Ella Mai Taps Into Jamaican Roots At Cardi B’s Birthday ‘Passa Passa’
Boo’d Up singer Ella Mai delighted and surprised some of her fans when she was spotted among those ‘skinning it out’ at Cardi B’s 90s Dancehall Passa Passa birthday party in Los Angeles earlier this week.
On Monday night, Mai, 26, was waving the Dancehall flag high—from her fit to the dance floor. The British singer attended in a shimmery, see-through floral body suit with a top knot bun and signature baby tendrils in place.
But it was her dance floor skills that seemingly surprised both partygoers and social media onlookers when footage appeared of her bussing a nice ‘likkle’ wine on somebody’s son at the party. Kranium (who performed live) and Tory Lanez’s We Can (2016) was playing during the clip.
Many remarked about Ella’s authenticity, even bending down to place her hands on her knees at one point and leaning even deeper into the wine like a goodas.
Ella Mai living her best life at Cardi party 👀😭 pic.twitter.com/zSG1sTb194
— Cardi B Promo ❤️🔥 (@CardiPromo) October 12, 2021
Another photo of Ella Mai emerged, posted up with R&B singer Sevyn in full dancehall stance.
“Ella Mai understood the assignment. The rest of them were in there twerking,” one onlooker wrote.
“Imagine catching a whine from ELLA MAI IM NOT SHOWERING,” another declared.
“Ella Mai is this innocent, badum boo’d up gal in my mind and I’m still shook that she was hitting a mean dutty wine like that,” said another.
Other reactions were hilarious.
Me and Ella Mai at the next Bashment pic.twitter.com/eK4G7oOaK0
— Vybz Pedrotel (@iRealPedro) October 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/Awwzzy/status/1447943168016666625
But little did some know, she was tapping into her Jamaican roots.
Ella Mai’s mother is a beautiful, ebony-hued woman of Jamaican descent (her father is Irish). In addition to her Caribbean heritage, it’s well-known that West Indian culture still dominates most of the UK, especially South London, where Ella Mai was born and raised.
Ella Mai, who was named after African-American jazz musician Ella Fitzgerald, has also been vocal about her Jamaican roots and growing up on Reggae music.
“My mom used to play a lot of music around the house, and I think that’s where I get my inspiration from,” she shared with The Netline in 2020.
“She always used to play The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill over and over and over again. My mom’s side of the family is Jamaican, so [my grandparents and my mom] used to play a lot of reggae in the house. And then soul stuff, like Erykah Badu and R&B, like Alicia Keys.”
The songstress, who recently joined Wizkid on stage for his Made in Lagos tour and celebrated the 3-year anniversary of her 2x Platinum self-titled album, teased a follow-up album on Instagram today. “Three amazing years. forever indebted to you. thank you for listening!” she wrote. “Time flies when you’re having fun … it’s almost that time again.”
While The Source reported that she was spotted in the studio with rappers Pharrell and J. Cole, it will be interesting to see if she also adds a little Dancehall flavor to the upcoming project.