Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
D'Angel may throw a mean punch, but she is not interested in clashing.

Sadeke Brooks, Gleaner Writer

The attention has long been on men clashing in the dancehall, but to a lesser degree, women have been involved in battles, also.

There are some female artistes who live for clashes, like Queen Paula.

"Mi love it (clashing). Me neva walk up pon stage pon nobaddy yet, but if money a mek mi cool. If you are a female artiste dat have hit songs, Don Corleone a voice yuh or Dave Kelly a voice yuh, yuh nuh need dat. For the female artiste weh a come, it alright. Like Face, she want a buss so she can do dat," said Queen Paula, who has been trying to get a big break in the business for more than 15 years.

She says that she has not been blessed with opportunities that other females in the business have received, but she is hoping that she will be voiced by a 'big' producer and have a hit song. She says those female artistes that have already got a break should try their best to go international and do crossovers.

"If yuh have a hit song already an' come back down fi clash wid somebody weh nuh mek it yet, it look stupid," she added.

"I have no problem wid dat (clashing). I don't back from anything. If a clash a clash, anything a anything," says upcoming female deejay, Face, who was a finalist in the 2005 Digicel Rising Stars competition.

"If yuh show dem seh Face a nuh soft girl, den dem will stop call yuh name. Mi see it (clash) flap nuff female artiste career because dem neva step out," Face added.

Face

Though her career in music has been relatively short, Face says she has clashed with Queen Paula on two occasions, at 'Mizchif' in April and Portmore Awards in June. On both shows, Face says, she was the victor and based on current trends, she seems to be preparing for a clash at the end-of-year Sting concert in the 'Beautiful Ladies Of Dancehall' segment.

However, if she wins, in the long run the victory may not be in Face's favour, as head of Sting organisers Supreme Promotions, Isaiah Laing, says "it is said that if you die at Sting, you are the one who normally moves forward".

Laing pointed to 1990 when Shabba Ranks and Ninja Man were involved in a clash in which Ninja Man was victorious, but soon after, Shabba received a contract with Epic Records. In the following year, Ninja Man was involved in another clash with Super Cat, who also lost to the 'Gold Teeth Don Gorgon', but landed a major contract soon after.

Laing says this trend is no different among the women, as Macka Diamond was also involved in a clash with Queen Paula at Sting in 2003.

"Macka Diamond moved ahead, but Queen Paula is still struggling. So it is not necessarily the person who wins on the night that will move ahead," Laing said.

Queen Paula says she now has a good relationship with Macka Diamond, but at the time of the clash, they were not on friendly terms.

"Dem time deh mi an' Macka did hungry, but we a eat a food now. So if we a war now, it woulda be bad mind," she said.

Laing says "clashing is always nice", but only if it is done fairly. "It is always exciting and it pulls crowds, but the people have to know that it is not personal. I don't expect anyone to go below the belt onstage," he said.

Clashing among female artistes is nothing new as Lady G and Sister Charmaine did battle in the 1980s. Laing says there is no significant difference between two women or two men clashing.

"There is not a great difference except that men talk about the gun and kill each other with lyrics but the ladies want to talk 'bout dem one another," Laing added.

Macka Diamond

Similar sentiments are shared by Macka Diamond who says she does not believe that clashes help to build the careers of artistes. "It is no clash anymore. It's going into people's personal lives. We are all women and anything can happen to us. Clash should be lyrical, but nowadays, it's just about disgracing each other. Clash neva work fi my career," said Macka Diamond.

She continued: "I'd just walk off the stage if dem come personal. If dem come lyrical, tune for tune, I would participate. Even if dem walk onstage an' kill Macka, it won't matter, 'cause I will still be the sexy raunchy girl that appeal to men, not the vulgar type."

Queen Paula also believes that the female entertainers have brought clashing to a personal level, which she does not support. She says she has even received a phone call from someone who witnessed an artiste say onstage that her child was retarded at West Kingston Jamboree, which was held recently.

Too personal

"Dem mus do the thing lyrical, not personal. Dem all a tell people bout dem pickney. So in a clash, yuh have to mek sure that you are prepared for anything. Nobody can say anything that can hurt me," added Queen Paula.

Dr. Donna Hope, lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and author of the book Inna Di Dancehall: Popular Culture and the Politics of Identity in Jamaica, says, "I think they (women) should leave it alone."

"I think they try hard to mimic the men, because that is the way the men get the crown. It doesn't work for them. Most don't clash well; they come off as being very crass. Queen Paula is the only one I think is good at it. She brings a lyrical quality like that of Ninja Man while the other women go off into slackness," she added.

There are other females in the industry who think clashing is overrated and refuse to participate in it. D'Angel, for instance, has been the target of several songs from others in the industry, like Spice and Danielle. She has also been a hot topic in the dancehall due to her recently failed marriage with Beenie Man. Despite these verbal attacks, she says she has no intentions of clashing with these persons.

"I am not known to be a clash artiste, so I will not betray my fans. I am a non-controversial artiste and clashing does not bring you anywhere. I wanna take my music to all genres and clashing does not give you that opportunity," said D'Angel.

She says that she can defend herself musically or otherwise, but chooses to stay focused on her musical journey, which means promoting good music and taking dancehall to all corners of the world.