fat juicy oyster: world music wednesday: empire isis

yes, it's thursday. and my trip to montreal for a video shoot was two whole weeks ago. but better late than never...

i've known global pop 'gangstress' empire isis for about 6 years now. we met when empire isis was a duo; two white girls with thick blonde dreadlocks performing at irie jamboree, the biggest reggae music festival in north america, held annually at roy wilkins park in jamaica, queens, new york. i caught up with the pair backstage, flanked by their manager, ray stewart. i asked him the only question a responsible music journalist could: 'are they for real??'

born to a welsh mother and a moroccan father, (the influence of her kenyan microbiologist step father, who i LOVE, shouldn't be left out of this equation), a global perspective on life, love, and music was basically written into isis's dna. in her early 20's, the artist also known as miriam, struck out on a bike trip across south america, hauling 30 plus pounds of camping and video recording equipment. she learned spanish and portuguese, lived in alternative communites, interviewed panamanian revolutionaries and camped out with zapatistas in the chiapas. she honed her music skills while strumming on a guitar with sexy young musicians on the streets of cuba, and later in the jungles of jamaica with rastafarians in bobo hill. when one of them looked at her and said, 'yo, you're going to be a star', like he was reading hidden messages in the smoke-filled air, something clicked. she set about mixing all of her experiences, languages (she speaks five), and adventures into a heady cocktail of reggae-based, electro-pop tinged, catchy girl-power anthems. it's no wonder mtv mined her latest album, sound the trumpet, for contributions to the soundtrack of the club nights and cat fights on the hit show, 'the hills'.

last year, isis won international artist of the year at the underground music awards. she's completed one season of her own music magazine show 'chronicles of a gangstress' on montreal's musiqueplus and became the face of apple bottoms in canada. she's toured france, performed in front of hundreds of thousands of folks in her (part) native morocco, and she's inking a deal as we speak to become huge in japan (lol!). in the 6 years i've known miriam, her confidence and commitment to her dream of world domination through music, has never wavered. i've discovered she's more than just a 'real' artist, but a real friend, whose globetrotting and borderless bodaciousness i totally relate to.

this girl's going straight to the top... i'm just glad i've got a front row seat! check out photos from the 'participate' video shoot in montreal:

isis and bass share a mission, a stage, screen time, and (obviously!) genes. bass is her lil bro/film editor/DJ....

bass found these 4 little girls at a dance studio in montreal. they threw down and brought an infectious energy and excitement to the shoot that stayed with us into the wee hours of the morning...

extras. so entertaining...

second from the left is isis' big bro, awane- president of their record label, monumental. he's always on hand to keep things on time and on game. look for this kid to reach major music mogul status... the next steve rifkind...