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Artist bares her soul in debut CD
By Lorianna De Giorgio
NAKED TRUTH: Belinda Brady’s debut CD, Naked, dabbles in musical genres to paint a portrait of her true self.
By day Belinda Brady is just like any other employee at Multicom Media, a publishing company based in North Toronto.
The business development manager lines up to use the company’s busiest photocopier, goes for coffee with fellow employees and meets with potential clients to land new sales contracts.
No one would ever guess that, come night while the majority of Multicom’s employees are at home planning their next day, Brady is planning an entirely different move — her music career.
For more than 10 years the North York resident has been carving out a successful solo career as a pop and reggae singer/songwriter.
Brady, who in the mid-1990s sang backup for Bob Marley’s son Julian and Shaggy, performing alongside him during his 1995-96 Boombastic tour, has released a slew of singles through the years. The release last month of her debut album, <em>Naked</em>, has catapulted Brady even further into the public eye.
So much so that fellow employees are starting to take notice.
“No matter what I do or where I am in life, up until the day I die I will be an artist,” says Brady while sitting in one of the company’s boardrooms in September. “The whole stardom thing is not such a high priority as it was back in the day.
“I could be working at Multicom or anywhere else. I will still be an artist.”
Music is in her blood, the two-time Juno Award nominee says. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she remembers spending her childhood in a recording studio with her father, Carl Brady, an original member of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, one of the Caribbean’s longest-running reggae acts.
Later she joined the Jamaica Musical Theatre Company and a gig singing backup for soca star Denyse Plummer soon followed. With a move to Toronto in 1993, Brady picked up where she left off, all the while juggling corporate jobs. It wasn’t long before she met music impresario Farley Flex, who later signed her to his Plasma Corporation label.
Her CD isn’t about “getting naked” as its title suggests, Brady says. Sure, the 12-track album is full of Brady-penned songs about the highs and lows of intimate relationships, but <em>Naked</em> is about being true to no one but herself, she says.
“The music is real ... there’s no pretending,” says Brady, who is planning a Canadian tour this fall.
One experience she opens up about is breaking up with a longterm boyfriend.
The first single off the CD, “I Cried”, details the emotions she experienced in trying to make sense of the abrupt end to a nearly eight-year relationship. The video for the song is currently being shopped around to TV stations.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow me to forget the darn guy, because every day I’m singing the song at some show or something,” Brady says, with a laugh. “But the songwriting has definitely helped me to heal.
“It’s like going to a therapist to talk about what’s going on so you can sort it out. This is my therapy.”
While she started out as a purely reggae singer, her work with Flex has led her to incorporate different genres of music — folk, rock and pop — into her repertoire. The reason, says Brady, was to make sure she didn’t pigeonhole herself into one category.
And <em>Naked</em> reflects that. Although the first single is contemporary pop, songs like “Breathe” reference her reggae roots while “Get Out” and others have more of a rock vibe.
And Toronto being one of the most diverse cities in Canada, let alone the world, singing a range of genres guarantees reaching a wider audience, Brady says. - My Town Crier
Discography
Heaven, Flex, Gifted Man, Free Your Mind, Fall In Love, Want Something, I Cried, Too Late,
They all have had and most are still getting airplay on radio and tv.
Photos
Bio
Belinda Brady’s Bio
Singer-songwriter Belinda Brady is emerging internationally as a well respected, blossoming songstress. Earning top billing amongst world-renowned reggae and Canadian urban artists, the gifted and talented performer is primed for a global audience. Belinda has worked with some of reggae’s top recording artists such as Shaggy and Julian Marley and has now taken centre stage to shine on her own. She has built a repertoire of songs with captivating combinations of rock, reggae, pop and soul, which are emotionally charged and passionate.
The talented entertainer is a two time Juno Nominee for her hit singles “Flex” (1998) and “Gifted Man” (distributed in 2003 by EMI on the Master T Reggae Vibes Compilation). Belinda also won the Canadian Urban Music Award for “Too Late” (1999) for best R&B single. She has enjoyed major commercial airplay across Canada and the Caribbean with singles “Want Something” and “Free your Mind” produced by legendary duo Sly and Robbie. Belinda has also worked with Canadian Idol Judge Farley Flex who managed her career for a number of years. Farley encouraged Belinda to create music that is true and real to her. He later came up with the Title “Naked” for her last album. With much success, the first single “I Cried,” was a hit on mainstream radio and Much More Music. Belinda continues to break down Global barriers and is constantly gaining support from media and fans worldwide.
Belinda’s contemporary approach to song writing and vocal presentations represents all of the musical genres that have inspired her artistry including Rock, Folk, R&B and Reggae. Bob Marley, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, India Arie and Alanis Morrissette, are some of the musical geniuses that motivated and influenced her sound and lyrics which lead her to write with such meaning, soul and incredible passion.
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