel Gibson’s got better odds of playing Kunta Kinte in a Roots remake.
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So what’s her secret? Ifrica – the daughter of ska pioneer Derrick Morgan – says she owes her longevity in large part to not being overtly sexual, as opposed to the many female artists she’s seen come and go.
“What they don’t get is that the overnight hype from taking your clothes off only lasts for a second. The culture aspect of the music has a message that people actually gravitate to because it motivates them,” she explains from Kingston, Jamaica, shortly after making a local TV appearance.
Indeed, the roots reggae singer and DJ is all about having something to say, often in the name of building social awareness. Take her 2007 single, Daddy, a UNICEF-endorsed number that deals with incest and child molestation, and Below The Waist, about the dynamic between passion and conflict in relationships.
Ifrica is an activist who’s mentored troubled youths in inner-city Kingston, performed free shows and given motivational speeches for the sake of community development, and spoken out against dancehall singer Vybz Kartel’s song Virginity.
She says her art and actions are inspired by the people in the communities she works with.
“I see myself as more of a social worker than an artist. I use the music to do what is my passion: reminding people that if we understand ourselves as individuals – accepting our faults, the good and the bad – we can make a difference in how we go about our struggles in life.”
Interview Clips
Queen Ifrica explains how she got her start
The singer talks about her song Below The Waist
Ifrica, on why she loves performing in Europe
