Bittersweet break

Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer

A talented musician and vocalist, she has been seeking to establish herself in the music industry for a while now. Finally, it's happening. But it is surely not the way Shae Miller would have wanted it.

The young lady from St Mary lost four members of her family in the Three Hills killings in April. Her aunt, Joan Llewellyn, remains hospitalised in Atlanta, paralysed from the neck down.

The event has cast some light on Miller, especially since she released a collaborative fund-raising CD with Atlanta-based artiste St Paul, (real name Paul Allen) of St Paul Music Connection (SPMC), for Llewellyn.

Publicity is coming but it's bittersweet, Miller acknowledged in an interview with The Sunday Gleaner recently.

"It's been hard. I didn't want it to happen this way at all," said Miller.

She said the incident took away two of her biggest fans, her cousin Jorgjhan (JJ) and her grandmother Rachael Brown.

"JJ was my biggest fan. JJ used to play my music so much that I would be sick of it, I'm telling you. And I just wish she was here to see what's happening, and grandma, you know, two of my biggest fans. So this is definitely not how I wanted it to go."

The Three Hills incident occurred just as SPMC and Barrington 'Scan' Martin of Bleeky Blong studio in Retreat, St Mary, were about to release their first album, Top 10 Love Jamaica.

This was put on hold while Miller and Allen recorded the tribute CD.

Top 10 Love Jamaica has been officially released and is already getting positive feedback.

The album features 20 tracks from a mix of seasoned campaigners and upcoming artistes.

Determine heads the list with a track called Mi Love You Bad. Jimmy Shandy's contribution is True Fren, both tracks on a rhythm titled 'The Child', the first rhythm produced at Bleeky Blong studio.

St Paul has four tracks including I Love Jamaica and Shae Miller has two tracks including Can't Leave.

Former Rising Star contestant Jermaine Michael teams up with Silver Ice on Don't Need Another, and Scan has two tracks including Money Can't.

Other artistes on the album include Faithfull, Fifty Stakes, Doc Gallingo, Yasheka, Frank Nitty, Massswa, Jah Son, and RG Fresh.

Said St Paul: "The album is designed around diversity, a little bit of Jamaican culture and a little blend of the Caribbean itself, that's why we come up with the title, Top 10 Love Jamaica."