BY KAVELLE ANGLIN-CHRISTIE Staff Reporter
LMS from left Shy Poo, Miriam and Laza. - CONTRIBUTED
LMS IS BY no means less talented than their siblings Morgan's Heritage though they are less visible on the Jamaica stage.
It therefore goes without mention that being the siblings and competitors of the already established Morgan's Heritage can be stressful.
"Sure there is pressure, but that's always been there. We've been around since 1992 and we have worked with pretty much the same producers but for some reason the fans never really heard of us ... But now there is no pressure, we can take the pressure," said Laza, one of the founding members of the group.
For some reason they were not embraced by Jamaicans. They say they are now ready to take charge of the Jamaican music scene with the release of their album London to Paris which took place late last year.
Their current singles are No Other Girl and London to Paris which they have been busy promoting. All are still young and have experienced achievements and disappoint-ments together. Laza, 24, Miriam, 26 and Shy Poo, 28 are now signed to VP Records but getting there was an uphill battle.
"Myself, Shy Poo and Mr. Mojo were the original members of 'The Dreadz', but Mr. Mojo was also a member of Morgan's Heritage ... After a while he found it difficult to balance the two and the opportunity was presented to him to go in Morgan's Heritage and he went," said Laza.
FIRST LADY
At the time, Miriam was a member of 'The Chipettes' - backup dancers for 'The Dreadz', but she also loved to sing. In no time she was the first lady of LMS.
Miriam says being the only female in the group is sometimes difficult. "I am the only female there so that alone is a role in itself ... Whether we do R&B or dancehall I hold the female parts down. A lot is required from you as a female and it can be stressful, but because they are my brothers, it's not so bad."
Even so, imagine being a female singing from a man's perspective. Miriam says she has been able to do it by empathising with her brothers.
"I just look at it from my brothers' perspective. When Laza wrote a song Broke My Heart, I saw it from his perspective and I knew what he went through, so I wasn't uncomfortable. I don't look at it as me singing a love song to another female, it's just looking at life from another angle."
Still, seeing the world through her brothers' eyes isn't the only thing that Miriam has to concentrate on. Miriam says she has to balance motherhood and her career.
"With the support of my brothers I can do it. There are times when I am working and the motherly role kicks in and I have to be like, "hey I'm a mother first". Often there are things required of me, but sometimes people won't see me because I have to be with my kids. My family understands, because my sister, Una, who is in Morgan's Heritage is also a mother and she has been through it."
Miriam says she does not do many solo parts on the album, but she plans to in the future. She says she is also concentrating on her dancing career. "I used to dance before and my dancing career is really taking off. I am in a movie called "Step Show" which will be released in Atlanta. "Miriam plays a Jamaican dancer competing in a dance battle.
Though the members lead separate lives, they all have the same goals as far as their music is concerned.
"Right now we are concentrating on touring and putting out more music," said Miriam.
"It's just more growth for us. We plan on starting a new label soon, but it's just more music and more life," said Laza.
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