STAR of the Month: Etana cried while recording 'Free'

When reggae singer Etana wrote the lyrics to her hit single 'Free', her emotions were running so high that she had to stop halfway through the recording to cry.

The entertainer told THE STAR that her career was under construction as it relates to management and other personal issues.

"I used to stay at like the back of Fifth Element (studio) because I didn't have like a 'home', because I didn't come to Jamaica to stay. I just ended up being here, and that's another story all together," she said. "Halfway through the recording, I stopped and bawled and then went back in the booth and finished the song."

Etana, a staple on the reggae scene for little over a decade, left the internationally acclaimed VP Records in 2013 after a six-year association.

"I was going through a lot at the time when I wrote that song, with management changes and just finding myself. It was hard dealing with everyone telling me what I should look like and even how to write and sing," she stated.

Free was produced by Kemar McGregor and was one of the tracks on Etana's 2011 album called Free Expressions for VP Records.

Like most popular entertainers Etana stated that she had too many 'advisers'.

"Everyone just had something to say. It was rough. People were saying don't do this or don't do that and then at the same time, I remember having to go back to August Town right in the middle of a turf war," she said.

Etana grew up in the eastern St Andrew community of August Town. Her vocal talent was discovered when she was eight years old and was overheard singing along to a 1991 hit by the group Air Supply.

She later migrated to Florida in 1992, where she went on to attend Broward Community College with the intention of becoming a registered nurse.