Jaqueline Nakiri Nalubale (born 1977), also known as Jaqee, is a musician born in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, 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 Ganda 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 5.56 million Ganda people, Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda, includ ...

Nkore Ankole 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. Geography The kingdom of Ankole is located in the South-Western region of Ugand ...

, 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 The Grammis (sometimes referred to as the Swedish Grammy Awards) are music awards presented annually to musicians and songwriters in Sweden. The oldest Swedish music awards were instituted as a local equivalent of the Grammy Awards given in t ...

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, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

'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 that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

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 Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

entitled ''A Letter to Billie''. It was presented together with one of Sweden's most active

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

Bohuslän Big Band The Bohuslän Big Band is a modern jazz ensemble from Sweden which started as a military band in the 19th century. They play original music as well as compositions by Lars Jansson, Maria Schneider, Frank Zappa and others. The Bohuslän Big Band ...

. She went on tour with the band to Japan and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Jaqee's most recent album is ''Kokoo Girl'', a return to

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the ho ...

and

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

. Released in June 2009, ''Kokoo Girl'' saw her joining forces with German-based Rootdown Records, 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 celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

, 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