With a powerful voice songstress Etana keeps listeners captivated with her reggae soul flavour. The artiste's long anticipated self-titled debut album, Etana: The Strong One, reflects a varied and solid body of musical work.

Since bursting on to to the scene with the soulful Wrong Address in 2006, Etana has been producing quality music consistently.

For young fans who want music they can rock to, Etana provides the right vibe, while older fans will enjoy the clean, conscious lyrics. With four hit songs on the album already - Roots, Warrior Love, I Am Not Afraid and Wrong Address - the CD holds the promise of more hits for Etana in the future.

Deep spirituality

Through the debut 16-track album, Etana shows the world more of who she is, exploring various subject matters and different facets of her personality.

She celebrates African heritage in Roots, discusses getting over hardships in Overcome, and sees love on a number of levels. A deep spirituality is felt in songs such as Jah Chariot, which makes the reader feel to 'hold a meditation.'

Known for her conscious reggae roots music, Etana shows listeners that she has a softer side with a slew of love songs. Towards the end of the CD there are a number of love songs that have a strong Alicia Keys R&B soul feel. In More & More Etana sings about the forbidden love among friends, as she describes wanting to be seen by her friend as a woman rather than just a friend.

She sings, "I wanna be more than friends, giving you all that your girlfriend wishes for."

The love song Blessing, featuring Alborosie, has a rootsy feel and the two mesh well for another endearing song.

Working with musicians such as Dean Fraiser is clearly reflected throughout the album, which has a strong instrumental presence.

Each song has a completely different beat - some with a strong bass, others with heavy keyboard presence and good combinations throughout. The Strong One without a doubt showcases her strengths in a good first effort.