- CONTRIBUTED
CHERINE ANDERSON: I call my music dancehall soul.
Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter
CHERINE ANDERSON is in love and, pretty soon, the whole world will know.
She is widely known for her roles in the movies Dancehall Queen and One Love, but she is off the big screen - at least, for the moment - to concentrate on her music career.
"I call my music dancehall soul. It is a mixture of reggae, dancehall, soul and R&B, just all the things that I have been exposed to," she said.
It is, therefore, no surprise that her songs, Cookie and Good Love, are already being played on radio.
There will be visuals to go with the music as well, as she is about to shoot the video for Good Love.
BIG BREAK
Anderson, who is only 22 years-old, got her break with the Ashe group while she was attending Wolmer's Girls' School.
"I didn't think there were enough things there, so I joined Ashe and I just loved being on stage; I loved the rush and the excitement that it brought," she said.
Balancing school and being on the big screen was challenging.
"While I was in Dancehall Queen, I had to deal with the issues from school. I was always being called to the principal's office because as a rule we weren't supposed to be in beauty pageants, act and things like that, then you had the other children who would tease you because of the show. It was hard," she said.
Anderson, like any other teenager, would have dreams of what she would do with the money from the film.
"You know I thought that wow, when I get to 20 I will have a house, and things like that. But after that reality set in. Most people don't know that I was still taking the bus to school after the film. There really wasn't that much money in it, because it was a local film," she said.
STILL SINGING
At the same time, she was singing.
"I was still working with Sly and Robbie at the time and writing some songs here and there, but there was no big hit. People may have been hearing me on the radio, but they didn't know it was me because there was no name mentioned," she said.
U.S. EXPERIENCE
Anderson then left Jamaica to attend Wooster College in Vermont, U.S.
"I wanted that experience, because I wanted to meet the lawyers, doctors, astronauts and those people. I got a lot of opportunities there," she said.
Anderson said if not for those experiences, she would not have got the chance to work with David Norland, who has worked with Madonna and Janet Jackson, and Jeeky Man who works with Lil' Kim.
"I am really grateful for that, because I managed to learn a lot and write for a lot of people," she said.
OTHER EXPERIENCES
Her music is from the heart, but she says she still manages not to pour in too many of her experiences.
"You know you have to keep a distance, but when you listen to the album you will know which ones are my experiences. Trust me, you will know," Anderson said.
Though Anderson has had much success and many bets are on her to be a force to be reckoned with in music, she has managed to stay grounded and says she doesn't have a choice in the matter.
"I come from the type of family where I know I am surrounded by love, but if I do something that they are not pleased with they will be like 'look you need to stop the foolishness'. And, my friends are the same way," she said.
