SASHA
By Odette Flemming

Boldness is the stuff that Sasha is made of. And that boldness is the reason a 16 year old girl would dare try to out-deejay one of Dancehall’s original dons dadas, Shabba Ranks. It happened one night in the Bronx; Shabba was performing and Sasha snuck out to the club with a friend because she just “had to be there that night”. As he called for girls to come up on stage and play the usual role of sideline dancer, Sasha called out “I don’t want to dance, give me the mic.” He did, and the rest is dancehall history.

Sasha took the mic and bus’ out a freestyle that brought down the house. Shabba’s management immediately invited her to make some demo recordings. Not two weeks went by before Steely & Clevie, computer dancehall’s whiz team, heard her demos and sought her out in New York. They flew her to Jamaica to write and cut her first record, the hardcore rap “Kill the Bitch.” The song was released by Island on the Bogle compilation alongside tracks by established stars Buju Banton and Papa San. At 16, Sasha was touring worldwide with all of Dancehall’s biggest names.

In 1998 Sasha officially removed herself from the list of would-be one hit wonders by voicing on Tony Kelly’s “Bookshelf” riddim. It was a song called “Dat Sexy Body”. The song hit the dancehalls and the clubs with a vengeance and, even today, remains part of the club and radio DJ mixes.:::Read Full Story:::