Featured Artist - Tanya Stephens Profile

Featured Artist - Tanya Stephens

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Tanya Stephens, conscious but bad gyal

DeeJay Name: Tanya Stephens

Birth Name: Vivienne Tanya Stephenson

Birthplace : St. Mary, Jamaica

With a dancehall bizniz clearly dominated by men, women often have to (or rather CHOOSE to) sex up dem self and chat strictly pum-pum and gimmi di good wuk lyrics to be noticed and stand out in the crowd. Tanya Stephens, a talented singer and DeeJay, started off in the business doing just that. With her debut hit "Yu Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet" on the Joyride riddim in 1995, Tanya made her mark on the dancehall scene talking about her good supp'n. Of course that got everybody's attention and Tanya followed this classic with nuff more slackness so that we all labeled her as just another slack female dancehall artists doing what they all do.

If we were all to just write off and box Tanya in this category and not stick around for the rebirth, we would have all missed one of the most conscious and thought provoking young ladies to come along in this bizniz in a long time. Much like how Buju Banton came onto the dancehall scene doing the same ole "buss mi gun" and "wuk di gyal" lyrics but later went through a conscious rasta revolution which continues today, Tanya has clearly undergone a spiritual transformation that has had a positive and profound impact on her music. Her latest release, Gangsta Blues, is as conscious and thought provoking as any Marley, Sizzla, Luciano, or Buju CD.

Buju Banton, another spiritual revolutionary

Whether you are a woman struggling with whether or not to tell your child that her father isn't who she thinks it is - "Little White Lie" - [editorial opinion - "that is some serious fuckery"], or a woman conflicted with the fact that she has a man but the man that she wants has a wife ("It's a Pity" ), or one who yearns for the days when a female artist didn't have to hike up her skirt and cock up her bumpa to sell records ("Way Back"), or one who is frustrated with the bullshit and ineffectiveness of the government ("The Other Cheek") , or one who is just fed up with world hunger and racism and all kinds of other ills in society ("What a Day"), or whatever your emotion may be, Tanya has got a song for you. Trust mi, deep, poetic, thought provoking, head scratching, contemplative lyrics is the order of the day on this latest release which clearly defines where Tanya has evolved as an artist. An apt comparison in the hip-hop world would be Lauryn Hill. As is the case with Lauryn, Tanya is as gifted a singer as she is a DeeJay (i.e. rapper) as she is a songwriter as she is a poet as she is a musician. She is a multi-talented young lady who never needed the slackness in the first place to get the career started, but a suh it guh; money haffi mek so it's all good.

When asked about her spiritual rebirth that is evident in the lyrics on Gangsta Blues, Tanya states "I've always been doing songs like that. It's just that prior to now they haven't had the support of local radio." This statement underscores a point. Many dancehall fans complain that there is not enough conscious music out there but music execs and radio station programmers only serve to satisfy the appetite of the public. If the public bawl and beg fi slackness and gun lyrics, a dat dem a guh get. We must support artists such as Tanya Stephens who have a voice and a message and the power to make a transformation in the music.

Lauryn Hill - same vibes

The decision makers in the bizniz need to see that there is a significant market for this kind of conscious music which leads to self introspection and causes us to look deep within ourselves and strive to make a difference in this world. That is the foundation of reggae music and that is why we call it rebel music. Artists such as Luciano, Buju, Sizzla, and Tanya are carrying the flag in this reggae music revolution. Big up yuself Tanya, Tings a Gwaan fi yu !!

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gimmi di good wuk \gimmi-di-good-wuk\
1. [expression] - Give me the good work (sexually speaking)

wuk di gyal \wuk-di-gy-al\
1. [expression] Work the girl (sexually speaking)

fuckery \fuck-er-y\
1. [expression] nonsense, bullshit

cock up her bumpa \cock-up-her-bum-pah\
1. [literally] cock up her bumper (i.e. rear)
2. [figuratively] Bounce her ass up and down provacatively

a suh it guh; money haffi mek \a-suh-it-guh; muh-ney-ha-ffi-mek \
1. [expression] that's how it goes; money has to be made

bawl and beg fi slackness \bawl-and-beg-fi-slack-ness\
1. [expression] Cry and beg for slackness (i.e. dirty, provacative lyrics)

a dat dem a guh get \a-dat-dem-a-guh-get\
1. [expression] That is what they will get