Natasja Saad

Biography

Natasja Saad (31 October 1974 – 24 June 2007), also known mononymously as Natasja and also as Dou T and Little T, was a Danish rapper, deejay, and singer. While already relatively successful in her native Denmark, her vocals on a popular reggae fusion remix of "Calabria" gained her worldwide fame and a number one spot on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart six months after her death in a car crash in Jamaica.

Biography

Natasja Saad was born on 31 October 1974 in Copenhagen to a Danish mother, Kirstine Saad, who is a photographer, and a Sudanese father, Ahmed Saad, who was a big supporter of her career. Her father moved to Denmark to study. He learned the Danish language quickly and became a Danish citizen. Saad's parents soon divorced, and her father moved back to Sudan. She also had three half-siblings: Sarah, Nadir and Saad.
She and her siblings grew up in Islands Brygge, a district area in Copenhagen. As a child, she had a love for nature and for horses, which led her to become a professional jockey as a young adult.
At age seven, she went to Sudan with her father to get in touch with her family on her father's side. At age 13, Saad first started her music career in Copenhagen, where she performed live with her long-time friend, Danish singer Karen Mukupa and McEmzee under the name No Name Requested. The band broke up in 1996.
Saad was also inspired by Jamaican culture and music. During that period, she performed along with Queen Latifah and gained popularity in Jamaica. In 1998 at age 24, while in training to become a professional jockey, she fell off her horse, slowing her career.
Saad later became the first female jockey to win a horse race in Sudan. In 2006, she won the reggae/Irie FM Big Break Contest in Jamaica, which gave her a fresh start and a big boost in her music career.
The four LP box set Legacy (1974–2007) was posthumously released 29 June 2018 on Playground Music to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Saad's death. In addition to her previously released albums Release×Release2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Interlude1:002Summercute3:543Loaded3:234My Dogg3:56545 Questions3:566Lately2:577Spring 2 Fall3:168Real Sponsor4:239Bonfire4:1810War Anthem3:1911Puppet3:3012Restless2:3513Weedsong3:3614Mysterious4:11, I Danmark Er Jeg Født×I Danmark er jeg født2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Ildebrand i byen3:162Gully Slang4:073Fi er min3:264Op med ho'det2:395Gi' mig Danmark tilbage3:326Mer vil ha mer3:207Gør det3:048Monaco4:029Du er så smuk og dejlig4:1910Timerne går4:5811I Danmark er jeg født / [silence] / Tjalala14:14 and Shooting Star×Shooting Star2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Better Than Dem3:522Calabria 20083:503Real Love3:334Uuuh Wee3:245One Night3:176Mr. X3:447One Love4:29845 Questions3:499Silence Before the Storm4:0510Jamaica Too Nice3:3611One Spliff a Day3:4212Mysterious4:10, Legacy (1974–2007) includes a new compilation album featuring songs from Saad's entire career.

Death

Saad died on 24 June 2007 in a car crash on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica. Two other passengers were critically injured, but Saad's friend, Mukupa, suffered only minor injuries during the crash. She and the other injured persons were rushed to the Spanish Town Hospital where the singer was pronounced dead.
The crash was perceived as a particularly big loss for Denmark's music and entertainment world, because of how Saad's career was developing and being recognized at the time of her death.
Saad is buried at Assistens Cemetery, in Nørrebro, Copenhagen. Other graves of culturally significant figures at Assistens include Hans Christian Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard, Niels Bohr and Hans Christian Ørsted.

The four LP box set Legacy (1974–2007) was posthumously released 29 June 2018 on Playground Music to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Saad's death. In addition to her previously released albums Release×Release2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Interlude1:002Summercute3:543Loaded3:234My Dogg3:56545 Questions3:566Lately2:577Spring 2 Fall3:168Real Sponsor4:239Bonfire4:1810War Anthem3:1911Puppet3:3012Restless2:3513Weedsong3:3614Mysterious4:11, I Danmark Er Jeg Født×I Danmark er jeg født2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Ildebrand i byen3:162Gully Slang4:073Fi er min3:264Op med ho'det2:395Gi' mig Danmark tilbage3:326Mer vil ha mer3:207Gør det3:048Monaco4:029Du er så smuk og dejlig4:1910Timerne går4:5811I Danmark er jeg født / [silence] / Tjalala14:14 and Shooting Star×Shooting Star2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Better Than Dem3:522Calabria 20083:503Real Love3:334Uuuh Wee3:245One Night3:176Mr. X3:447One Love4:29845 Questions3:499Silence Before the Storm4:0510Jamaica Too Nice3:3611One Spliff a Day3:4212Mysterious4:10, Legacy (1974–2007) includes a new compilation album featuring songs from Saad's entire career.

Compilations

2018: Legacy (1974-2007) (Playground Music) (released posthumously)

Albums

2005: Release (Playground Music)
2007: I Danmark er jeg Født (Playground Music)
2008: Shooting Star (Playground Music) (released posthumously)
2013: Gi’ Os Christiania tilbage (released posthumously)
2018: Legacy (Playground Music) (released posthumously)

Singles

2003: "Colors of My Mind" 12" (Mega Records)
2003: "Real Sponsor" 12" (Food Palace Music)
2004: "Summer Cute" 7" (Food Palace Music)
2004: "My Dogg /45 Questions" (Tuff Gong Distr.)
2005: "Op med Hovedet" ("Keep Your head up") CD single (Copenhagen Records)
2005: "Købmanden×KøbmandenMarch 2007 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Min tørst2:442Papirmagt2:543Mit navn er kvinde3:224Lokkemad2:595Ingen hænder2:596Expert i svære spørgsmål0:107Bryllupssangen1:598Scenen er sat1:249Bejlerrap0:2710Djævlen er tæt på2:5911Det ariske selvbedrag2:5412Skrider nu (instrumental)3:1813[unknown]14:32" ("The Grocer") (BMG)
2006: "Mon De Reggae×Mon de reggae2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Mon De Reggae3:47"
2007: "Calabria 2007×Calabria 200715 June 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Calabria 2007 (Radio Edit)3:532Calabria 2007 (Club Mix)6:313Calabria 2007 (Acapella)3:504Calabria 2007 (Hoxton Whores Remix)7:37" (with Enur)
2007: "Long Time" 7" (Sly & Robbie)
2007: "Gi' Mig Danmark Tilbage" ("Give Me Denmark Back")
2008: "I Danmark er jeg født×I Danmark er jeg født2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Ildebrand i byen3:162Gully Slang4:073Fi er min3:264Op med ho'det2:395Gi' mig Danmark tilbage3:326Mer vil ha mer3:207Gør det3:048Monaco4:029Du er så smuk og dejlig4:1910Timerne går4:5811I Danmark er jeg født / [silence] / Tjalala14:14" ("In Denmark I Was Born")
2008: "Better Than Dem×Better Than Dem2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Better Than Dem (radio edit)3:272Better Than Dem (Pharfar remix radio edit)3:323Better Than Dem (original)3:464Better Than Dem (Pharfar remix)3:48" (featuring Beenie Man)
2008: "Fi Er Min×Fi er min2008 · Single · RemixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Fi er min (extended version)4:562Fi er min (Ruff mix)3:263Fi er min (instrumental)3:23" ("Pu Is Mine")
2008: "Ildebrand I Byen" ("Fire in the City")
2008: "Dig og Mig×Dig og mig28 July 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Dig og mig3:12" ("You and Me")
2013: "Money and Tings"
2020: "Til Banken×Til Banken28 August 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Til Banken3:04" ("To the Bank") (Natasja X Tessa X Karen Mukupa)
2021: "Selvtillid" ("Self-confidence")
2021: "Til Banken 2007" ("To the Bank 2007") (featuring Karen Mukupa, DJ KCL, Angie)
2024: "African Continent" (with Bass and Trouble, featuring Karen Mukupa)