Patra

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Patra (born Dorothy Smith, 22 January 1972, Kingston, Jamaica^[1]) is a reggae singer. She first made an impression on the US charts as a featured singer on the Shabba Ranks song, "Family Affair," which hit #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994.

Career

Her first solo recording, "Worker Man", peaked at #53 later that year on the Hot 100, reached the Top 20 on the R&B chart and #1 on the U.S. Dance chart. Her second single, "Romantic Call" (#55 U.S., #21 U.S. Dance), was a collaboration with emcee Yo-Yo. Her debut album Queen of The Pack (#1 on the Reggae albums chart) also featured the hit single, "Think (About It)" (#21 U.S. Rap, #89 U.S. R&B). Her second album, Scent of Attraction, sold slightly less but still reached #2 on the Reggae albums chart. The biggest hit was her cover of Grace Jones's "Pull Up to the Bumper" (#60 U.S.) and the title track, featuring R&B musician Aaron Hall (#82 U.S.)

Patra took a lengthy hiatus from the music industry in 1996, but resurfaced nearly ten years later with her third album, The Great Escape.

Patra also performed on the 1995 Panther movie soundtrack with the song "Freedom (Theme from Panther)," a collaboration between the American music industry's leading urban female vocalists. She also performed on C+C Music Factory's remix of its hit single "Take a Toke" that same year.

More recently Patra featured on the Two Culture Clash project in 2004, where she was featured on the album’s lead single, "How Do You Love," featuring fellow reggae artist, Danny English. After her success in the 1990s, Patra released The Great Escape on Charly Records in 2003, and Where I've Been in 2005 under Wall Street Entertainment.

In 2005, she was arrested by police in Montego Bay following complaints by persons who accused her of taking money for certain services, which she did not deliver in time. Sources told the Jamaica Star that the accusations are that, over a period of time, Patra allegedly collected a portion of money from different entertainers, who reportedly wanted to work overseas. Patra reportedly promised them work permits and clearances, but was unable to deliver in time, hence they reported the matter to the police. She was then arrested and charged, but she later received bail.^[2]

Discography

Albums

• Queen of the Pack (1993)
• Scent of Attraction (1995)
• The Great Escape (2003)
• Where I've Been (2005)

Singles

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

External links

• Allmusic profile