Natasja Saad

Natasja Saad (October 31, 1974 - June 24, 2007), also known as Little T and Natasja, was a Danish rapper and reggae singer whose vocals on a popular U.S. and European remix of Calabria gained her fame and and a number one spot on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart six months after her death in a car accident.

Early life and career

Saad, the daughter of a Danish photographer, Kirstine Saad, and a Sudanese father, started singing singing and DJ'ing at the age of 13 in Copenhagen, where she performed live with Miss Mukupa and McEmzee in the band, No Name Requested. During that period, she also performed along with Queen Latifah and gained popularity in Jamaica. In 1998, while in training to become a professional jockey, she fell off her horse. This seriously slowed down her career.

In the summer of 2004, she published the 12"-Cover Me and later the 7" Summercute and in 2005, the cd Release. In the same year, she appeared at Bikstok Røgsystem's biggest hit, Cigar covered as 'Little T'.

In 2006 she won the reggae competition, Irie FM Big Break Contest in Jamaica with the song 45 Questions as the first non-Jamaican ever. First prize was a record label, a music video, a photo session and a job at the Reggae Sumfest-festival, where 50 Cent and Rihanna, amongst others, also performed.

Natasjas first major hit, Mon De Reggae, inspired the hit Pon De Replay by Rihanna. Natasja was the first non-Jamaican reggae/dancehall artist ever to win the Jamaican "Irie FM Big Break Contest". Natasja entered the competition in may 2006: 700 contestants, 12 finalists, and one winner!

Natasja debuted in the Danish comedy film Fidibus by successful performer/director Hella Joof with the track Op med ho’det. Around this time her song Calabria with DJ Enur was recognized and became a huge summer hit on Dance/Electronica and Pop charts across the world. It's her most popular song to date and it would give Saad her first US number one single on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart in 2008 and in the process gave Saad the chart's first number one single by a posthumous artist. The song has also peaked at number twenty-four on the Billboard's Pop 100 chart.

Death

Natasja died on June 24, 2007 in a car accident in Spanish Town, Saint Catherine, Jamaica. Two other passengers were critically injured, but Saad's friend, Danish singer Karen Mukupa, was relatively unhurt. She and the other injured were rushed to the Spanish Town Hospital where the singer was pronounced dead.

The accident was perceived as particularly acute for Denmark's music and entertainment world, not only because of Natasja's sincere and exceptionally engaging personality, but also because she still stood before a career that, after some earlier setbacks and, in the preceding years, impressive successes, appeared more than ever on the rise.

Natasja is buried at Assistens Kirkegård, Copenhagen's cemetery for artistic and pioneering personalities, which, aside from hosting H.C. Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard and physicist Niels Bohr, is also gradually becoming a resting place for more recent stars of the 21st century.

(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasja_Saad)