aisha

!



London's Royal Festival



Hall, the London Telegraph termed her "the closest we have to a female

Bob Marley."



Born Pamela Ross on October 1962 in AsWolverhampton, England, child of

Jamaican parents, she debuted at age eight on her Aisha is a Soundmans Daughter . . . and, a True Roots Dawta. Shes trod

the world singing her Ilahfull songs and doing Jah Works. But no matter

where she goes--be it Afrika, Brazil, Israel, Europe, Australia,

Scandinavia, Mexico, or Japan--she's Uplifted and Inspired the ones who

hear her sing. Her first Jamaican performance came in 2000 at the

Augustus Pablo Benefit. Her American debut came in March 2004 with Mad

Professor when she blessed NYC with a special appearance. Her first

albums, High Priestess and True Roots were produced by Professor on

his Ariwa label, her last two, Zions Daughter and Raise Your

Voicewere produced by Twinkle Brother Norman Grant. All are roots

classics. When ORB sampled Creator on the hit Blue Room, and

Ministry of Sound sampled it again on Roll to the Floor, Aisha reached

an even wider audience. After her performance at "Meltdown '03" at

dads sound. Her

fatherwhom she calls my greatest inspirationalso exposed her to

his precious collection of vintage American and Jamaican music.



a teenager, she developed her skills jamming on Lippys Locks City

sound. I was writing conscious stuff then because I think I just came

into finding myself. Her first break came in 79 when she joined the

group Capitol Letters singing backup vocals. Shed just gone solo in 84

when she met Dr. Alimantado, who was working locally with Neil Fraser,

aka Mad Professor. For Professor she cut several tracks, including

Creator, which released in 1986. Jah Shaka, the respected UK Soundman,

Itinually played a dubplate of "Creator" in session, thus introducing

ones to Aishas magical & angelic voice singing one of the deepest and

most heartikal of roots tunes. "Creator" not only became her signature

tune, it became a bona fide Roots Anthem.



By 88, Aisha realized that things were not really on a rootical level,

which is why some would receive the music and some probably wouldnt.

Either I was gonna change and follow the trend, or stick to how I felt

about my songs. I never write a song without spiritually experiencing

something that inspires me to write on a subject or feeling. As long as

I can express myself and people can relate to what Im expressing, Ive

done my workI think with most of my songs thats exactly how people

relate to them. Lots of women mention Now or Never from True Roots;

you can feel what Im feelin, though at the time, I never went back to

that track, just left it, because it hurt so much. Im Not in This

World was another tune women, especially young women relate to; I was

addressing womens issuesthe things we naturally are going

throughwhile at the same time trying to balance it within Rasta and

remain on a conscious level. I wrote One God, One Aim, when I was

totally on a vibe where I was questioning my faith; I was determined to

finish it and put it to song.



To Aisha, each performance is special--not just "another gig." Her tours

and performances have inspired her spiritually. In 1998 she performed in

Nairobi, at the Kenya Sunbeat Festival. It was a turning point in my

life because I actually reached Africa, she says. I was playing for

70,000 people and the way they received me . . . I literally had to

receive people and acknowledge that Im home. I was overwhelmed.

Africa was like feeding the hearts of many. We probably take music for

granted every day, but you go to places like Africa, and theyre so

hungry for the foodfor the strength and encouragement. Aisha is

said to mean life, but in Israel in 95, she was told its an ancient

word for grandmother. I never experienced anything like that show;

singing, looking at the sea and seeing endless people.