Jaqueline Nakiri Nalubale (born 1977), also known as Jaqee, is a musician born in Kampala, Uganda. In 1990, she immigrated to Sweden, where she began her musical career. She describes herself as a "musical chameleon", having no single musical style. Jaqee speaks

Luganda The Ganda language or Luganda (, , ) is a Bantu language spoken in the African Great Lakes region. It is one of the major languages in Uganda and is spoken by more than 10 million Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda including ...

Nkore Ankole (Runyankore: ''Nkore''), was a traditional Bantu kingdom in Uganda and lasted from the 15th century until 1967. The kingdom was located in south-western Uganda, east of Lake Edward. History Ankole Kingdom is located in the South-Wester ...

, English, and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, as well as "a little bit" of Spanish; she is learning German.

Albums

In May 2005, she released her self-financed debut album ''Blaqalixious'', which won the best Soul/Hip-Hop prize at ManifestGalan 2006 and included songs like "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Karma", and "Headfall". The album was nominated for a Grammis Award. The nomination surprised her, since the album was self-released; she had approached several record companies before recording the album, but none signed her. She says the album was inspired by "life, love, war, injustice and prejudice." " twas my direct contact to the music that a rural community in the diaspora plays", she said of the album. She has a tattoo of the album's name, which she says was a knockoff of

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's expression "bootilicious". Jaqee's follow up album, ''Nouvelle d'amour'', was released in October 2007. The album showed

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and rock influences. It included the songs "Sugar" and "Castara Blues". It was also nominated for a Grammis Award. Her next release, in 2008, was not a solo project but a jazz tribute album to Billie Holiday entitled ''A Letter to Billie''. It was presented together with one of Sweden's most active big bands, Bohuslän Big Band. She went on tour with the band to Japan and Egypt. Jaqee's most recent album is ''Kokoo Girl'', a return to roots reggae and ska. Released in June 2009, ''Kokoo Girl'' saw her joining forces with German-based

Rootdown Records ROOTDOWN is a rock band with reggae and hip-hop undertones. Formed in 2007 by American Singer-Songwriter Paul Wright, the Oregon-based group released their debut album ''ROOTDOWN EP'' in 2007. The band is best known for the song "Taking Over Me" ...

, who released "Kokoo Girl", "Take It Or Leave It", and "Land of the Free". As word spread, French record label Makasound added her to their artist roster, re-releasing her record in France as ''Land of the Free'' on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

, 8 March 2010. The French release was voted 2010 Reggae Album of the Year by iTunes France. "I grew up with African Gospel, in a sad and turbulent environment, so for me, this means I grasp and totally understand reggae and its never-ending struggle for the common man," Jaqee said.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaqee 1977 births Swedish people of Ugandan descent Living people 21st-century Swedish singers 21st-century Swedish women singers