Cherisse Moe, HER Magazine
Jamaica’s Grammy-Award winning dancehall superstar, Lady Saw, needs no introduction – so allow us to introduce you to Gospel Minister, Evangelist and Christian artiste, Marion Hall.
Six years ago – December 14, 2015 to be exact – the singer, known for her raunchy lyrics and risque stage performances, walked away from the bright lights, got baptised, and answered what she says was God’s call for to use her voice to “win souls” and lead a more positive and spiritual life. Hall’s transformation was public and much talked about. Some fans supported her choice – others, didn’t want to. From the outside looking in, she had it all – a successful music career which spanned over two decades, money, fame, chart topping hits, sold out shows and legions of loyal fans. For years, the Saint Mary, Jamaica native, who earned the title ‘Queen of the Dancehall,’ sat comfortably at the top of the dancehall charts in a male-dominated industry. She’s the first female deejay to be certified as a triple-platinum artiste and in 2002, she won a Grammy for her collaboration with American rock band, No Doubt, for the song, ‘Underneath It All,’ which sold more than three million copies. “But, I was turning into somebody I wasn’t,” the 52-year-old shares in an interview with HER. “I needed to get out.”
Staying true to her promise, Hall released two Gospel albums – ‘When God Speaks’ in 2016 and then ‘His Grace’ in 2018. Her latest offering, ’If I was Famous’ hit the airwaves on Friday, and on it she sings: “When me used to wine up, every man woulda show up. When me say Holy Ghost me nuh see money pull up. Ah wa do some ah dem? Dem think dem can shut me up, me too anointed fi dem. Tell satan back up.”
Hall is back in the studio currently working on her new album which she says will either be titled, ‘Still Standing’ or ‘Broken But Not Dead.’ Speaking about it, she says, “this is an album for broken people. To uplift people who are lost, those who want to commit sucide. The message in the music is really deep.”
HM: What was the inspiration behind ‘If I was Famous?’
MH: When I became Minister Marion Hall things changed. People who used to be around me were no longer there. People would do anything to be in your life, or in your light, meaning your video light, your vips, or to just be seen with you or around you – and I thought, wow, I thought that now would be the time that they’d wanna be a part of my life, you know? But it’s not like that. And one day, I heard the words, ‘If I was famous, yehh. If I was famous, hmm, you woulda love me.’ I said God, this sounds like a big hit but I won’t do the song because I would never do anything to disappoint You. And then, I heard the Lord start dropping His name in there, and lines about Him. I wrote the song and recorded it, then God came back and gave me a scripture to end it instead of the chorus and I had to go back to the studio and put it in. People gonna assume and think about other things when they hear the song but in the midst of the dancing and singing, God’s name is being glorified.
HM: Lots of people would’ve loved to be in Lady Saw’s shoes, but you walked away from it all. How’s life been since you decided to become a Gospel Minister?
MH: It has been a blessing. The peace of God has been upon me, I can’t find words to express. It’s a feeling of joy. The weight of jealousy, envy, lies and betrayal were upon me when I was in the music business. There were people who came up against me because they wanted the space that I had. It was so bad, there were times I felt like I was about to lose my sanity and I was about to become someone I was not. Even though I sang about sex and all that, that was not me, that was not the real real Marion, you know? It was just an act on stage. But, when I realised that I was about to become somebody else, it was just hard to be in that business. For instance, talking down to other women, that was not me, and when that happened, I just couldn’t do it no more. So, it has been a blessing from God, a heavenly blessing to now be a Minister of the Gospel.
HM: Was closing that chapter a hard decision to make? Do you ever miss your former life?
MH: I don’t miss it. When I was growing up, I wanted to be a star because people told me I could sing and I wanted to do this for my family. I wanted to be famous for the sake of my mom and the hardship that she was facing, and also my sisters and my brothers, and what we were enduring living in the ghettos of Kingston – that was my motivation to become an international artiste. But I started losing myself. It didn’t make me happy anymore. I was standing in the mirror in my closet and talking to myself like, ‘who are you? This is not you.’ I told the Lord I couldn’t find Marion. I was lost. It was toxic, something beyond what I can explain. It was spiritual, like the dark side was fighting for my soul, but God was holding on to me. I realised that some people in the music business would rather gain the world and lose their souls and would really do anything to sit in your seat. That was what really turned me away from my former life. I was not about to lose my soul. I grew up in church among powerful women of God and I knew that God’s hand was upon me.
HM: Some of your fans still consider you the ‘Queen of Dancehall,’ do you still claim this title?
MH: Yes, I know fans still consider me the Queen of Dancehall, that’s because I’m the best who ever do it and they know it. But I walked away from it. I’ll never ever claim that title again. I’m the one who said, ‘nah, I’m done.’ Others can have it, who was fighting for it, take it. I am an ordained Evangelist. I would never want to be who I was before, it’s not of God.
HM: You now have your own church – how did that happen? And how can people view your sermons or fellowship with you?
MH: I was in Birmingham about two years ago and someone was praying over me. I closed my eyes and I was just connecting to the Holy Spirit and I heard the Lord say, ‘It’s time to preach.’ Before that, He was just giving me a lot of sermons but I didn’t understand why. When I got back to Jamaica, I was lying in bed and I heard a voice say, ‘The Lord gave you a church and you not doing anything.’ I jumped up and I told my sister. We went to the store and bought materials and she sewed the drapes for me – yellow and purple – and I asked my brother to make a pulpit. I started the church in one of my houses in Ocho Rios. My nephew was like four-years-old and he was beating the drums and playing the keyboard and my other nephew was also playing the keyboard. My dad would come and sit in. God organised all the equipment. People in Canada and some in London just started giving me equipment – that’s how I started the Church.
I didn’t know that the pandemic was gonna hit and that was what God was gonna use to not just edify me but edify others – and even feed and clothe me – from people giving me a love offering and so on. I was like, ‘Oh my God, He said He will supply all my needs according to His riches and glory, but wow. He really is a promise keeper.’
I preach online on my Facebook, Instagram and Youtube pages at 11am, Eastern time, every Sunday.
HM: In your pictures, you look genuinely happy now. Are you?
MH: I’ve been through some things and I learnt to smile through my storms. I know how to confuse the enemy. I believe I should never allow anyone to steal my joy. Because I know God and I have a deep, intimate relationship with Him. I know the joy of the Lord is my strength. I could smile even when I’m hurting because I trust God to take me through whatever I’m going through. I deserve to be happy and I’m happy in Christ.
HM: Your final words for this interview can be dedicated to your fans. What would you like to tell them?
MH: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness and everything else will be added. The Bible tells us, ‘what does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul?’ I almost lost my soul because of vanity, because of fame, because of people who rose up against me but God’s hand was on me. I really want people to know that there is a God. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.
