Review of a song from the Jamaican singer Etana: Rock My Body

Tonight I'm writing a review of a Reggae tune, as part of the Review Bounty launched by @dmilliz.

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The song I'm reviewing is Rock My Body by Etana, a Jamaican singer. Sorry, there's no videoclip, only audio.

I had never heard about this artist before, so I listened to it a few times to get more familiar with it... and I've enjoyed it.

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About the Song

This song starts with a really vibrant intro, which only lasts a few seconds but the original saxophone tune will quickly grab you by the ears. (I'm no expert, I think it's a saxophone but correct me if I'm wrong.)

The theme of the song is love, its lyrics are in English but there is an expression at the beginning which I don't understand, at all: "Me nah mek". It's part of the initial verses:

"A just me and you
Eyes lock from clock hands touch two
All I know that I must have you
Tonight
You holding me tight
Me nah mek you leave my sight
Gonna be the best one for your life
Tonight"

Rock My Body is a very lively track and, if you enjoy Reggae, I'm sure it will put you in a good mood.

In the middle of the tune there is a nice twist and change of pace (between 1:29 and 1:49), which happens to be my favourite part of the song. Rock My Body is a nice and sweet track to play when you need to lift up your spirit but don't expect to listen to something really extraordinary.

I rate this song a 7 out of 10.

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About the Artist

Etana is the artistic name of Shauna McKenzie. She migrated to the United States in 1992 with the intention of becoming a nurse. She eventually dropped College and started following a career in music. As many young artists in the USA, she was pulled by Universal Records into the strange world of Pop. She agreed to it but was never comfortable wearing the skinny dresses that the industry forced her to, in order to appeal the masses (and teenage boys).

She must knew in her heart that career wasn't going very far and she decided to call it quits to return to her birthplace, Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. There, she began thinking about her background and cultural heritage and sunk herself into the Reggae culture.

She made her comeback under the the name of Etana, a Swahili term that means "The Strong One" and this time, she was the master of her own path, following no one but her own feelings and instincts.

Her musical style has a classical Reggae feel, with some influences of Jazz / Soul and a bit of Folk.

Etana aspires to be a positive influence for Jamaican girls, as she herself explains:

"I looked at how women were being represented in Jamaican music and how little girls were being influenced negatively by tinder surroundings, I wanted to be a positive influence and change some of the way things that were being taught".

And it seems like she's succeeding. Her album Reggae Forever, from 2018 was nominated for a Grammy in the category "Best Reggae Album". This ensured Etana's place in Jamaican Musical History as being the first female artist to be nominated for "Best Reggae Album" since 1997.

Etana has just released a new EP, entitled Dimensions. It came out to the public two days ago, on November 8th, 2019. According to Etana:

"The EP has love songs, message songs and touches a little bit on marijuana. It’s called Dimensions for a reason, it’s a collection of moods. There are so many sides to me musically and I wanted to share some more."

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Sources Used: Etana's Official Website | Reggae Ville | Somos Todos Guerreiros Top Shelf Music | Wikipedia | Dancehall Reggae World

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