Michelle Downer (born 1 April 1978), commonly known as D'Angel, is a Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

singer, actress, model, and brand ambassador. She has also given motivational speeches. In 2017, she released ''No Worries'' with

Spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

. ''The Gleaner'' calls her the First Lady of

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

Biography

Born in

Spanish Town, Jamaica Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

, Downer sang in high school, modeled internationally in the 1990s, and returned home to Jamaica in 2002. D'Angel's father, Noel "Clive" Downer, was a local

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

. D'Angel has an associate degree in Accounting and Management. She considers 2004 and 2005 to be her "breakout years," according to ''

The Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Western Hemisphere. Original ...

''. D’Angel had a celebrity marriage to singer,

Beenie Man Moses Anthony Davis OD (born 22 August 1973), professionally known as Beenie Man, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay. His awards include DJ of the Year Award eight years in a row. His twelfth studio album '' Art and Life'' received a Grammy Award ...

, in 2006 and they recorded the single ''One Man'' together. D'Angel and Beenie Man had a son together and split up in 2010, later reunited in 2011. They later divorced. In 2013, D'Angel was banned for 5 years from performing at Sting by Isaiah Laing of Supreme Promotions. The reason for the ban was due to her impromptu performance of a "lyrical battle" with Ninja Man at Sting 30 that Laing considered "raunchy." She was also criticized for her choice of clothing at the event by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', which described her outfit as "provocative" and "revealing." In 2017, she went on tour in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with the theme of "We Can Survive" and addressing violence and crime through her song of the same name. She was a performer at the 27th IRAWMA Awards in New York and a nominee for Best Female Deejay. She was honored as Singjay of 2008 at the 2009 EME Awards, and was a performer and presenter at the 28th IRAWMA Awards in New York, where she was nominated for Best Female Deejay. She won Digicel's People's Choice Award at the Style Observer Awards 2008. In 2017, she won the award for "Female Artiste of the Year" from the Entertainment Distinction Awards. She twice performed at

Reggae Sumfest Reggae Sumfest is the largest music festival in Jamaica and the Caribbean, taking place each year in mid-July in Montego Bay.Johnson, Richard (2014)All Set for Sumfest, '' Jamaica Observer'', 8 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014 Sumfest started in 1 ...

, Jamaica's largest reggae festival. ''The Gleaner'' praised her 2016 performance at "Galiday Bounce" in Ewarton. Her song ''Stronger'' reached the top of Jamaica's music video charts. In 2017, she recorded the song "Whipped", a response to Dexta Daps' song ''Owner''. She has recorded with Jabari C.G. Productions LLC, Majestic Records, and Sweet Rains Records.

Discography

*''One'' *''Broad Smile'' *''El Pirata y la Sirena''

References

{{Reflist Jamaican reggae singers Jamaican dancehall musicians People from Spanish Town Jamaican models