Sister Carol - Opportunity '2020

Tracks list

One of the dancehall eras few successful female DJs, Sister Carol was something
like reggaes answer to Queen Latifah: a strong, positive feminist voice who was
inspired by her faith and never resorted to sexual posturing to win an audience.
Leaning heavily on socially conscious material, Sister Carol delivered uplifting
and cautionary messages drawn from her Rastafarian principles, while always
urging respect for women. She was more of a singjay than a full-time toaster,
capable of melodic vocals as well as solid rhymes. Never quite a commercial
powerhouse, she nonetheless enjoyed a lengthy career and general critical
approval.

Sister Carol was born Carol East in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1959, and grew up in
the citys Denham Town ghetto. Her father worked in the music industry as a radio
engineer, and in 1973, he moved the family to Brooklyn in search of work. Carol
got involved in New Yorks thriving Jamaican music scene, and tried her hand at
singing; however, music wasnt a career prospect yet, as Carol earned a degree in
education from CCNY and gave birth to the first of four children in 1981. Not
long before the latter event, she met Jamaican DJ Brigadier Jerry, who inspired
her to try her hand at dancehall-style DJ chatting rather than singing. She
developed rapidly under Jerrys mentorship, winning talent competitions in both
New York and Jamaica, and toured as an opening act for the Meditations. Her
first album, Liberation for Africa, was released in limited quantities on a
small label the following year.

Recorded for the Jah Life label, 1984s Black Cinderella was the album that
established Sister Carol in the international reggae community, featuring the
title track (her signature song) and Oh Jah (Mi Ready). Carol subsequently
formed her own Black Cinderella label, which gave her an immediate outlet for
single releases in the years to come. Most notably, she cut a cover of Bob
Marleys Screwface in tandem with onetime I-Three Judy Mowatt, who issued the
single on her own Ashandan label. It took Carol several years to come up with
another LP, however, as she briefly turned to an acting career; she earned
supporting roles in two Jonathan Demme comedies, 1986s Something Wild (which
included her soundtrack cut Wild Thing) and 1988s Married to the Mob.

Sister Carols second album, Jah Disciple, finally appeared in 1989, kicking off
a streak of consistent recording activity that lasted through the 90s. Mother
Culture followed in 1991, giving her another nickname to go alongside Black
Cinderella. Her highest-profile album to date, Call Mi Sister Carol, was
released by Heartbeat in 1995, and was followed a year later by Lyrically
Potent, which earned Sister Carol her first Grammy nomination for Best Reggae
Album. Her next album, Isis: The Original Womb-Man, was released on Bob Marleys
Tuff Gong label in 1999. 2001 brought her first-ever live album, Direct Hit!:
Sister Carol - Live; it was followed in 2003 by Empressive, which featured a
duet with Buju Banton on His Mercy Endureth. ~ Steve Huey

Tracklisting:
01. Sister Carol - Spid-La-Ding (3:35)
02. Sister Carol - Follow Fashion (4:03)
03. Sister Carol - Music Nice (2:46)
04. Sister Carol - Mother Culture (2:34)
05. Sister Carol - Love Inna the Morning (3:10)
06. Sister Carol - New Love (2:28)
07. Sister Carol - Midst of the Darkest Night (2:36)
08. Sister Carol - Opportunity (3:18)
09. Sister Carol - Wild Thing (2:56)
10. Sister Carol - Ital Jacuzzi (3:48)
11. Sister Carol - Black Man Time (3:03)
12. Sister Carol - Get up!!! (3:10)

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