Dancehall Queen Carlene Smith accepting a special award in honor of her sister and fellow dancer Pinky from Laurell Nurse, founder of Queens Of Reggae Island Honorary Ceremony at the Pegasus hotel in Kingston, Jamaica on March 22nd. Pinky died in July 2023.
by Howard Campbell
KINGSTON, Jamaica – The 1990s was, arguably dancehall music’s most flamboyant era. Sibling dancers Carlene “Dancehall Queen Carlene” Smith and her sister Doreen “Pinky” Prendergast were among the standouts.
Carlene, younger by seven years, accepted the plaque in her honor.
Dancehall Queen Carlene Smith accepting a special award in honor of her sister and fellow dancer Pinky from Laurell Nurse, founder of Queens Of Reggae Island Honorary Ceremony at the Karl Hendrickson Auditorium in Kingston, Jamaica on March 24th. Pinky died in July 2023.
“It was a bittersweet moment for me. I didn’t think I couldn’t handle it, but I don’t remember what I said when I collected the award. I know I started to cry,” she said.
Pinky was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. Her illness worsened last year, and it was Carlene who drove her to the airport in Kingston as she sought medical treatment in the United States.
They kept in regular touch by video until Pinky’s condition deteriorated and she passed away two months after leaving Jamaica.
She and Carlene made their names during the 1990s when dancehall music was being embraced by the American hip hop community. Their outrageous costumes and dance moves to match earned them spots in music videos by top acts such as Tiger and Chaka Demus and Pliers, and major corporate events.
Carlene said she introduced Pinky to revealing outfits. Her sibling in turn took her to dances in some of Kingston’s toughest areas.
Even when she was shot in the face by gunmen during an incident at a nightclub in St. Catherine parish 22 years ago, Pinky was still a fixture at dances.
“Most persons wouldn’t have gone back to a dancehall space but that couldn’t stop her. Dancehall was her place,” said Carlene.
Pinky was the fourth-youngest of 12 children for their mother. Carlene is the second youngest.
Another sister, Kerry-Ann Smith, is the mother of singer Jo Mersa Marley who died in Florida in December, 2022.
Thirty-one women, including singers Sharon Marley and Tanya Stephens and corporate executive Jacqueline Knight, were honored at this year’s Queens Of Reggae Island Honorary Ceremony.
