This is the 18th in our daily series highlighting 55 Jamaicans who broke down barriers and helped put the country on the world stage. Each day, one personality will be featured, culminating Independence Day, August 6.

IN the male dominated arena of dancehall, Lady Saw came and conquered. She quickly established herself to the top of her game and broke the glass ceiling for female acts with sultry and often times raunchy lyrics.

Widely known as the Queen of Dancehall, her career has spanned more than 25 years. She is the first female deejay to be certified as a triple-platinum artiste and to win a coveted Grammy Award. That award came in 2004 for Underneath It All, alongside No Doubt. The song peaked at number three in the United States and sold more than three million copies.

Lady Saw (given name Marion Hall) was born in Galina, St Mary. She had her first local hit in the early 1990s with If Him Lef followed by Find a Good Man. In August 1994, Lady Saw released her first album entitled Lover Girl. The album spawned the hit Stab Up De Meat. However, by the mid-1990s, Lady Saw recorded more conscious songs like Condom and No Less Than a Woman.

Her other albums included Walk Out, Strip Tease, 99 Ways, Passion, Alter Ego, and Give Me A Reason.

In 1999 she had a major hit in the United States with Smile, recorded with Vitamin C, which peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a major hit in New Zealand and Canada and certified gold with over 500,000 sales.

In 2015, Lady Saw converted to Christianity and dropped the moniker Lady Saw. She has since released her first gospel album called When God Speaks.