Patra (singer)
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Dorothy Smith (born 22 November 1972), better known by her stage name Patra, is a Jamaican
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 ...
/
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 ...
singer.


Career

In her beginnings as a female dancehall
deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...
in the late 1980s, she used the stage name Lady Patra. Patra first made an impression on the US
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as a featured singer on the
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 ...
song, "Family Affair", which hit No. 84 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1994. In 1993, Patra released her debut album ''Queen of The Pack'' (#1 on the
Reggae albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
chart). It was led by the single "Think (About It)" in 1993, which peaked at #21 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart and #89 on R&B. Her follow-up single "Worker Man" became a bigger hit, reaching #53 on the Hot 100, the
Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
on the R&B chart and #1 on the U.S. Dance chart. The album's third and final single, "Romantic Call" (#55 U.S., #21 U.S. Dance), was a collaboration with emcee
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. In 1995, Patra released her single "
Pull Up to the Bumper "Pull Up to the Bumper" is a 1981 song by Jamaican singer Grace Jones, released as the third single from her fifth album, '' Nightclubbing'' (1981). Sonically, it is an uptempo electro-disco, post-punk, dance-pop and reggae-disco song with dub ...
" which was a remake of the
Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...
song and peaked at #60 on the Hot 100, #21 R&B, and #15 on the Dance chart. Her second album, ''Scent of Attraction'' followed later that year, and peaked at #151 on the Billboard 200, #28 on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums, and #2 on the Reggae charts. The set's single, "Scent of Attraction" featuring R&B musician Aaron Hall peaked at #82 on the Hot 100, and became her fourth Top 40 (peak: #31) R&B hit. "Dip and Fall Back" was also released as a single off the album but failed to chart. Patra also performed on the 1995 ''
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'' movie soundtrack with the song "
Freedom (Theme from Panther) "Freedom" is a 1995 song released on Mercury Records featuring a chorus of over 60 African-American female artists and groups of note in hip-hop, pop and R&B music including En Vogue, Aaliyah, Vanessa L. Williams, Mary J. Blige, MC Lyte, SWV, T ...
", a collaboration between the American music industry's leading
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female vocalists. She also performed on
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's
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of its hit single "Take a Toke" that same year. After a few years to spend time with family, she released her third studio album ''The Great Escape'' in 2003, preceded by the single "Pressure Me." The following year, she appeared on the ''Two Culture Clash'' project, where she was featured on the album's lead single, "How Do You Love" featuring fellow reggae artist, Danny English. Her fourth studio album, ''Where I've Been'', was released in 2005, preceded by the single "Man Dem Thriller" and released through the
independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
, Wall Street Entertainment. A follow-up single, "Black Cinderella" was also released. Soon after, Patra took some time off once again from the
music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
, becoming more spiritually connected to God and completing a bachelor's degree in history and political science. In 2012, she signed with Veal-Steen Music. That year, she did a series of shows and interviews, and began work on her fifth studio album with a 12-track set planned with A&R executive/producer, Rich Nice. She released a buzz track "Bad Inna Bed" ahead of the album's first single, "Come Ova" (featuring Delus) which premiered in June 2012. The music video premiered on August 24, 2012, on YouTube. In 2013, she announced a new single off the album (now titled ''Patra: The Continuation''), "Sweet Reggae Music," which premiered in April. The album ''Patra: The Continuation" was released on February 18, 2014.


Personal

In April 2005, Patra was arrested for charges of fraud, but was shortly released on bail.


Discography


Albums

* ''Queen of the Pack'' (1993) – US #103 * ''Scent of Attraction'' (1995) – US #151 * ''The Great Escape'' (2003) * ''Where I've Been'' (2005) * ''Patra: The Continuation'' (2014)


Singles


See also

*
List of number-one dance hits (United States) This is a list of number-one dance hits as recorded by ''Billboard'' magazine's Dance Club Songs chart – a weekly national survey of popular songs in U.S. dance clubs. It began on October 26, 1974, under the title ''Disco Action'' chart. It is c ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on ''Billboard magazine's'' Dance Club Songs chart. ''Billboard'' began ranking dance music on the week ending October 26, 1974, and this is the standard music popularity chart in t ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patra 1972 births Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican dancehall musicians 20th-century Jamaican women singers Jamaican reggae singers Reggae fusion artists 550 Music artists 21st-century Jamaican women singers