REGGAE singer Tenza tackles the issue of gender inequality in the music industry in her latest single The War Is On.

The artiste, who recently severed musical ties with Universal Music Japan, thinks the industry is skewed unfairly towards her male counterparts.

“The time has come for us, ladies, to rise up! Even though sometimes the problem is also caused by other females artistes who want to reach to the top very quickly without hard work, so they allow these people to use them then spit them out. But I can let them know that The War Is On,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

Released on September 7, The War Is On is produced by TMD Records/Jack Russell Music. It is now available on iTunes and all digital platforms.

Tenza (given name Jaseen Foster) hails from Kempshot in Montego Bay. She, however, migrated to England at 14. After a successful stint with the vocal group Fya, which was once signed to American label Def Jam Records, she went solo in 2010.

The singer said women have to work 1,000 times harder than their male counterparts to gain the same recognition from promoters, deejays, and producers.

“Some of these people see female singers as sex objects rather than for their musical skills,” she said.

Tenza said the time has come for all females to unite and work together to make the change.

“You have female producers out of Jamaica releasing compilation rhythms and they don’t include any female artistes on it. So if our own females are not uniting and respect each other, why would the males follow suit?” she added.

— Simone Morgan