EVEN though her family has been involved in entertainment for almost 60 years, Sara Cowan has never been musical. Stepping into a recording booth was not appealing until recently.

Cowan makes her recording debut with Build Now, a motivational song released May 13 by VP Records.

“In my family there are singers, producers, artiste managers, and musicians. I am neither of these. The one thing that is common is a love for words. As a child, my mother Valerie Cowan played scrabble with me and pushed me to the dictionary more than once, while my father Tommy Cowan penned songs or postcards from countries he travelled,” she said. “I fell in love with words. I thought about it and went to him saying, ‘Daddy, I want to do an album’. Imagine the shock and awe, since I cannot actually sing.”

Build Now is the lead single from Cowan’s album, Build Now, expected to be released this year by VP Records. All songs from the set are spoken word testimonies on different topics the average person can relate to.

It is a medium that suits Cowan, a “preacher, public speaker, and wordsmith” who hopes to appeal to a particular bloc.

“My goal is to reach any person who is frustrated, overwhelmed, anxious, worried, or about to give up. Any person that needs to see adversity in a different light. Any person that needs someone to say, ‘Let me tell you something friend, it can get better,’ ” she explained. “I have been through a lot of adverse situations, whether sexual assault, divorce, the murder of my mother, hunger, and just life. In those moments I had to find inner courage to use the pain as a platform for productivity instead of a pity party. I had those low days and yet I had to find ways to climb out.”

Cowan recorded tracks for the album in Texas with King Logan and Bruce Briggs. It became a family affair with her father, “bonus mom” Carlene Davis, sisters Naomi and Shikisha, nephew Josh, and daughter Heaven Conner, all chipping in.

Tommy Cowan started his career as a member of The Jamaicans, a harmony trio that won the 1967 Festival Song Contest with Ba Ba Boom. He moved into marketing and management in the 1970s, working with Dynamic Sounds, Bob Marley, Ras Michael And The Sons of Negus, and Israel Vibration.

His wife Carlene and their daughter Naomi are singers. Sara is excited that her music career started in challenging times.

“With all that we have gone through globally; many of us have lost jobs, family and friends, economic advantages, and the like. Yet, even with the smallest things, we can build great things. So Build Now calls upon us to use the present, the small moment, for layering a better tomorrow,” she said.