By Andrew Clunis
Today she is a fixture on the north coast cabaret scene. Cheryl “Chetenge” Clarke entertains tourists, covering a wide range of music genres from jazz to reggae to pop.
But one of the highest moments of her music career was winning the Jamaica Festival Song Competition in 1999. Her entry “Born Inna Ja” was produced by Steve Golding and made her only the second woman to win the male dominated competition.
Copping the title gave her mainstream exposure and opportunities she said she couldn’t have gotten on her own.
“Winning festival was such a big deal for me. It was overwhelming. It felt great to know that I had the top song in the country for independence and all the attention it brought gave me confidence in my career. I was on TV and radio and people were recognising me for what I did. It gave me space to look further and see how my career could be advanced. It remains one of the best things to have happened in my musical journey.”
Following her victory she wanted to spread her wings and decided to record an album called “Borders”.
This venture taught her many musical and life lessons. She wanted to go on tour and do the things that others artistes did but she found early on that the music industry was tough going and that trust is not the most common currency in the sector.
She spent a lot of personal money on promotion getting airplay on local radio stations but the returns were paltry. A European company took the album on a deal and even though it performed reasonably well, she did not receive the royalties that are customary with such deals.
“They took the music and I didn’t get anything. I realised from a tourist that one of my videos was actually being rotated on MTV and I tried to get lawyers and music publishing associations to rectify the situation but to no avail.”
She said despite the losses she remained strong and refused to be broken. “We have free will so our choices determine our lives. I am now 63 years old and going strong and I am much wiser.”
Chetenge has studied at the feet of the music and so she has learnt production skills and is now able to command and direct her own music. “I have plans to do more recordings in the future and I am working towards that. I now have an EP out called Vanity and I am working hard at promoting it even while I keep myself busy on the live circuit.”
Far from the heady days of her festival song win she is firmly rooted and understands that having a good song is not enough to garner the kind of success music can offer.
“You have to have a bit of luck as well. People put out great songs everyday but the challenge is in how you build an audience and you can’t rely on airplay these days. So the social media activities become increasingly important. I am now a mature artiste playing in the same playground as the younger artistes who are numerous but I believe that there is space for everybody and my work will stand on its own if I embrace the new channels and opportunities that present themselves.”
She is now undertaking some work with a Senegalese producer but is moving carefully to ensure that all business arrangements are what they should be before she speaks more on the project.
To buttress her music career Chetenge is also and entrepreneur. She operates a cloting establishment in Falmouth, Trelawny which was damaged by Hurricane Melissa. “I am just about building back right now because with my music and my business I am OK. I always say, ‘I am an embryo with a long way to go’…so I carry on.”
She can be reached at and on Facebook, Instagram and X @cheryleclarke