Natasja | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Natasja Saad |
Also known as | Natasja, Li'l T |
Born |
Copenhagen, Denmark |
31 October 1974
Died | 24 June 2007 Spanish Town, Jamaica |
(aged 32)
Genres | Reggae, reggae fusion, hip hop, ragga, dancehall |
Occupation(s) | Singer, rapper |
Years active | 1987—2007 |
Natasja Saad (31 October 1974 – 24 June 2007), also known as Dou T', Little T and Natasja, was a Danish rapper and reggae singer. While already relatively successful in her native Denmark, her vocals on a popular reggae fusion remix of "Calabria" gained her worldwide fame and a number one spot on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart six months after her untimely death in a car accident.
Saad, the daughter of Danish photographer Kirstine Saad, and a Sudanese father, started singing and DJ'ing at the age of 13 in Copenhagen, where she performed live with Miss Mukupa and McEmzee in the band, No Name Requested. During that period, she also performed along with Queen Latifah and gained popularity in Jamaica. In 1998, while in training to become a professional jockey, she fell off her horse. This slowed her career. Natasja later became the first female jockey to win a horse race in Sudan. In 2006 she won the reggae/Irie FM Big Break Contest in Jamaica, which gave her a new start and a big boost in her music career.
Natasja died on 24 June 2007 in a car accident in Spanish Town, Saint Catherine, Jamaica. Two other passengers were critically injured, but Saad's friend, Danish singer Karen Mukupa, suffered only minor injuries. She and the other injured persons were rushed to the Spanish Town Hospital where the singer was pronounced dead.
The accident was perceived as a particularly big loss for Denmark's music and entertainment world, because she still stood before a career that despite earlier setbacks, appeared more than ever on the rise.