Music lovers who have been searching for a bolt of inspiration may just have found it with the lyrical stylings of 21-year old Melinda Semple, who is blasting the airwaves into submission with her debut single, “Facts of Life”.
The reggae song extols the virtues of marijuana and tells a humorous story of how society often misjudges those who indulge in the smoking of cannabis. The theme of the song surprised her mother.
“I was baptized at 11 years old. I live with my mother and she was surprised that I was singing about marijuana,” she said, laughing.
Hailing from the picturesque Antigua and Barbuda, Melinda is a breath of fresh air.
She recorded a video of her singing “Thinking Out Loud”, which went viral all over the Caribbean. An opportunity came up to work with Billboard-charting producer Rohan Fuller who recorded and released her first single, “Facts of Life”.
“My community I believe is happy for me, that’s based on the comments I hear on the streets and on social media. This is a very exciting time for me,” she said.
There are plans to shoot visuals for the single soon.
Melinda is not afraid to tackle tough social issues as she has written songs about racism and prejudice. One of those songs, “I Stand Alone” may be one of her tracks that will be released soon.
“I was just on YouTube looking at what was happening in The US with racism and I started writing something that I thought would empower black people in their personal lives and also try to bring another black point of view to those who are racist towards us,” she said.
Melinda grew up in the All Saints Village, the youngest of three siblings. She attended All Saints Secondary school and began her musical journey within the walls of the church, honing her talents over the years. She was heavily inspired by the sounds, styles and messages of Damian Marley.
“The messages of Damian Marley’s songs are what first got me interested in reggae because most of them have real messages and some of them motivate me personally, and after that, I gravitated towards writing reggae before that I used to write rap,” she explained.
She is looking forward to coming to Jamaica and performing in a live setting once the COVID-19 pandemic abates.
“I am definitely looking forward to releasing more songs and seeing where this musical journey goes,” she said.
She is signed to Ourhouse Muzik.
