Chevelle Franklyn (born 4 March 1974) is a

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 ...

n reggae and

gospel reggae Gospel reggae is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica, mixing reggae rhythms with Christian-themed lyrics. Several reggae artists, many of whom were previously part of the Rastafari movement, have converted to Christianity and adopted gosp ...

singer.

Early life and reggae career

Born in the Tawes Pen area of

Spanish Town Spanish Town ( jam, label=Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. Th ...

St. Catherine Parish Saint Catherine (capital Spanish Town) is a Parishes of Jamaica, parish in the Ordinal directions, south east of Jamaica. It is located in the Counties of Jamaica, county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically va ...

, Franklyn was the fourth in a family of ten children. She was forced to leave school at the age of fourteen to help support her family, and found work singing at hotels and resorts. After a year or two, she came to Kingston and worked with various producers there - Rohan Harrison, who had recorded her first single ("Here I Am") when she was 14,

Steely & Clevie Steely & Clevie was a Jamaican dancehall reggae production duo that was composed of members Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne. The duo worked with artists such as the Specials, Gregory Peck ("Poco Man Jam," 1990), Bounty Killer, Elephant Ma ...

("No One in the World", 1989) and Winston Riley. Manager and producer Mikey Bennett encouraged her to improve her education. Produced by Harrison and Bennett, her first hit song was "Nice and Naughty" (1992). This helped lead to collaborations with major stars like deejay

Spragga Benz Carlton Errington Grant (born 30 May 1969), better known as Spragga Benz, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay. Career He began his career around 1991. He was once known to his friends as "Spaghetti" (tall and slim), but this was later shortened to ...

("A-1 Lover", 1995),

Shabba Ranks Shabba Ranks (born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon; 17 January 1966) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home cou ...

("Mr. Lover Man", 1991), deejay

Lady G Janice Fyffe (born 7 May 1968), known as Lady G, is a Jamaican dancehall and reggae deejay. She is widely recognised as a dancehall veteran and pioneer. Early life Born in Spanish Town in the parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, Fyffe attend ...

("Thank You", 1995) and

Beenie Man Anthony Moses Davis (born 22 August 1973), better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Jamaican Dancehall deejay. Biography Davis was born in the Waterhouse district of Kingston in 1973.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Mus ...

(the song and album ''Dancehall Queen'', 1997). The latter was also used in the 1997 Jamaican movie ''

Dancehall Queen ''Dancehall Queen'' is a 1997 indie Jamaican film written by Suzanne Fenn, Ed Wallace and Don Letts, starring Audrey Reid, who plays Marcia, a street vendor struggling to raise a bad-tempered daughter, Tanya (Cherine Anderson). Directed by Don L ...

''. Franklyn was frustrated that she was usually replaced by an actress in the accompanying videos, and wanted to raise her profile as an artist. After the release of her album ''Serious Girl'' in 1996, Franklyn toured extensively in the Caribbean, the UK, and the US.

Conversion and gospel reggae career

In 1998 Franklyn was about to perform "Dancehall Queen" on stage during a concert and instead performed

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) a ...

's gospel song "Silver and Gold", announcing that she had become a Christian. After collaborations in 2000 with deejays

Papa San Tyrone Thompson, (born July 1, 1967)
better known as Papa San, is a Jamaic ...

("Touch From You") and

Lieutenant Stitchie Cleveland Laing (born 29 September 1965), better known as Lieutenant Stitchie, is a Jamaican deejay who originally worked in the dancehall style but switched to gospel reggae in 1997 after surviving a car crash, thereafter working under the sho ...

("Mr. Lover" - a charting hit in the US), she released her first gospel album, ''Joy'', in 2001, toured internationally, and won (in 2002) 5 Caribbean Gospel Reggae Marlin Awards. Her gospel music was controversial with some for combining

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 ...

with gospel. Her album ''His Way'' was released in 2006; another album, ''Shake It Off'' (2008), was the product of a 2007 tour of South Africa and featured South African musicians and ministers. In 2008 she also performed in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

at "The Experience", a gospel mega-concert that attracted 400,000 attendees. In 2009 she was featured on one track ("Surely Goodness") on American Christian musician

Israel Houghton Israel Houghton (; born May 19, 1971) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, producer and worship leader. He is usually credited as Israel & New Breed. Musical career Houghton produced an album by Michael Gungor, ''Big ...

's album The Power of One; the album won the Grammy award in 2010 for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. Since then, she has continued to tour. Franklyn performed at the inauguration of Jamaican Prime Minister

Andrew Holness Andrew Michael Holness, (born 22 July 1972) is a Jamaican politician who has been the Prime Minister of Jamaica since 3 March 2016, following the 2016 Jamaican general election. Holness previously served as prime minister from October 2011 to ...

on March 3, 2016. She released the album ''Set Time'' in 2017; the album included tracks with gospel artists Israel Houghton and

Donnie McClurkin Donald Andrew "Donnie" McClurkin, Jr. (born November 9, 1959) is an American gospel singer and minister. He has won three Grammy Awards, ten Stellar Awards, two BET Awards, two Soul Train Awards, one Dove Award and one NAACP Image Awards. He i ...

. The album peaked at #12 on the Billboard Reggae Album chart on September 16, 2017.

Personal life

Franklyn married gospel promoter Colin Watts in March 2003; the couple had met in the UK in 2001 while Franklyn was touring there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklyn, Chevelle 1974 births Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican gospel singers Living people VP Records artists