“RUN di track, you no know … we deh yah fi represent,” is a familiar phrase, especially from female dancehall artistes in the male-dominated field.

And represent is exactly what R&B, soul and pop singers Tamia, Deborah Cox, and Kelly Price will be doing when they perform as The Queen Project at the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival which takes place this week.

With the firm belief that every woman is a queen and that “the power to move the world begins with a single voice, and a single voice can be the match to light the fire of hope, love and progress for women and the world,” these vocalists have joined forces for a worthy cause, the empowerment of women and the families that rely on them.

“The Queen Project is our priority right now,” a vivacious Deborah Cox told Sunday Observer in a recent telephone interview.

The Grammy Award winning artiste explained that the trio has been totally immersed in putting out the material for pro-social movement which is very dear to their heart, but she hastened to add that they have not been neglecting their individual solo careers.

“Although we are working on solo projects simultaneously, we have taken the decision not to put out this material until after the release of the Queen Project,” she said.

According to the artistes, their coming together is about “much more than entertainment” and the Queen Project much more than just the making of a musical supergroup.

“It’s a way for us to unite in a pro-social way. It starts with us but it doesn’t end with us. We want to bring attention to different causes that can change the world a little bit,” they have been quoted as saying.

The project is centred on philanthropy and involves their participation in efforts designed to raise awareness and resources for the advancement of women — from workshops to wellness forums and more. All music releases and live concerts are dedicated to lifting up their voice to bring attention to urgent women’s issues.

The multi-talented Cox has had six top-20 Billboard R&B singles, an impressive ten #1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart and the lead role in Elton John and Tim Rice’s Broadway musical Aida.

She stated that the three have so far done one performance together and they are looking forward to the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival experience, as this will be their first time performing outside of the United States.

“Jamaica can expect a really energetic performance from us,” she said, her excitement connecting through the phone.

“And although we have come to Jamaica before, this will be our first time on stage performing and we can’t wait,” Tamia added.

Tamia, who was introduced to the world by Quincy Jones in 1995 on the Grammy-nominated hit You Put A Move On My Heart, has since gone on carve out roles in Hollywood (Speed II) release a string of R&B hits and become a Grammy Award winner.

Platinum-selling artiste, and Grammy winner and 2009 nominee Kelly Price made an immediate impact on the charts with her 1998 album Soul of A Woman which featured the #1 smash women’s anthem Friend of Mine, which she wrote herself. She would follow with the platinum success of Mirror Mirror in 2000, One Family: A Christmas Album in 2002 and the critically acclaimed Priceless in 2003.

According to her biography, she broke records by reaching Billboard’s top spot twice with the same song and having achieved that initial # 1 victory with no music video at television. This had never been done by any artiste since the format of music videos became the major marketing method by which record companies promote and sell music. This was a sweet victory for her after being told by many music and marketing executives that she was talented and beautiful but ” no one wants to look at a fat girl no matter how good she sounds”, or “no one would buy a record from a fat girl”! Kelly reminded the world that big was beautiful. Kelly also helped to usher in the rebirth of the Gospel sound in mainstream and R&B markets making the sound of a full voice acceptable among younger artistes again.

“We will be doing our hits and songs from the project. All three of us will be uniting to celebrate R&B,” Tamia said.

The Queen Project — Tamia, Kelly Price and Deborah Cox — will be featured at the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival on Friday, January 29 at the Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny. Also performing that night will be Erykah Badu, Billy Ocean, Machel Montano and Robin Banks.