+3: Sister Carol
An active force in reggae for over 30 years, “Mother Culture” did not arrive at her success by any traditional route. The voice behind socially-minded tunes like “Black Cinderella” and the spiritual “Oh Jah (Mi Ready)” earned a college degree and had her first child before ever picking up a microphone. Under the tutelage of Brigadier Jerry while living in Brooklyn, she became a staple deejay and one of the few females in the early years of New York’s growing Jamaican music scene, recording with NYC legends like Jah Life and the late Philip Smart. Her knack for strong melodies, along with uplifting lyrics founded in her unwavering Rastafarian principles helped Carol carve out a successful career that included a Grammy nomination for her 1995 LP Lyrically Potent as even a brief acting career, appearing in such films as Something Wild and Married to the Mob.—Saxon Baird