About Me
br / !London's Royal FestivalHall, the London Telegraph termed her "the closest we have to a female
Bob Marley."Born Pamela Ross on October 1962 in AsWolverhampton, England, child of
Jamaican parents, she debuted at age eight on her Aisha is a Soundmans Daughter . . . and, a True Roots Dawta. Shes trod
the world singing her Ilahfull songs and doing Jah Works. But no matter
where she goes--be it Afrika, Brazil, Israel, Europe, Australia,
Scandinavia, Mexico, or Japan--she's Uplifted and Inspired the ones who
hear her sing. Her first Jamaican performance came in 2000 at the
Augustus Pablo Benefit. Her American debut came in March 2004 with Mad
Professor when she blessed NYC with a special appearance. Her first
albums, High Priestess and True Roots were produced by Professor on
his Ariwa label, her last two, Zions Daughter and Raise Your
Voicewere produced by Twinkle Brother Norman Grant. All are roots
classics. When ORB sampled Creator on the hit Blue Room, and
Ministry of Sound sampled it again on Roll to the Floor, Aisha reached
an even wider audience. After her performance at "Meltdown '03" at
dads sound. Her
fatherwhom she calls my greatest inspirationalso exposed her to
his precious collection of vintage American and Jamaican music.a teenager, she developed her skills jamming on Lippys Locks City
sound. I was writing conscious stuff then because I think I just came
into finding myself. Her first break came in 79 when she joined the
group Capitol Letters singing backup vocals. Shed just gone solo in 84
when she met Dr. Alimantado, who was working locally with Neil Fraser,
aka Mad Professor. For Professor she cut several tracks, including
Creator, which released in 1986. Jah Shaka, the respected UK Soundman,
Itinually played a dubplate of "Creator" in session, thus introducing
ones to Aishas magical & angelic voice singing one of the deepest and
most heartikal of roots tunes. "Creator" not only became her signature
tune, it became a bona fide Roots Anthem.By 88, Aisha realized that things were not really on a rootical level,
which is why some would receive the music and some probably wouldnt.
Either I was gonna change and follow the trend, or stick to how I felt
about my songs. I never write a song without spiritually experiencing
something that inspires me to write on a subject or feeling. As long as
I can express myself and people can relate to what Im expressing, Ive
done my workI think with most of my songs thats exactly how people
relate to them. Lots of women mention Now or Never from True Roots;
you can feel what Im feelin, though at the time, I never went back to
that track, just left it, because it hurt so much. Im Not in This
World was another tune women, especially young women relate to; I was
addressing womens issuesthe things we naturally are going
throughwhile at the same time trying to balance it within Rasta and
remain on a conscious level. I wrote One God, One Aim, when I was
totally on a vibe where I was questioning my faith; I was determined to
finish it and put it to song.To Aisha, each performance is special--not just "another gig." Her tours
and performances have inspired her spiritually. In 1998 she performed in
Nairobi, at the Kenya Sunbeat Festival. It was a turning point in my
life because I actually reached Africa, she says. I was playing for
70,000 people and the way they received me . . . I literally had to
receive people and acknowledge that Im home. I was overwhelmed.
Africa was like feeding the hearts of many. We probably take music for
granted every day, but you go to places like Africa, and theyre so
hungry for the foodfor the strength and encouragement. Aisha is
said to mean life, but in Israel in 95, she was told its an ancient
word for grandmother. I never experienced anything like that show;
singing, looking at the sea and seeing endless people.
