DANCEHALL artiste Patra is working on her latest album slated to be released this summer. The still untitled project will consist of approximately 12 tracks and will be her first album in seven years.

The entertainer, who was missing from the dancehall scene for a few years, said it was a well-needed break.

“I have turned down several shows, so it was not a matter of me not getting calls for events. I was tired and suffering from depression as I wanted to get out of my contract and, to me, the process was crawling,” she said.

She was signed to Clifton ‘Specialist’ Dillon’s Spec/Shang Records, which also included Shabba Ranks and Cobra.

The three released albums distributed by Sony International during the mid-1990s. Shabba won successive Grammy Awards for best reggae albums in 1992 and 1993 with As Raw As Ever and X-Tra Naked, respectively. Cobra’s 1992 hit song Flex went gold for Columbia Records.

Patra, who is currently signed to A&R Executive/Producer Rich Nice, said she also used the absence to interact spiritually with God and to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in history and political science.

“I’m a sex symbol and I am ready to give a show. I am back with a new mature edge. It is not about going on stage and spitting lyrics. 2012 will see the return of the ‘Queen’ in full force,” she added.

She attempted a short-lived comeback in the early 2000s.

Patra, whose real name is Dorothy Smith, shot to international recognition in 1994 when she was featured in Shabba Rank’s Family Affair. The song settled at number 84 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart in 1994.

As a solo artiste, Patra’s debut 1993 album Queen of the Pack went to number one on Billboard’s Reggae Album Chart. Her second album, two years later, entitled Scent of Attraction did not reach the heights of her previous effort but managed to reach number two on the album chart.

Throughout her career she has scored several hit singles with a cover version of Grace Jones’ Pull Up to My Bumper, Romantic Call, Scent of Attraction and Think About It.