Nadine Sutherland Pleased With Increased Investment In Female Reggae & Dancehall Artists

Veteran singer Nadine Sutherland has witnessed many changes in the Jamaican music industry over her 41-year career, but she’s most proud of the increased investment in female Reggae and Dancehall artists.

“You see Protoje with Lila Iké and Sevana, you see Romeich with Shenseea and they’re spending on them,” she said during a recent interview on the Entertainment Report Podcast.

“Nobody nuh spend no money pon me; mi survive through talent, through sheer brilliance of my talent is how mi survive… Sometimes I even wonder how mi mek it through… I had to think about brilliance and singing and all of that. Now you can see that they’re spending and it makes a difference. Spending money on their social media, spending money for radio man to play them, spending money to get them artists out there and it’s making a difference so you’re seeing that changing and I’m happy for that.”

Though Sutherland had the mentorship of greats like Bob and Rita Marley, and worked alongside some of Reggae and Dancehall’s most successful producers, she didn’t have the financial backing of a major record label nor manager. She was signed to Elektra Records, but the deal was terminated when its Reggae department was shut down.

Her talent has steered her to an esteemed status, but Sutherland still faces challenges. The Baby Face singer has had to adapt to a music industry heavily interlaced with social media.

“I’m trying to stay abreast of social media, one time mi couldn’t stand it, mi never like it… One time mi seh, ‘A weh di blow wow, it fake like wah, a pure fake ting, mi not a fake’… A Lila Iké did seh it to mi enuh, ‘It’s the way that your fans can communicate with you’. I start to think of it different.”

Just as she’s taking advice from her younger peers, she’s also given hers, most notably as a former judge on the televised Digicel Rising Stars contest. Sutherland, a former talent contest winner herself, said it’s a surreal feeling to now grace the stage alongside artists she has coached.

“Christopher Martin, Romain Virgo, Shuga, Dalton Harris – that’s my time in Rising Stars which I’m extremely proud of. Those are my Rising Stars babies…”

In reference to the former act, she added, “I felt so protective towards him… He seemed like this skinny kid, so young…and now you see him with all this swag…like look at you, you were my baby. So it’s wonderful to see him.”

Watch Nadine’s full interview below.