INTERVIEW : DIANA RUTHERFORD
Interview by : Sébastien Jobart
Pictures by : DR
on Wednesday, October 19th 2011 - 9 033 views
Diana Rutherford fell into music when she was little. Spotted at the age of 12 by Philip Fattis Burrell, the prolific producer of the Xterminator label, she made her first album with her partner Sherkhan, a French producer based in Kingston: "Ghetto Princess", on the Tiger Records label. Released this summer, it is now available in digital format on Tiger Records. A chance to look back at the career of the statuesque Diana.
Reggaefrance / Your father, Michael Rutherford, is a singer. So you grew up in music...
Diana Rutherford / Yes, it always seemed obvious to me that I would make music. I love music, and I was singing all the time. I knew I had some talent, but at the time I didn't see it as a job at all. And now it's mine. My mother is in love with music, even though she doesn't do it professionally. She's the one who pushed me to enter all the competitions, the talent contests. My father is a singer; he played in a big band, the jazz group The Sonny Bradshaw Seven, with Dean Fraser. He also toured with Gregory Isaacs...
You were spotted by Fattis Burrell at the age of 12.
Every year, Sizzla organised a big concert in August Town, with the whole Xterminator crew. One evening, I was in bed and my father told me there was a concert, and that I had to go and sing. I went, and I sang On & On by Erykah Badu. The next day, Fattis was at our house talking with my parents. He wanted to record songs.
How did your parents react?
They were excited because it was one of the biggest labels in Jamaica at the time. My father was a singer and knew very well what that meant. But they were very clear: school came first. I did a cover of Brandy's Missing You because Fattis likes covers. When I heard it on the radio for the first time, I suddenly realised it was me singing, and I ran into the street to tell my mother, I was so happy... In total I must have recorded enough for an album with Fattis. I don't know what he did with it; as far as I know three tracks came out. There are also songs my father wrote... But I wasn't aware of the whole business side, I was in high school!
 Je préfère n'avoir qu'un seul producteur, tu peux monter un vrai projet, plus cohérent. 
And how did you manage both at once?
It wasn't very easy. My father, in the Sonny Bradshaw Seven, worked with a female singer. After classes I would go to her place to learn singing, and then I'd go home and do my homework. But every Sunday I was in the studio. After church of course! (laughs) I sang there too, obviously; you should know that Jamaica is the country with the most churches.
You entered the Rising Star talent contest, but you finished third...
I think I won because on the day I went to audition, there were so many people! I was discouraged. I called my mother, who pushed me to see it through and go through with the audition. They did it all over Jamaica, in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios... There were so many candidates, so finishing third... I really liked that.
And it opened the doors of other studios, notably Geejam Studio in Port Antonio.
Yes, I worked with Jon Baker and Alborosie for a year. I learned a lot. We did a tour of Jamaica, it was national recognition for me. Now when I take a taxi in Kingston, everybody knows me and calls out to me. Even though I only came third, I think I won all the same.
Things get serious when you meet Sherkhan of Tiger Records.
He had been in Jamaica for some time. He came to Port Antonio, that's how we met.
And of course it's Tiger Records that releases your first album.
In Jamaica, you can record with every producer, but afterwards you'll struggle to get all the tracks back to make an album. I don't like working like that. When I was with Fattis, I only worked with him. Now I only work with Sherkhan. I prefer to have just one producer; you can build a real project, more coherent.
The album is called "Ghetto Princess"; is that a reference to your first name?
Yes, over there, lots of people call me "Princess Diana". I come from the ghetto, so I thought it was a good title. I asked for opinions around me, and we kept it. With Sherkhan, we've made a lot of tracks together; over time we've built a real catalogue: reggae, hip-hop, R&B... I was young, I was looking for my style. I realised that in France the audience is very reggae, it works better than in Jamaica. We decided to make a properly reggae album. But when I sing, you can hear that I like other styles: R&B, soul. It all blends together. There's the princess side and the ghetto side, with reggae and dancehall.
The album is about love, but not only...
Yes, the album also has social tracks. I come from the ghetto, I know what it is to grow up there, I know the stereotypes that go around... They tell you that you can't do anything with your life, that you can only be a gardener or a dustman. But there is a lot of talent in the ghetto, it's simply that these people don't have the self-confidence to do what they want in life. Not just a hobby, but a job. So the album is mostly about personal development: have confidence in yourself, you are what you are, be proud of yourself.
The first track, Harmonies of cry, is a hip-hop track: "I was born and raised in the ghetto, where the only aim is to get out". It's a beautiful album with lots of different styles and subjects.
There's Xaymaca, for example. That's the original name of Jamaica...
Yes, it means "land of wood and water". I say "Xamayca is land of wood and water, not land of gunfire". I wrote this song after the Dudus affair. It was the first time in my life that I truly realised where I was living. It was a catastrophe, a real turning point in my view. How can you enter a community and kill so many people when you're looking for one person? People on the radio explained that the victims deserved it, that they were criminals. But listeners testified that the victims, wounded or killed, were mostly civilians. It was my way of expressing myself on the subject. Our national motto is "Out of many, one people". This song is about that. We are only human beings. At the end of the day, we are one people, so why are we fighting each other like this?
A New day is your first duet with Sizzla. Yet you've known him for years.
Yes, and I was often in the studio when he was recording. We were at Halfway Tree, walking, and we bumped into Sizzla. We live in the same neighbourhood but I hadn't seen him for a long time. When I told him I was working on my album, he offered to do a track. He's the one who wrote the song.
How are you discovering France, where you partly live?
Yes, I'm starting to speak the language... When I do something, I put my whole heart into it. I started learning French five years ago and I was annoyed with myself for not progressing enough. It's really another culture, I love discovering it. I was impressed by people's love for reggae. I like French culture, the architecture, the people... But it's cold in winter. God! How do you cope?
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