Sister Carol

Carol Theresa East, better known by her stage name Sister Carol, is a Jamaican-born American reggae artist who has also performed under the names Black Cinderella and Mother Culture. Born on 15 January 1959 in Kingston, Jamaica, she grew up in the Denham Town district before her family emigrated to Brooklyn, New York, when she was 14. Her father, Howard East, was a Senior Engineer at Radio Jamaica and contributed to recording sessions at Studio One, giving her early exposure to the music scene. She later earned a degree in education from the City College of New York in 1981, the same year she gave birth to her first child, and around this time, she was encouraged by Jamaican DJ Brigadier Jerry to try DJ chatting in the dancehall style. Sister Carol’s career took off after winning several competitions in New York and Jamaica, and she toured with The Meditations. Her debut album, Liberation for Africa, was released in 1983 on the Jamaican SG label as a limited edition, followed by Black Cinderella in 1984, which established her presence in the reggae world. She also founded her own record label, Black Cinderella, and continued to release music, including the 1989 album Jah Disciple. Beyond music, she appeared in Jonathan Demme films such as Something Wild (1986), Married to the Mob (1988), and Rachel Getting Married (2008), and her songs were featured in Demme’s Ricki and the Flash (2015). In her personal life, Sister Carol returned to Jamaica in the 2000s and settled in St. Ann. Her daughter, Nakeeba Amaniyea, has followed in her footsteps as a deejay, continuing the family’s involvement in the reggae scene. Through her contributions as a DJ, singer, and producer, Sister Carol has remained a significant figure in both Jamaican and international reggae music.