Barbadian beauty Rihanna broke into the American music scene after her 2005 dancehall single Pon Di Replay became a global hit under the guidance of Jay-Z and Def Jam Records. Since then, the “Diamonds” singer has morphed herself into a music and fashion icon as Barbados’ most famous export, with a net worth surpassing 1.4 billion dollars in 2023 according to Forbes.
She co-owns with French luxury retailer Fenty Beauty in partnership with LVMH, and doubled its revenue in 2022. Rihanna is also the best selling female artist of the 21st century and the most certified female artist in the U.K.
Long before the Roc Nation artist became pop music’s most bankable superstar however, Diana King emerged from Spanish Town, Jamaica as one of music’s most promising stars during the mid-1990s, securing hit records and a contract with Columbia Records. Maxine Isis Stowe, the former Columbia Records executive, played a pivotal role in signing Diana and says she had a similar vision for her as Rihanna achieved, if only Diana could have let go off the small island influences and assimilate her sound more into American pop and sing more like fellow Sony artist Mariah Carey.
“When I saw Rihanna break through, I thought that was what I had in mind for Diana. I would say that Diana’s reluctance to be fully Americanized was her limitation because her voice was big enough, but culturally she couldn’t let go,” Stowe said.
Known for her significant contributions to the development of dancehall in the 90s and early 2000s in the US, Stowe served as A&R and executive producer for several chart-topping hits and albums, resulting in over 5 million in album and single sales. This includes Ini Kamoze’s “Here Comes The Hotstepper,” Mad Cobra’s “Flex,” “Bad Boys Soundtrack,” and “Cool Runnings Soundtrack,” all achieving Platinum and Gold status in the US.
Maxine recalls signing Diana to Columbia Records and the vision she had for her career as a pop singer. After Diana came on her radar as a backup singer for Shabba Ranks and a budding recording artist, Maxine states, “Diana King was part of the dancehall energy. I didn’t want her to rap, but she forced it. If you listen to ‘Shy Guy’ or enough of her songs, there is a rap component to it. I said, ‘Just sing, sing like Mariah. You know Mariah is who you should model, not Patra,’ but I understood culturally she had to do that.'”
She added, “I got a demo from Stephen Stewart. He and Barry O’Haire were working with City Heat Band, producing some songs with her which I liked, and I presented it to my head of A&R, and he was into it. So I called her because I knew she was on the Shabba tour doing background vocals, and somehow I got connected with her. She thought it was a prank call. I called a couple of times after she hung up.”
Maxine acknowledges that female artists from Jamaica, including herself, who try to spread their wings internationally have faced numerous obstacles in the music industry. She recounts a specific incident involving the “Tougher Than Love” singer, who nearly lost the record deal before signing after being observed frolicking on stage with ‘Bed Room Bully’ Shabba Ranks by a prominent music executive at Sony.
“I almost couldn’t sign her because my boss saw her on the Shabba tour, with Shabba whining on her on a speaker box, and he said ‘no.’ The deal was going to be lost because he said there is no perception for her to be a star if this is what is happening with her. I was so disappointed that I reached out to my attorney, who reached out to the same guy who managed the Fugees at the time. Linking Diana with him brought back the reality of the deal that got her signed,” she said.
At the age of 22, Diana King got her first foray into the international market with the remix of Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up,” which was her demo to Sony that became a single on the Cool Runnings Soundtrack. King reminisced about how her demo transformed into one of the project’s notable singles, sharing the story on her Instagram recently.
King’s career took off after “Stir It Up” and she earned chart success and album sales throughout the years. In 1995, her single “Shy Guy,” co-written and produced by Andy Marvel, reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is gold certification by the Recording Industry Association Of America for selling 500,000 units, and secured the No. 2 spot on the UK Singles Chart. The accompanying album, “Tougher Than Love,” released in April 1995, peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Reggae chart and made appearances on the R&B (85) and 179 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Continuing the momentum, King’s 1997 cover of “I Say a Little Prayer” climbed to No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The album “Think Like a Girl,” released in September 1997, topped the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart. King’s success extended to collaborations, including a remix of “Treat Her Like A Lady” with Celine Dion and they made several appearances on notable platforms like Soul Train, The RuPaul Show, Essence Festival and VIBE.
In 2002, King who come out as non-binary released the single “Summer Breezin'” and their third album, “Respect,” which saw a delayed release in various markets, including the UK in 2006 and the U.S. in 2008.
In 2016, King announced plans for an all-lesbian record label, along with a new studio album and an EDM EP.
With more female artists emerging worldwide and making impactful entries into pop culture, often incorporating elements of Jamaican dancehall culture, Maxine emphasizes the increasing significance of her pet project—the Dancehall Museum. This cultural hub, set to commemorate 50 years of the genre in 2024, gains heightened importance. Her late husband Sugar Minott’s inaugural song “Wrong Doers” from 1974 is one of dancehall’s first official recordings, and Maxine asserts that the long-overdue museum dedicated to dancehall culture is essential for fostering continuity and pride among future generations of women in the industry.
“That’s a part of Jamaican music too, which is why I got so involved in wanting the museums to rise up, so that we could tell the stories and free up our artistic base to say ‘yes, we have enough people to hold our culture.’ So if you see the one or two that can pop out, because they are gonna still pull up the rest of us that will never be able to go too far because of our restriction of size.”
“Even with Afrobeats, what I see happening with Tyla and Tems, I know that is here for the Jamaican females, but that small island thinking,” she said.
