Nyanda Janelle Thorbourne, better known by her stage name/mononym Nyanda, is a Jamaican-American singer and songwriter from

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. Nyanda is a member of the R&B/reggae duo Brick & Lace whose debut album, '' Love Is Wicked'', was released through Geffen / Kon Live in 2007 and featured the chart-topping single " Love Is Wicked". In February 2013, Nyanda released her first promotional single, "Trouble", after announcing that she would be pursuing a solo career in music. Her first official single, "

Slippery When Wet ''Slippery When Wet'' is the third studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on August 18, 1986, by Mercury Records in North America and Vertigo Records internationally. It was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, with recording sessions t ...

", was released in September 2013.

Early life

Nyanda Thorbourne was born to an African-American mother and a Jamaican father in Kingston, Jamaica. She has 3 sisters, Tasha, Nailah and Candace Thorbourne. Nyanda went to Campion College High School during which time her group Brick & Lace was formed. After graduating High School Nyanda studied Marketing at

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public university, public college located in Miami, Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade Count ...

and then Advertising & Theater at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. The name "Nyanda" is a

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

word which means "plains".

Career

Brick and Lace (2006–2012)

Nyanda's career in music started as a member of the pop/reggae group Brick & Lace. In 2006

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

signed the group to

Konvict Muzik Konvict Kulture is a record label founded by R&B singer Akon, Melvin Brown (music manager), Melvin Brown and Bu Thiam in 2003 under the name Konvict Muzik. Artists including T-Pain, Kat DeLuna, Mali Music (singer), Mali Music, Red Café, Dolla ...

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

and released their debut album, '' Love Is Wicked'' in 2007. The album spawned four charting singles – "Never Never", "Get That Clear", "Bad to di Bone" and their biggest hit, " Love Is Wicked", which was listed for 97 weeks in 7 different charts.

Solo career (2013–present)

February 2013 marked the launch of Nyanda's career as a solo artist with the release of her promotional single, "Trouble". Produced by Black Lion, "Trouble" is a

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

's multi-platinum single "

I Knew You Were Trouble "I Knew You Were Trouble" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fourth studio album, '' Red'' (2012). She wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Instrumented by electric guitars and synthesiz ...

" which fuses

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 ...

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 ...

and pop music. "Trouble" entered UK

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

's Top 30

Urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

Club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

Charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...

in Week 7 (2013) and remained in the charts for 7 Weeks, peaking at No. 15. Nyanda's first official single, "

", was initially released as a free download through

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

on March 8, 2013. "Slippery When Wet" entered UK Music Week's Urban Club Charts in Week 27 (2013) and remained in the Top 30 for 5 weeks, peaking at No. 13. It was licensed and officially released later in the year by Cloud 9 (

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

), Magic Records (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

) and Tropic Electric / InGrooves (Rest of the World). "Slippery When Wet" Won the Award for ''Best Reggae Song'' at the 2014 Lipstick Radio's Indie Music Awards. In August 2013, Nyanda released the electro fueled house track, "Cool & Deadly" with South African DJs Euphonik and Fresh. "Cool & Deadly" was considered a South African Summer Anthem in 2013 as it climbed to No. 28 on South Africa Airplay Charts and reached No. 1 on 5FM's Top 40. The music video for "Cool & Deadly" was done documentary style, with all footage being taken from Split Seconds, a 5-part TV series on

Channel O Channel O is a South Africa–based music channel that started transmission in 1997. Its main concept is African music in Africa and the diaspora. Channel O can be accessed via DStv, a satellite pay TV service for pan-African households. The ch ...

showcasing the fast-paced look at Fresh and Euphonik in Miami during 2013's Winter Music Conference.

Bloodline

In 2010, Nyanda and her sisters formed the songwriting team Bloodline. They have written songs for

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Scherzinger ( ; ; born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010. With ...

Leah LaBelle Leah LaBelle Vladowski (September 8, 1986 – January 31, 2018) was an American singer. She rose to prominence in 2004 as a contestant on the third season of ''American Idol'', placing twelfth in the season finals. In 2007, LaBelle began reco ...

and

Arash Arash the Archer () is a heroic archer-figure of Iranian mythology. According to Iranian folklore, the boundary between Iran and Turan was set by an arrow launched by Arash, after he put his own life in the arrow's launch. The arrow was tra ...

. In 2012, she co-wrote the gold-certified, chart topping single " Follow the Leader" by

Wisin & Yandel Wisin & Yandel were a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo consisting of Wisin and Yandel. They started their career in 1998 and stayed together until 2023, winning several awards including a Grammy Award in 2009. They became the first and the only regga ...

featuring

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Philanthropy

Reach a Hand Uganda (RAHU)

In February 2014, Nyanda was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Reach a Hand Uganda.

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Non-singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Songwriting credits

Music videos

References

External links

* {{authority control 1978 births Living people Jamaican women rappers Jamaican people of English descent Jamaican people of Jewish descent Reggae fusion artists Ragga musicians Jamaican reggae singers 21st-century Jamaican women singers Dancehall musicians Singers from Kingston, Jamaica American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Florida 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters People educated at Campion College