Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest Heavyweight Champions of all time who is known for his quick fists as well as his loud-mouthed braggadocio. And dancehall's own Lady Ali is no slouch either because her verbal fisticuffs on the dancehall stage have humbled and decimated many opponents.
This Boardhouse Records recording artiste is the red hot rookie bubbling up in the Bronx underground with her sizzling singles, larger-than-life onstage persona and high octane performances. She is the real deal and she is carving out her own niche in the world of dancehall.
Born Alecia Watson on July 10, 1985, she grew up in St. Mary where she was raised by her mother until the age of six. Then she was raised by her grandparents and her aunt until she reached aged 12, at which time she migrated to the United States.
She completed her secondary school education at Mount Vernon High school in New York. While at school, she got involved in performing arts at age 16, and then she began to dabble in dancehall music. She recorded her first single at Beatmania Productions, a raunchy sex-romp called 'Glimmity Glammity'. However, it was her second single, Buss Gun, that immediately got the attention of producers, who were impressed by her hardcore rude girl lyrics and her aggressive onstage persona.
The single fast became a club hit on the underground dancehall scene in Mount Vernon.
"I began performing at local stage shows, opening up for Lady Saw, Macka Diamond, Assassin and Aidonia, Serani, Bugle, the artistes always gave me good advice and told me to work on my music," she said. Work on it she did. She signed to Boardhouse Records in November 2006, and recorded the hit single, Hype All Yu Want for that label. The song "The song was very popular in the Bronx, I remember bussing a stage show with Serani, Bugle and Idonia with it, the people gravitated towards the 'Hype' song because it made me stand out among the females who were more into the 'skin out' songs, and mi de pon a 'bad gyal' kinda ting," she said, laughing.
She continued to hone her craft, focusing on clashes onstage with both male and female artistes. She writes most of her own lyrics, juggling her job as a certified assistant nurse with the rigorous demands of staying relevant in a dynamic, ever-changing dancehall market.
"I don't write a lot anymore, I use my phone to record my thoughts as they come to me during the course of the day so that I can remember the flow later when I get to the studio," she said.
She recently released a single called 'New Year, New Style' on the
Boardhouse Records label.
"My intention is to be regarded as the 'baddest female in the business, if they're going hard, mi ah go the hardest," she said. Lady Ali is giving the music business her heart. All she needs is your ears.
