Natesha Lindsay, known in music circles as Miss Thing, was 16 years old when she recorded the hit song Dude with Beenie Man in 2003. In May, Dude was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of more than 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Now a born-again Christian, Miss Thing was not aware of the song’s certification. Since her conversion to Christianity, she has minimum contact with the secular world.

“I try not to have any ties to what I did in the past. It’s a good feeling though because a lot of people don’t get to reach that level in their music career. It’s good to know that the work that I did, has been recognised,” Miss Thing explained in an interview with the Jamaica Observer, on Wednesday.

Dude was an international hit, entering multiple charts. It reached number seven on the United Kingdom national chart, number 24 in Scotland, 28 in Italy, 77 in The Netherlands, 46 in Ireland, and number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

The single also made the Top 40 of Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Rhythmic Songs and Rap Singles charts.

Lindsay recalled how the collaboration came about.

“Baby Cham heard me singing at a party one night and he came to me and said he wanted to introduce me to his producer, Dave Kelly. I went to Dave’s studio, he told me to sing something, and I sang one of Ashanti’s songs. He told me that he wanted to put me out to the world and three days later I went back to the studio where I met Beenie Man. Dave said he had a song that he wanted us to record and that’s how Dude came about,” she said.

Dude was a summer hit in Jamaica and took off internationally in early 2004. A remix, featuring American rapper Shawna, was released and a new video was shot in Cross Roads, directed by Little X.

Lindsay said the song opened doors for her.

“I travelled all over the Caribbean, the United States and even to Japan. I also got a lot of opportunities because of the song’s success,” she disclosed.

Lindsay signed with Sequence Records, owned by former Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey. Her debut album, Miss Jamaica, was released in 2004 and featured collaborations with Beenie Man and Vybz Kartel.

Having walked away from the dancehall in 2014, she has no regrets.

“I’ve never been tempted to get back into secular music. I prayed to God never to let me want to go back or have any urges to go back to that dark place. I’m a rooted and grounded Christian and I go to church every Sunday. I am also currently enrolled in a ministry school,” said Lindsay, who attends the Tarrant Baptist Church in Kingston. She is married and the rmother of three boys, the eldest being 16 years old.

She has a gospel song, Hope and Pray, to be released soon. She is also featured on a remix of God Love Yuh by gospel artiste Chozenn.