“Music is my life. It’s what I do best and I love it with all my heart”. Those are the words from this weeks’ featured artist Sherieta Lewis, a Jamaican Soul and Reggae artist who spent years as a backup singer for several high-profile artists. Sherieta is the second featured artist in our special month of women in the music industry. Last week we had the opportunity to feature young IV Jay and this week the more seasoned Sherieta. Interestingly, both artists speak using similar phrases about their goals musically. However, Sherieta has a decade more experience than IV Jay. Perhaps we are viewing where the young singer may be in ten years. It might be best to look into the life and music of Sherieta Lewis today, and get an understanding where she may be in years to come.
The daughter of a pastor, Lewis grew up singing in church and while attending college during the late 2000s, the Kingston native landed her first gig as a back-up singer, touring the world with Tarrus Riley. Over the coming years this led to similar work with Marcia Griffiths, Diana King, and Duane Stephenson. Although a solo career was one of her aspirations, Lewis’ years honing her craft behind the scenes helped her build a significant resume, singing on a wide variety of albums and singles and co-writing songs for Riley, Stephenson, Jah Cure, Luciano, and Etana, among others. While maintaining this aspect of her career, she experimented with a handful of her own singles in the early 2010s, releasing songs on labels like Island Star and Penthouse Records and appearing on various reggae compilations.
I listened to a couple of interviews with Sherieta and she spoke about her time as back-up singer, and touring with several artists. She truly believes that those years helped to prepare her for a solo career. As she spoke, I was reminded of an interview with Mariah Carey as she discussed her time as back-up to Brenda K. Starr. There was no doubt that Mariah Carey was grateful for the opportunity to sing behind Starr. As the two discussed those previous years, Starr said she knew that one day Mariah would become a huge success. It made me think what Tarrus Riley or Diana King saw and heard as Sherieta sang behind them. Did they know she would one day be a solo artist? More than likely they did.
In 2015, while touring and recording as a member of Damian Marley’s band, she began to develop a series of songs that blended elements of smooth soul and R&B with reggae and jazz. With the help of her bandmate, keyboardist Sean Diedrick, she honed her various recordings into a strong seven-song collection that showcased a sound she referred to as “exotique soul.” Billing herself simply as Sherieta, she released her debut EP, Conversations in Key, on the Marley Family’s Ghetto Youths International label in 2019.
As I normally do, this week I listened to much of Sherieta’s music including Conversations in Key entirely. The EP is an exceptional collection of songs that is the perfect backdrop for Sherieta’s voice. The singer/songwriter delivers in a way that makes anyone want to hear more.
When writing a post for Weekly Music Commentary I rarely discuss technical proficiency, however Sherieta’s vocal abilities must be highlighted. While listening to her sing my thoughts turned to the mechanics of her singing. She delivers a clinic on how to sing, and is the perfect example of what a vocalist is trying to accomplish in any performance.
One important component for a singer is the way words are expressed. Enunciation is of extreme importance in a vocal performance, recorded or live. Emotion is important too, but the speaking voice and how words are spoken are major reasons we listen to one singer over another. Those technical factors contribute toward the uniqueness that makes a distinction between singers.
To illustrate: A few years ago I was writing and producing music for a singer who was very talented. It didn’t matter what song she sang, every performance was consistently good. It was not until I let another musician listen to one of the recorded sessions that I realized one important reason she was good. Yes, he mentioned her diction. “Her way of singing the lyrics is very good”, he said. It was as if a light suddenly turned on. Something you realized all along but never really thought about with popular music. However, it’s very important for the singer to pronounce and deliver the lyrics with grammatical correctness. Sherieta Lewis does this quite well.
Also high on the list of things that are important for vocalists is proper breathing. Not only the ability to take a breath between phrases, but also supporting notes with the proper amount of air. For me this is something I know well because of my days playing the trumpet. Without proper breathing, notes can be choked and the performance becomes tainted with bad notes. Singers have a similar challenge, even though such problems might be corrected in a recording. However, when the singer performs live then the world will know the dirty little secret. Usually, word quickly gets out that the artist does not deliver good live performances.
This is not a problem for Sherieta. No, she is quite consistent whether live or recorded. That’s what might push her to a place that she only dreamed about some years ago. Her choice of songs on the Conversations in Key EP proves much about her talent, but it might bring a larger, crossover audience to her quite soon. “My songs are predominantly about perspectives, telling the story from the other side. The musical style depends on whatever it is I intend to relay through the song- I’ll try anything, and mix it with Jamaican flavour, of course.” Sherieta is having a conversation musically, with all those listening.
If this post is the first time you heard of Sherieta, I am very happy. It means I had the honor of introducing you to an exceptional artist you did not know before reading Weekly Music Commentary. Also, you get to hear just a sample of Sherieta’s music, but now have the opportunity to stream/download Conversation in Key and hear a very good album of music. Prepare yourselves for a nice conversation with Sherieta.
It has been a week of sadness in the music industry as we must acknowledge the losses of two legendary entertainers. Little Richard and Betty Wright died this week and our condolences go out to the many fans and family of these two great artists.