Artistes must be more responsible with their music - Jellissen

Dancehall newcomer Jellissen is keen on using her platform wisely by being a role model for young girls.

Her view is that artistes can and should do their part in creating music that will uplift the nation and positively push Brand Jamaica forward.

"You don't have to be half- naked or bleach out your skin or even sing about guns and killing off people to get noticed. Look at Koffee, she has done it. She has taken our music to higher heights, and yet she didn't have to be half-naked to do so; and I believe music with substance has a longer shelf life," said Jellissen. "When did bleaching and doing plastic surgery become the new standard of beauty? Mind you, I'm not knocking anybody, but our young girls and boys need realistic standards to follow."

She said that because music has a great power over the people, "artistes should be more responsible with the music that they put out".

"I strongly think that we as entertainers have a duty to our listeners, especially the youth of Jamaica," she said.

Jellissen recently dropped her debut single, Street Dance Style, a song that celebrates dancehall icons, dance styles and fashion. She said that the track has surpassed her wildest expectations.

She is now looking forward to releasing her sophomore single, Feteing Can't Done, a soca-dancehall-infused track.

The Manchester native is also very happy about the overwhelming love and support that she has been receiving since the start of her career.

"Overall, I've had an amazing start to my career. Never in a million years did I ever think that things would take off like this, but I'm so grateful and liking forward to what's to come," she said.