Brina

Born and raised in rural Jamaica, Brina grew up singing with her parents and family. It is safe to say that Brina has been singing since conception.

From an early age she has been performing to audiences: in school, in church and touring all over Jamaica with her sister as The Ward Sisters.  Whilst still in High School, the sisters made their mark performing at shows and sharing the bill with internationally recognised Jamaican Artistes such as: Judy Mowat, Carlene Davis, and Papa San.


 

Upon Graduating High School, Brina Enrolled in The School of Art at the Edna Manley College in Kingston, but the pull of music was too strong for this songbird, and after two years she transferred to The School of Music. Whilst at college, Brina worked as a background singer with Reggae Artistes such as Prily Hamilton, Abijah, Coco Tea, Len Hammond, Althea Hewitt and Prophecy.

In 2008, Brina entered the Jamaican Festival Queen Competition, and won in her parish of Manchester to become ‘Miss Manchester 2008’.  She was 2nd runner up at the national finals in Kingston where she performed one of her own compositions entitled ‘Where Is Your African Pride?’ a rallying call of self pride for ladies of Black African descent.

Determined to succeed as an artist and songwriter in her own right, Brina set out in 2009 to record her debut album. Teaming up with producer Kieran C. Murray, she spent a year - from mid 2009 to April 2010 - writing and recording with some of Jamaica’s finest musicians such as Jubba White from Dubtonic Kru and the legendary Sly Dunbar on drums, Rupert Bent Jr and Omar Francis on guitars, Michael ‘Ibo’ Cooper – co founder of Third World, Sheldon Bernard, Stephen Maxwell and Jerome Tulloch on pianos & keyboards, Dean Fraser, Nambo Robinson and Dwight Richards on Horns, Calvin Mitchel and Supersad on hand drums. Kieran also played Bass Guitar on the album. From other corners of the globe and lending an International flavour: John Barnes III was integral in vocal production, Guitarist/Producer JB Eckl (Santana, War) playing some wicked guitar, the renowned Afro-Caribbean drummer Istvan Dely from Columbia on percussions and Paul Gonzales from Texas added some Latin funk flavours on drums.

With Brina’s incredible and powerful voice and songs backed up by this stellar line up of musicians contributing their talent on these recordings, Brina’s debut album is sure to be well recieved by lovers of Reggae and World music all over the globe.

Steeped in the music and rhythms of her Jamaican culture, Brina is now poised and ready to take her music to the world. Her songs and sound draws on and fuses together elements of her rich musical and cultural heritage such as Reggae and Nyabinghi with other musical styles from around the globe and the African Diaspora.

Descended from The Maroons - the earliest free African communities in Jamaica - Brina’s deep connection with drums and African music is as natural as her vocal expressions of freedom and justice.

Brina is an artiste who comes alive on stage. When she steps in front of an audience and sings, people listen – her songs and music both refreshing and uplifting. Brina is conscious of bringing a positive healing message to the world. The lyrics in her songs speak of justice and equality, liberation and love. Brina believes that music, a universal language which crosses all borders, is a powerful force that will help to bring about the dream of millions of people around the globe - the oneness of the whole human race.

Look out for the release of Brina’s debut album soon.

In the meantime Brina is releasing a double single, two songs at once  (Like A Double A side for those who remember 45’s!)  ‘Listen’ and ‘Real Reggae Music.’ ‘Listen’ is sure to become another Reggae One Drop Classic, the catchy melody and lyrics calling us to listen to the global heartbeat of mankind as we celebrate our unity in diversity, while ‘Real Reggae Music’ gets to the heart of Roots Rock Reggae, with a powerful message calling on Jamaicans, Africans, Americans & All World Citizens, to “get rid of those walls in your minds,” and to “tear down these walls that divide”

For more information please visit: www.brinasings.com that provides everything you could want to know about her, including Bio, photos, live performance videos, and pre-release snippets of songs from the upcoming album, there are also links to Brina’s Facebook, Myspace, Reverb Nation and Blog sites.