Jellissen turns up the heat
Jellissen is turning up the heat with her latest single, a dance track titled Street Dance Style .
Produced by Cornelius Records, it was released on June 21. Street Dance Style is available for streaming and purchase on major digital platforms.
“The song is about street dances in Jamaica and it highlights a time when street dances were about people enjoying themselves through good vibes and dancing,” said the singer. “It also plays a part in the reanimating of Byron Lee and Bogle, two iconic figures in our culture, which brings you way back to the early 2000s.”
Lee, and his Dragonaires band, had hit songs in the pre-ska era (Dumplings in 1959) and in 1965 with Jamaican Ska which prompted a mini-buzz for the genre in the United States.
He also assisted in popularising calypso and soca music in Jamaica. Lee died in 2008 from cancer.
Bogle (Gerald Levy) was a dancehall choreographer and key figure in The Black Roses Crew, led by William “Willie Haggart” Moore. At the height of his popularity in the 1990s, Bogle appeared in numerous music videos.
He was shot and killed at a St Andrew service station on January 20, 2005.
An accompanying video for Street Dance Style was shot in downtown Kingston and in New Kingston.
“I have an eclectic style so it’s hard to put me in a box, but I would say at this moment, my sound could be described as modern dancehall, tropical pop, and of course reggae,” she said.
Born in Manchester, her interest in music peaked during her school days.
“Music was a mandatory class in prep school, and I got into the groove of playing different instruments, which further led to me singing and entering JCDC (Jamaica Cultural Development Commission) competitions,” she said.
In 2011, while the then 13-year-old singer was attending the Bishop Gibson High School, she released a single titled Teenagers Love.