Aisha Davis On The Verge To Stardom

As she sat in the offices of Natural Bridge Studios, Aisha Davis seemed rested, relaxed, and still beaming from her roaring repertoire of songs that blazed Tuesday Night Live at the village.

Since her first recording in the mid nineties for DJ Dre from Renaissance Sound, she became love struck with the notion of being a solo artist.

Armed with a passion for dancing and singing, it was only evident that she would someday beat her own path towards stardom in a male dominated industry.

A former member of the world renowned La’cado Ensemble, Aisha was already a star in training and by her late teens has toured U.S, South America, and the Caribbean, performing for thousands of people.

Along the way, she loaned her voice to many of Jamaica’s most memorable marketing campaigns and toured with some of the biggest names in Reggae music.

Kymani Marley, Buju Banton, Tanya Stephens, and Shaggy have all been blessed to have Aisha as vocal harmony on tour.

As we chatted for over three hours, I learnt a lot about this young woman and her journey to become a sure fire solo artist. It is a mirrored struggle of every truly talented female artiste who is simply not just in the business to perform, but to create real “feel good” music that lasts.

In 2003, her big break came knocking, when Anthony B requested her honey tone on the single “Someone Loves You”.

“I made no money” she giggled, “but people responded and took me a little bit more seriously”.

By 2004 Aisha claimed her little slice of local airwaves with the single “shed those tears”.  “It’s strange” she wondered a loud, “I never changed anything about my style, but now people seemed to listen”.

In 2005 she shot the video for the single, just weeks after giving birth to her son Aiden. Her hour glass figure returned without a scratch, and the video was flawless. Within weeks of its initial release the video was picked up by major music networks within the Caribbean, and North America.

A workaholic by nature, she has cranked out nearly an albums’ weight in singles this year alone. Aisha is ardently seeking that number one spot with a vivid persistence, whilst enjoying the privileges and passion of being mother to 3 year old Aiden Kelly, her son.

“I worked the stage and the studio with Aiden up to when I was six months pregnant” she noted. “And now drums and music are his greatest passions.”

It seems her son was the good luck charm.

In the months that followed his birth, a slew of impressive singles were recorded including, “Hooked”, on the Smash Riddim of “dutty wine” notoriety, which branded her as a viable product within the dancehall.

Her recent single with the masterminds of Natural Bridge Records on the cranberry riddim “Love Away”, has been picked up by major radio and is braced to be a club banger for 2008.

“The single is well supported and is getting good buzz” she stated.

Prior to its release she has been working closely with Natural Bridge’s A&R/Manager Tamra Clarke.

“We seem to make a good team, and the connection is here so let’s see what happens.” She hinted, when asked about joining the ranks of Dancehall innovators such as Ward 21 and Mr Peppa at Natural Bridge Records.

Her single with Reggae star Tony Curtis “set if off” on Delly Ranx’s Dranx Imprint, is blazing the U.S West Coast, steadily infecting the mainstream masses with her unique flavour of sound that gets sticker every day.

Her career spans nearly a decade. “That long!!”, she shouts with a round of bubbly laughter, when reminded.

“Its been That long Aisha, trust me” quips Tamra, who had joined us quietly but now confirms the fact that with over 20 single releases and a few charted moments, Ms Davis (no relation to Beenie man), has earned her right to the spotlight.

Now, with 2008 on hand and Natural Bridge Records by her side, it seems Aisha is poised for the big time, and it’s been a long time coming.

 

Gibbi Geraz
Senior Correspondent
The Reggae News Agency

 

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