Legendary Jamaican singer, Sister Marcia Griffiths released her new single titled “Queen of Paradise”, produced by the great Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, better known as Sly and Robbie and penned by Grammy Award nominee Reggae enterainer Chronixx.
After the release of They Don’t Know, a single by Chronixx, Marcia was inspired to do collaboration with him.
“I heard a song playing on the radio and I’m not easily drawn to things like that,” she disclosed in an interview, before singing out the chorus to correctly identify it.
“The singer just stopped my heart. I met him when the song was just released and I told him, ‘you got my attention and it is so beautiful, the melody is so sweet, and the voice is so melodious.’ I don’t normally react like that,” Griffiths said.
On various occasions the two has come across each other at performances around the world. “We see each other on different performances in Europe, and we talk. I feel like a mother to these people – I show motherly care, every time.”
“Queen Of Paradise” recently released by Marcia Griffith, stems from a request to chronixx to write a song for a Sly & Robbie Riddim which he agreed to.
“As it was said, it was done. He sent the demo with his voice. It’s so beautiful. I still have the harmonies as well and I told him – ‘I wish I could just do it with your harmonies.’ So I learnt the song. This was over a year ago,” she recalled.
The demo for the track was done by Marcia herself, after not making up her mind in the studio she finally agreed on something they both liked.
It is not unusual for Marcia Griffiths to collaborate with the younger generations in the reggae industry, as it has become a norm. “To cut across age barriers, is one of the most beautiful things. Years of collaborating with the younger generation are one of the secrets. There’s no energy like the youth’s energy. It’s different,” she said.
Years ago when Marcia was in Ethiopia at the Africa Unite concert she recalled her experience. “I was struck. I couldn’t speak. The same kids who use to run on stage at 5/6 years old, and I’m sharing the stage with them. I can’t find words. There is no adjective to describe the feeling. It touches the soul; it’s overwhelming. Things like these I don’t take for granted.”
She even disclosed that, “God has blessed me so that I can sing here with the first, second and third generations. I feel blessed, truly blessed that I can continue to work with all these young people,” she added.
An upcoming collaboration is in the pipeline with Romain Virgo that is a mother/son song written by Shereika the veteran female singer explained. “To collaborate with these young singers, the feeling is awesome. It’s a beautiful feeling to know you can walk on a stage with these younger artistes and do things that are relevant today.”
CLICK TO LISTEN MARCIA GRIFFITHS ‘QUEEN OF PARADISE’: