The First Lady of Dancehall,
Lady Saw is a Jamaican bad girl with loads more attitude and sex appeal than hip-hop mistresses like
Lil' Kim and
Foxy Brown, plus one of the most distinguishing images in reggae. Born in 1972 in the small Jamaican village of St. Mary's,
Marion Hall signed to the Jamaican grassroots label VP Records and debuted in 1994 with Lover Girl.
Lady Saw soon proved she was up to the challenge of Jamaica's rudest boys by teaming up with
Shabba Ranks on the single "Want It Tonight." Her second album,
Give Me the Reason, was followed by 1997's
Passion, which featured her X-rated vocal swaggering on duets with
Shaggy ("Mr. Lover Lover") and
Beenie Man ("Healing"). The album was her most popular, prompting the 1998 release of two greatest-hits packages, Collection and
Raw: The Best of Lady Saw. In 2004 she released
Strip Tease, then three years later the ambitious
Walk Out. In 2010 she formed her own label, Divas Records, which released her album My Way that same year. ~ John Bush