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Fourteen years ago, singer Nardia Rose was living her best life in Jamaica. She was making strides with ‘Real Hot Gal’ that was recorded at Buju Banton’s studio and her hit single ‘If You Wanna Dance,’ featuring Rolly Bop and Sample Six was being played at ‘Passa Passa’ in Kingston; had an international presence on BET/Tempo TV as well as being rotated on multiple radio stations in the Diaspora.
In 2007, right when her music career was taking flight, Rose made the decision to return to New York to start a family and eventually went back to school. After a hiatus, the Bronx based singer is back with a brand new name NRozea and a new sound that she is confident will take her to the top.
Looking back and making the comparisons, NRozea said “I was young without much knowledge about life and the music business. Today, I am mature and knowledgeable about the business side of the industry. To be honest I was missing the stage, now I ready to unleash my talent for the world to see!”
Musing on her journey and the decision to cover ‘Modern Girl,’ NRosea said it was the brainchild of executive producer Sharmell John of Diamond Queen Records.
“Sharmell had the idea. She wanted to inject new life into an old song and put an upbeat rhythm and feel to it. She choose ‘Modern Girl’ as the song and what a great choice it is turning out to be,” she shared.
Sharmell has some history in the entertainment industry. In the 80s she was a founding member of girl’s group ‘Sha-Lor’ that was signed to Jumpstreet Records. The group shared stage with Soul To Soul, Shelly Thunder and the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Brixton Academy in London, England. John was also casted as an extra in the movie ‘Crush Groove’ starring Curtis Blow, LL Cool J and was featured in a TV commercial for the 1989 Oscar Awards on CBS TV. She eventually became host of Viddims TV, a NY based television program where she interviewed stars like Shabba Ranks, Lady Saw, Spragga Benz among others.
For the ‘Modern Girl’ project, Sharmell solicited the services of producer Omarion Banga to create the beat.
“At first we were thinking I should say, ‘I need a modern man,’ but it just made sense to just stick with ‘I am a modern girl’,” NRozae said, explaining that a “modern girl in 2020 is one who knows how to take care of herself, but still knows how to be sexy and not lose herself.”
Originally co-produced by Robert Ffrench, ‘Modern Girl’ was a massive reggae hit in 1986, topping charts in Jamaica, US, Canada and parts of Europe and Japan.
“Robert is very pleased with the finished product. He said I brought new life to the song and is confident it will be fire again!” she said.
So far, social media has responded favorably to pre-promotion of the track.
“I have been getting positive responses from fans here in the US and as far as Russia, England and Africa. It’s crazy the feedback.”
When asked about describing her sound, the Bronx based singer said, “I have a ‘neo soul’ sound…a mixture of soul, lovers rock spiced with a little dancehall. It’s a modern sound coming from a modern girl.”
NRozae it seems was destined to purse a career in music. Her late dad, Patrick Flemming played the trumpet on Denroy Morgan’s 1979 hit song ‘I’ll Do Anything For You,’ as well as Dennis Brown’s ‘Westbound Train.’
“He whetted my appetite for music as a child and I have never been able to get it out of my system since” she disclosed.
Speaking about her influences, Whitney Houston, Phyllis Dillon, Toni Braxton and Nadine Sutherland have inspired her.
“I just love Toni Braxton. Nadine Sutherland has a sound that I really love as well. These women are strong, powerful, modern girls. I would be absolutely thrilled to have an opportunity to collaborate with one or both of them,” she noted.
Looking ahead the singer said her producer is working feverishly on producing a music video for the song, saying it will take the format of a movie.
“She wants it to be marketable but it must have a modern girl feel, so keen attention will be focused on what I am wearing,” she disclosed.
Updated 5:39 pm, February 14, 2020
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