CecileBEING THE granddaughter of former Mandeville Mayor Cecil Charlton, one would expect Cecile to be heading down the road of entrepreneurship, or even to hold a stake in the family business. But her tastes dictate otherwise and she's determined to put her natural talents to productive use, to fashion the kind of lifestyle she desires.
She's bent on being successful and famous in the world of music. And it's not the classics nor jazz; it's dancehall, undiluted. Only, she intends to add a bit of class.
After covering several of Jennifer Lopez' hits and drawing attention to her name, Cecile has a hot new track of her own, titled Changez. It explores, in an earthy manner, her fascinations and dislikes about several of the island's top DJs. It even gets jocular at times. The song highlights Cecile's thinkability and speaks to her potential both as a songwriter and vocalist.
She's very comfortable performing in the dancehall idiom, but she feels that the genre can be taken to another level. "Through my work I hope to take it above the street level. There is nothing wrong with that vibe and the street influence will always be there, but that art will remain stunted in terms of growth, if we don't try to expand beyond our present limitations," said the bright 24-year-old.
She's scouting for a management team, but meanwhile she's getting all the experience she can, performing in the United States and the Caribbean. She appeared on the Vermont Reggae Festival in New York, in July and in Montreal last month. She has visions for an album, but would like to work with producers such as Jeremy Harding, Dave and Tony Kelly on the project.
"I presently work with Iley Dread and Steven Ventura on the M-Phatic label and they will basically direct my work, but I would also like to work with other producers," she said.
Whereas her focus is on music, she has a kind heart, which if she had the affluence, would force her hand to reach out to unfortunate people in a real way.
"I don't mean to bash anybody, but people like my grandfather and all those rich, popular people, can do a lot more for people around them. They can raise money from their friends and assist in many areas of life. How can children be going back to school and the school doesn't even have a bathroom? How can people sleep when there are so many mothers, who can't afford to send their children to school? We need in this country greater emphasis to be placed on health and education. Until we solve our basic problems, we will always have a crime problem," she charged.
With her social considerations off her chest, Cecile promises, she'll be one of the main female forces to be reckoned with in the music industry in the near future.
