KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prior to the death of her father, renowned drummer Cornel Marshall, singer Brownskin Rae learnt a lot from him musically.

The sound advice that she received from her dad has been helpful in her musical journey.

“What I learned from my father was that I should always make sure that I have everything in writing, and also the beat counts and exposure to life performance, and how to interact with the crowd.  He had a passion for songwriting, and my dad wrote many songs, and he had a love for instruments and the ability to be versatile whether it was playing on the piano, precautions or the drums or the harp. Those things were inspirational, but I don’t play any instruments myself; I am more of a songwriter and performer,” Brownskin Rae told Observer Online recently.

She said having a father involved in music came with several advantages.

“I would say that one of the advantages is having the exposure to a variety of different artists, including people who played musical instruments and vocalists. And also just being present when he had live performances, I got to see first-hand the set-up of the band from the wiring of the set, to setting up the equipment and the entire feel of what the camaraderie of a band should be,” she shared.

Cornel Marshall was an early member of iconic reggae band Third World. Marshall played drums in Tomorrow’s Children before joining Third World which formed in 1973. After leaving Third World he became a member of the Zap Pow and Twelve Tribes of Israel bands.

Brownskin Rae has been charting her own musical course over the past few years.

“What I bring to the table, musically, is my penmanship and my authenticity in my content and passion for performance,” she shared.

The singer who currently resides in Florida, is promoting her latest single Take Over.

“Take Over was released on January 2, and the inspiration behind was having experienced a devastating hurricane, and everyone was in a little bit of a depressive mood, I thought that people still have lives and just to lighten the mood persons are still involved romantically to some degree, and it was just a distraction from the madness,” Brownskin Rae disclosed.

Brownskin Rae, given name Rachel Marshall, was born and raised in Kingston. She’s a past student of the St Andrew’s High School for Girls. She is also a certified real-estate broker and technical programmes manager.