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.