FLORIDA-BASED, Jamaica-born singer Toian Gichie is optimistic her latest effort will help give her mainstream attention.

The track, Ice Queen, is a collab with deejay Vybz Kartel. The TJ Records-produced single is on almost every disc jock’s playlist

“Ice Queen is helping me to reach to a different audience. My fan base is much bigger because a lot of persons respect Vybz Kartel and his following is huge. The disc jocks are digging it also,” she said.

Toian said the collaboration came about approximately three months ago while in Jamaica.

“I was at TJ Records studio and he [TJ] played the pre-recorded track for me. He asked me if I liked it and I told him yes. I recorded my part and the rest was history,” she said.

The 22-year-old entertainer said she anticipates a busy year as she expects to release her debut five-track mixtape Retrospect next month. The set will be produced by Class One Music.

She said Ice Queen will not be part of the track listing, but she has high hopes for Rude Boys and Love.

A past student of Mount Alvernia High School in Montego Bay, St James, the singer said she had always dreamed of becoming a

singer. She said her dreams were almost never realised following a motor vehicle accident in 2009. The incident claimed the life of a close friend, and nearly left her paralysed from the waist down.

“I suffered multiple injuries, including a broken thigh, fractured

sacrum, and severe head trauma. The memory lives as a driving force in my life and music, as I strives to become a powerful force in the industry and a positive role model for my peers,” she said.

Months later she migrated to Florida where she met Class One Music chief record producer Sean Ricketts, and recorded her first single, Sunshine, in 2010. She later teamed up Konshens on the collaboration All Night Party.

That same year, she landed her hometown debut performance when she was asked to make appearances at the Brit Jam Fantasy Island and the renowned Reggae Sumfest events in Montego Bay, Jamaica. In 2013, she collaborated with Protoje for the single Shot By Love. The track was featured on Protoje’s album, The 8 Year Affair.

— Simone Morgan