Natasja Saad (31 October 1974 – 24 June 2007), also known mononymously as Natasja and also as Dou T and Little T, was a Danish rapper, deejay, and singer. While already relatively successful in her native Denmark, her vocals on a popular

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a Music_genre#Subtypes, fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop music, pop, rock music, rock, hip hop music, hip-hop/rap, Contemporary R&B, R&B, jazz, funk, soul music, soul, disco ...

remix of "

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

" gained her worldwide fame and a number one spot on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

Hot Dance Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance musi ...

chart six months after her death in a car crash in Jamaica.

Biography

Natasja Saad was born on 31 October 1974 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

to a Danish mother, Kirstine Saad, who is a photographer, and a

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

ese father, Ahmed Saad, who was a big supporter of her career. Her father moved to Denmark to study. He learned the Danish language quickly and became a Danish citizen. Saad's parents soon divorced, and her father moved back to Sudan. She also had three half-siblings: Sarah, Nadir and Saad. She and her siblings grew up in

Islands Brygge Islands Brygge ( English: Iceland's Quay) is a harbourfront area in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located on the north-western coast of Amager. The neighbourhood is noted for its waterfront park Havneparken, which is one of the most popular area ...

, a district area in Copenhagen. As a child, she had a love for nature and for horses, which led her to become a professional

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

as a young adult. At age seven, she went to Sudan with her father to get in touch with her family on her father's side. At age 13, Saad first started her music career in Copenhagen, where she performed live with her long-time friend, Danish singer Karen Mukupa and McEmzee under the name No Name Requested. The band broke up in 1996. Saad was also inspired by Jamaican culture and music. During that period, she performed along with

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

and gained popularity in Jamaica. In 1998 at age 24, while in training to become a professional jockey, she fell off her horse, slowing her career. Saad later became the first female jockey to win a horse race in Sudan. In 2006, she won the reggae/Irie FM Big Break Contest in Jamaica, which gave her a fresh start and a big boost in her music career. The four LP box set ''Legacy (1974–2007)'' was posthumously released 29 June 2018 on Playground Music to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Saad's death. In addition to her previously released albums ''Release'', ''I Danmark Er Jeg Født'' and ''Shooting Star'', ''Legacy (1974–2007)'' includes a new compilation album featuring songs from Saad's entire career.

Death

Saad died on 24 June 2007 in a car crash on the outskirts of

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. Two other passengers were critically injured, but Saad's friend, Mukupa, suffered only minor injuries during the crash. She and the other injured persons were rushed to the

Spanish Town Hospital Spanish Town Hospital is a hospital in Spanish Town, Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbe ...

where the singer was pronounced dead. The crash was perceived as a particularly big loss for Denmark's music and entertainment world, because of how Saad's career was developing and being recognized at the time of her death. Saad is buried at Assistens Cemetery, in

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...

, Copenhagen. Other graves of culturally significant figures include

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , ; ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danes, Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical tex ...

Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (, ; ; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and old quantum theory, quantum theory, for which he received the No ...

and

Hans Christian Ørsted Hans Christian Ørsted (; 14 August 1777 – 9 March 1851), sometimes Transliteration, transliterated as Oersted ( ), was a Danish chemist and physicist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields. This phenomenon is known as ...

The four LP box set ''Legacy (1974–2007)'' was posthumously released 29 June 2018 on Playground Music to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Saad's death. In addition to her previously released albums ''Release'', ''I Danmark Er Jeg Født'' and ''Shooting Star'', ''Legacy (1974–2007)'' includes a new compilation album featuring songs from Saad's entire career.

Discography

Albums

* 2005: ''Release Album'' (Playground Music) * 2007: ''I Danmark er jeg Født'' (Playground Music) * 2008: ''Shooting Star'' (Playground Music) (released posthumously) * 2013: ''Gi os Christiania tilbage'' (released posthumously) * 2018: ''Legacy (1974–2007)'' (Playground Music) (released posthumously)

Singles

* 2003: "Colors of My Mind" 12" (Mega Records) * 2003: "Real Sponsor" 12" (Food Palace Music) * 2004: "Summer Cute" 7" (Food Palace Music) * 2004: "My Dogg /45 Questions" (Tuff Gong Distr.) * 2005: "Op med Hovedet" ("''Keep Your head up''") CD single (Copenhagen Records) * 2005: "Købmanden" ("''The Grocer''") (BMG) * 2006: "Mon De Reggae" * 2007: " Calabria 2007" (with Enur) * 2007: "Long Time" 7" (Sly & Robbie) * 2007: "Gi' Mig Danmark Tilbage" ("''Give Me Denmark Back''") * 2008: "I Danmark er jeg født" ("''In Denmark I Was Born''") * 2008: "Better Than Dem" (featuring

Beenie Man Moses Anthony Davis OD (born 22 August 1973), professionally known as Beenie Man, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay. His awards include DJ of the Year Award eight years in a row. His twelfth studio album '' Art and Life'' received a Grammy Award ...

) * 2008: "Fi Er Min" ("''Pu Is Mine''") * 2008: "Ildebrand I Byen" ("''Fire in the City''") * 2008: "Dig og Mig" ("''You and Me''") * 2021: "Selvtillid" ("''Self-confidence''")

References

External links

Natasja
on

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

Natasja
at the Danish reggae community sit
dancehall.dk
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saad, Natasja 1974 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Danish women singers 21st-century Danish women singers English-language singers from Denmark Dancehall musicians Danish women rappers Reggae singers Musicians from Copenhagen Danish people of Sudanese descent Road incident deaths in Jamaica