Queen Omega

Born Jean Osbourne on 31 August 1981 in Trinidad, West Indies, Queen Omega first took to the stage during primary-school years, delivering calypso numbers at local talent shows. By her teens she had shifted to supplying backing vocals for several of the island’s foremost soca performers. Her initial solo outing arrived as the dancehall-soca hybrid “Fire,” soon followed by the Rastafarian-themed “Babylon Bus.”

Although Trinidad is famed for its carnival, calypso and soca traditions, the island’s younger listeners increasingly gravitated toward Jamaican sounds. The resulting surge of ragga acts—including Anthony B., Bushman and Determine—prompted Queen Omega to lend her voice in support. Those collaborations opened the door to studio work with Doctor Marshall, who cut the tracks “Warning” and “Highest High”; Capleton and Sizzla later added their lyrics, guaranteeing the songs’ success. The visiting dread DJs embraced her chosen name, Queen Omega, as a nod to her Rastafarian convictions, the title referencing the Ethiopian woman reputed to have ruled the world.

Entering the new millennium, she traveled to Jamaica to record with Tony Rebel, who helmed the atypical “Love Yah,” issued as the flip side of “Big It Up Fah.” While there she encountered the formidable Mickey D, who in turn introduced her to Trevor “Juggling” T.; the latter produced her self-titled debut album, which included performances by the Ruff Cut Band, Anthony B. and Archie Wonder.