Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine April 2018 | Page 362

Stephanie shared with Mélange . . . About her musical journey I am a country girl born in the rural hills of St. Catherine, Jamaica in a little district they call Cool Shade, Linstead. I am the second to last of eight children (between my mom and dad) and the only one who has pursued a life and career in the arts. I am a former student of Pembroke Hall Primary School, The Queen’s School and The University of The West Indies for which I cut short to pursue a full time career in music and entertainment. After my early musical grooming in primary and secondary school, I started a career in music doing cabaret with a band named Steele Force which frequented the north coast and corporate scene in Kingston, Jamaica. That lead me to The Ashe Performing Arts Company where I spent three years training, performing/ touring as a principal performer (voice, dance, musical theatre). From there, I branched out into doing supporting vocals for several local and international acts; freelancing in studio and stage for local acts, one year recording and touring with Afro-Basque singer Fermin Muguruza from Spain, three years recording and touring with Groundation from California. In between touring I recorded studio vocals with legendary producers such as Clive Hunt, Handel Tucker and a slew of other local and international producers. In 2009 and 2010, I embarked on a side project to lead a group called Unitzz, recording two studio albums with legendary duo Sly and Robbie for Sony Music in Japan. Upon leaving Groundation I made the bold move to embark and focus on building my solo career. I have been a songwriter for Rebel America Inc in Texas for which I have landed my original works on Lifetime TV and MTV reality shows. Since then I have been building a dynamic and exciting career in music. My style is best described as reggae-fusion; staying true to my home bred genre and fusing it with several different genres such as R&B and Pop. My mentors are legendary music producer Handel Tucker and just about anyone I can learn from who has grown a rich legacy in music that I get the privilege of working with. My music can be found on all digital music outlets and streamed for free at http://www.soundcloud.com/stephaniehava My latest releases are: Your Love (Loud City Remix) Shades Of Grey About her favourite author Lisa Kleypas is my favorite author. Her writing style and stories are very engaging and her characters are easily relatable. She always leaves the reader wanting another chapter and another. About her favourite thing to do in her down-time In my downtime, I go to the river or the beach with my girls.