Consciously Christina

FOR 23-YEAR-OLD Christina Roshay, a consciousness of self is something that makes her ‘royalty’. The soulful singer told Youthlink, “I think a lot of the problem that we’re facing, especially women, is that we don’t know who we are, we don’t know our purpose, and we don’t have confidence. I think I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m very comfortable with who I am. There’s nothing wrong with trying to get to a better stage, but also recognising that ‘a God mek mi’ and I’m made in His image; I’m royal, I’m a queen.”

The former Immaculate Conception High and current University of the West Indies (Mona) student majoring in international relations hasn’t always had this confidence. She recalls that growing up, she was never one to pursue even her exquisite musical abilities openly.

“I was actually very shy. I’ve always loved singing, but I was never the public singing type. I did a show at Triple Century the other night and somebody came up to me and said, ‘What, I never knew you could sing.’ I would write some awesome songs, but even in high school I was never the person to sing on stage.”

She continued, “I feel like when you finally start understanding your purpose in life (is) when you start to understand that things like fear and shyness are second.”

About her two-year-old professional singing career, the songstress admitted, “It’s a bit daunting sometimes. When I started out, I remember Ronaldo Blake, my first producer, telling me it’s going to take a long time because it’s hard, especially for a female, to actually make progression in music. But I’m ambitious, I don’t really use ‘can’t’ in my vocabulary. When you keep pushing and you make small victories, you realise that it’s all worth it in the end.”

Openly proclaiming a love and acceptance for Jesus, Christina plans to hone her craft to the point of being more than merely a ‘gospel artiste’. “I am a Kingdom-minded person, so I believe in Jesus Christ; I believe He came to save us. However, I try to step away from Church and religiosity.”

She explained, “What I mean is that you have ‘church acting’ and you have really being in the presence of God; the latter is what I’m about. You’ll see me on a lot of Gospel shows proclaiming God and even when I go on the shows I say, ‘Yeah, Kingdom mi ting deh’. I actually want to make that break away to getting on to some more secular shows, because Jesus came for the unsaved.”

According to Christina, her music gives her the opportunity to make an impact on her audience, which is, perhaps, the biggest reward for the young songstress. She passionately revealed, “It’s the best thing when I receive feedback from persons about how the message that I bring across has impacted them. Many people probably don’t know this song, but Never Alone really came from a personal place. It ministered to me first and then having someone message me on Facebook one day, saying that she was suicidal and she listened to the song and, based on how the events had played out, she just couldn’t go to that place again.”

When asked what she’s up to currently, Christina declared, “I just released a song called Stop It,

speaking to not just female empowerment, but empowering persons who are vulnerable. I’m also going to be hosting a show in May, it’s called Be

Bold for a Change and, trust me, it’s going to be epic.”

Keep up with Christina on social media @ChristinaRoshay or for business, email christinaroshay@gmail.com

“I am a Kingdom-minded person, so I believe in Jesus Christ; I believe He came to save us. However, I try to step away from Church and religiosity.”