Ce'cile (also spelled Cécile, born Cecile Claudine Charlton on 24 February 1976 in

Manchester Parish The Parish of Manchester is a parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross Pro-Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Latin Catholic Dioces ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

), is a Jamaican

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

. She is among the best known current

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

artists.

Biography

Ce'cile grew up in Porus, and Mile Gully,

, spending most of her youth in Mandeville, where her grandfather had previously been

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. Ce' Cile discovered music through a friend of her father, Michael "Ibo" Cooper from the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

band

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

and brought out her first single "Beat of Her Heart". She added her own style to classical reggae and took it toward dancehall. In 1995, Steven Ventura, the owner of Celestial Sound Recordings, noticed her. Then followed a period where she worked as a studio manager and recorded multiple demo tapes. She also appeared on stage as a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

for various bands, as well as writing and producing songs with artists such as

Jah Mason Andre Johnson (born 29 December 1970), better known by his stage name Jah Mason, also known as Fire Mason, is a reggae singer/deejay from Jamaica, active as a recording artist since 1991. Biography Jah Mason was born in Jamaica's Manchester Pari ...

& Chrisinti. Her first major success was with the single "Can You Do the Work" with

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

in 2001. This track later appeared on his album ''

Dutty Rock ''Dutty Rock'' (West Indian patois for "dirty rock") is the second studio album by Jamaican reggae/dancehall artist Sean Paul. Released on 12 November 2002, it features four top 15 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits , "Gimme the Light", "Get Busy", "Li ...

'' (Atlantic Records), which went on to sell over two million copies in the United States, also winning a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. In 2003, she signed with Delicious Vinyl Records, but she was not given the chance to release an album. Instead, she released singles in cooperation with other artists. In 2005 she left the label and toured with

T.O.K. T.O.K. were a dancehall reggae group from Kingston, Jamaica. The group consisted of Alistaire "Alex" McCalla, Roshaun "Bay-C" Clarke, Craig "Craigy T" Thompson, and Xavier "Flexx" Davidson.Kenner, Rob (2005)Boomshots, ''Vibe'', August 2005, ...

in Europe. Her first album, ''Bad Gyal'', was released in 2008 with Kingstone Records, and was the first dancehall album that was ever discussed in the German ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

''. Next to the article was a large print promotion photo of Cécile, but she did not appear as a

Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

. In 2009 her second album ''Waiting'' was released with Danger Zone/SoBe Entertainment. Today Cécile is known internationally. Her albums sell well in Germany and Japan amongst others. She appears as guest singer on singles from Sean Paul, Carl Henry, Mono & Nikitaman,

DJ Fresh Daniel Edward Stein (born 11 April 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Fresh, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, best known for making electronic music. He is one of the principal members of the drum and bass group Bad Company, ...

Doctor P Doctor P is the stage name of the English dubstep producer and DJ, Shaun Brockhurst (born 9 April 1986). Shaun has also produced drum and bass under the aliases Sounds Destructive (with Zachary Kemp, currently known as Trolley Snatcha), Slum ...

, and

D-Flame Daniel Kretschmer (born 19 September 1971), better known by his stage-name D-Flame, is a German hip hop and reggae musician. He was also previously part of the hip hop formation Asiatic Warriors. Discography Albums * 2000 - ''Basstard'' * 200 ...

. Her single " Gold Dust" with

peaked at number 24 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, with a Shy FX re-edit that reached number 22 in the UK and number 39 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

. The sale of all versions of "Gold Dust" are combined enabling it to have sold in excess of 400,000 copies, receiving a Gold certification by the BPI, despite not reaching the top twenty of the UK Singles Chart.

Personal life

She had a child in 2012 with her then boyfriend, recording artist Christopher Martin.

Discography

* 2008: ''Goody'' * 2008: ''Bad Gyal'' (Kingstone Records) * 2009: ''Waiting'' (Danger Zone/SoBe Entertainment) * 2009: ''Worth It'' * 2011: ''Jamaicanization'' * 2014: ''Still Running'' * 2016: ''Diary of a Journey'' * 2019: ''Music + Magic'' * 2021: ''Sophisticated''Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/album/5gHK4A9njbTZuRGOaIqNky

References

External links

*
Portrait
from Daintycrew 2001.
Interview mit dem Big Up! Magazin (Audio im podcast)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cecile 21st-century Jamaican women singers Dancehall singers 1977 births Living people People from Mandeville, Jamaica