Carlene Smith, better known as Dancehall Queen Carlene, emerged in the Dancehall industry in the early 1990s, turning heads with her beauty and provocative outfits. In a newly released interview, she discussed her role as Jamaica’s first sex symbol, her style, and her sex life with ex-boyfriend Beenie Man.
Carlene indicated that she possessed a daring sense of fashion, which prompted her to take a pair of scissors to her clothes, making them more revealing. The 51-year-old mentioned that she could not recall ever dressing like a child, and she was always presumed to be older than she was due to her mature physique.
“I would always be creating fashions…Nuh care weh dem [relatives] give mi, mi change it with a scissors and it always look good but something affi show…I was to die for. I would block roads, turn heads. I don’t remember ever looking like a kid.”
Aside from her clothes, she stood out for her hypnotic dance moves. During her time as the Dancehall Queen, she was also the temptress on Slam Condom, endorsing safe sex across the island.
“I was Jamaica’s first sex symbol…dem [the men] seh dem buy the condom just to give the girl what I am getting. Remember me neva even know the person,” she told the hosts of The Fix podcast. “They weren’t buying it for sexual purposes, they were buying it to get my picture, and that was the marketing strategy, and it worked.”
Later in her career, Carlene developed a relationship with Dancehall artiste Beenie Man, who wanted her to tone it down. According to Carlene, they had a passionate relationship, which involved them having sex “anywhere.”
“I never had women problem with him…We were always together, him funny… so we spent a lot of time together…The sex good. We would have sex anywhere. Inna di movie theatre… inna di tour bus,” she stated, adding that she was his personal cheerleader.
Notably, Carlene and Beenie Man share a daughter together, and they parted ways around 2000.
Watch the interview with Carlene below:
