Althea Hewitt- SO MUCH MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE [OR EAR]

Words are sometimes hopelessly inadequate – as is the case in attempting to sum up  the dynamism, talent, achievements and  magnetism that is Althea Stephanie Hewitt.

Its a journey that goes back to her earliest childhood, but blossomed during her days at Camperdown High, where Althea performed throughout her school days. It’s a journey inspired in no small part by her parents, especially her musician Dad, Stephen. The highly regarded guitarist was also owner of the Mighty Cloud band, which would hold its rehearsals at home in Vineyard Town, right next to the bedroom of Althea and her siblings.  It’s a journey that also saw her enroll in the legendary performing arts troupe, Cathi Levy’s Little People and Teen Players, which she connected with while at Camperdown.

Beyond that, music and the arts have taken Althea to stages across the world, and not just as a singer. Throughout Europe, North and South America and even to the Micronesian island chain of New Caledonia, a French Pacific territory some 750 miles east of Australia.

Not confining herself to merely belting out tunes, Althea has also exercised her talents as songwriter, actress and model. She has been a member of the renowned troupe, Tribe Sankofa, and has featured in several productions, including ” Hairpeace” and “Positive”, and gone a step further to produce her own presentations (“Intimate at Studio 38”).

Althea’s leadership qualities served in good stead during her stint as leader of the award-winning group 4^th Street Sister that not only dominated the Jamaican cabaret scene for years through numerous performances at Jamaica’s finest hotels and other venues, but helped to re-establish the female vocal group as a viable musical concept in the Jamaican setting. 4th Street also released the singles “Long Way Home” and “Still the One”.

Althea’s natural effervescence, consciousness and vocal and performing prowess have, unsurprisingly, brought her to the attention of many seasoned performers and producers (the late Fattis Burrell, Boris Gardener, Bunny Wailer, Bushman and Ernie Smith to name a few) and also by representatives of corporations, Governments and other institutions as not only performer but motivational speaker. One such experience was at the beautiful hotel Le Meridien in Brussels, Belgium where she represented Jamaica presenting the country’s cultural export, reggae music in a classy elegant atmosphere through a JAMPRO and Air Jamaica project as top chefs from Jamaica prepared sumptuous Jamaican cuisine.

Althea poured her manifold experiences into a successful debut compilation, “Introducing Althea Hewitt” which yielded the tracks “Boom Boom Boom” “Unconditional Love” and  “Save Me” among others. Building on that foundation, she came “Stronger” in 2019 – the name being the title of both her follow-up album and a powerful hit single – witness the lines:

“Stronger, I’m a fighter reaching higher to where I’ve never been before.”

Summarizing her songwriting approach, Althea says, “I feel that I have a responsibility to set a positive example, so when composing my lyrics I would like to empower women and men, to cover subject matters concerning our relationships and concerns…… my ultimate aim is touch people worldwide and help all to live more positively….challenges are always there, but beyond the fall, it s about knowing you can get up because you’re a person of worth…..your only true competition is you.”

Musically, Althea is the complete package, deftly incorporating reggae, pop, r&b and jazz as well as her extensive training in pop and classical vocal stylings with several leading vocal trainers plus voice and speech, acting, and dance courses from the renowned Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

Althea has a firm belief in education and growth. She says, “My greatest inspirations come from the Almighty God”. She currently produces her own shows, songs and engineers from her home studio. Althea is a consistent vocalist. Her services are available for Corporate Functions, Vocal Consultant, Online Audio Engineering for Background Harmonies, Dub Plates, Barbecues, Private Functions, Funerals, Birthdays, Weddings, Studio Harmonies, Festivals and Private (in home) Vocal tutoring.