Childhood memories of Jamaica and New York City inspired Be Alone, the latest collaboration between Sister Carol and her daughter Nakeeba.

They also co-produced the song which was released on September 8.

It hears Sister Carol recalling her early years in West Kingston before migrating to The Big Apple during the early 1970s.

Born in Brooklyn, but raised in neighbouring Queens, New York, Nakeeba revisits her years in that borough, traditional home to a large West Indian community.

“Sharing the mic and stage with Nakeeba is my greatest delight musically. She inspires me round the clock and I’m her biggest fan,” Sister Carol told the Jamaica Observer.

Nakeeba is just as complimentary.

“My mother is my biggest influence as an artiste and an educator. She has opened so many doors for many artistes, especially artistes that are women; [helping them] to find their voices and validate their own stories and experiences. I am so grateful to have been in such proximity to see her face adversities and triumph in multiple aspects of the entertainment industry. She is my light and my blueprint, for sure,” she said.

Their previous collaborations include Cool Down and Muma And Pickney Reunion.

While she has fond recollections of life in Jamaica, Sister Carol (born Carol East) said she truly came of age in New York during the 1970s. It is where she got her start in music on sound systems that played throughout Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens.

During the 1980s and 1990s, she released a flurry of hard-hitting albums on independent American labels, RAS Records and Heartbeat Records. The latter released her 1996 album, Lyrically Potent, which was nominated for the 1997 Best Reggae Album Grammy Award.

Sister Carol is a graduate of City College of New York, where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education.

Be Alone is the lead single from Millennium Movie Star, a compilation album driven by the rhythm of the same name. To be released soon, it also has songs by Sister Nancy, Glen Washington, Michael Palmer, Sammy Dread, Lady G, and Lady Ann.

— Howard Campbell