Queen of the Pack, Patra, has ditched her trademark Egyptian braids for good.
The 46-year-old Dancehall icon has been turning heads since she posted a Facebook profile photo on April 17, sporting a low cut copper-blonde natural hairstyle. “My new look – braids out. My new journey begins,” the Westmoreland-born star captioned the photo, in which she posed in a black cropped top, looking just as slender as when she surfaced on the musical scene in the late 1980s, as a teenager.
Her fans were appreciative of the new look, which could be likened to a paradigm change as the artiste has been sporting braids several feet long for more than 25 years.
“I love it!! You look magnificent Queen Patra,” John Macie said.
“I know it nuh easy to acquire a new identity especially when people have come accustomed to it. Yeah, there’s always room for change and wi jus (have) to get used to the new Queen of the pack look,” another fan Nyati Nyati added.
Others expressed in no uncertain terms that they missed the “Man dem Thrilla” who has kept a relatively low profile since the 1990s when she not only reigned supreme on the international music scene but popularized the Butterfly dance in her music videos and onstage performances.
“Wow Kingston number one Queen of the pack really miss (you) like crazy; my number one female actress and singer… really going crazy for your voice and songs,” Sammy Cool wrote.
The artiste now turned businesswoman has been quietly working on some music on a lower scale. Last year she teamed up with controversial Ugandan artiste and politician Bobi Wine in a remix of Burn dem. But even as she encouraged her fans to enjoy the YouTube video of the song, she also made an explanatory note.
“Not one to get involved in political affairs, especially when it doesn’t involve my country. However, I must send my deepest appreciation to the Ugandan people and to Bobi Wine for being so hospitable and showing so much respect when I was in Uganda and ensuring a safe journey,” Patra whose given name is Dorothy Smith wrote.
In her musical heydays, Patra was a hotshot on the US musical scene, rubbing shoulders with artists such as Tupac Shakur and her Jamaican compatriots Shabba Ranks, Madd Cobra, and Orville “Shaggy” Burrell.
One of her top two albums Queen of the Pack, featured the timeless “Queen of the Pack” title track, as well as “Workerman,” and “Romantic Call,” while the other, Scent of Attraction shot up the charts and made her a household name with her cover of Grace Jones’ “Pull up to the Bumper” which propelled her to even greater stardom.
