Blessings. I am very good, thank you. Hope you are too!

Sure, I go by the name of sugarKane but my actual name is Kara. I am 27 years old and I am from the UK. I am a DJ and I specialise in Reggae, Ska, Motown, Northern Soul and Rhythm and Blues.

I wouldn’t put myself into a subculture box, but I used to have a Feather cut when I was 13 and had that hairstyle for 10 years.

My parents. They have always told me to be myself and to stay true to who I am. My upbringing has had a massive influence on my life but also because I noticed everyone at school looked the same and I knew deep down I was different and I wasn’t afraid to show that, with that I had a Feather Cut and I got into the Skinhead fashion, the scooter scene and more into the music which has shaped my interest over the years especially with getting more into reggae music and the Rasta lifestyle.

This was because of my Dad. I remember as a child I used to pretend to colour them in and follow the lines of the tattoo. I knew when I was old enough I was going to have some.

I got my first tattoo when I turned 18 which was a birthday present from my parent and it is of a Mole that you see below.

So the idea behind this one is very personal. I found a few photos and asked the tattoo artist (Steve – Styx Tattoo Shop) to put them together to make the perfect artwork. You might be wondering why Moley? Well this is a nickname I was given by my parents when I was born because apparently the tuft of hair I had felt like mole fur, so with that Moley came about and it has stuck ever since to the point my best friend calls me it. I added the Porkpie hat into the design to represent the Rudeboy/Skinhead look that I was very much into at that time.

This was my second tattoo and it was my birthday present to myself for my 21st. There is so much meaning behind this one. As a child one Reggae artist that always stood out was the voice of Bob Marley. I felt connected to his music and felt inspired by him. Bob Marley is one of my favourite artists. I am really fascinated by his life and what he stood for so having this piece done meant a lot to me.

I would love to take this time out to big up a family friend, the man behind the artwork (Jamie Gibbons – Crook and Hatchet Tattoo Shop) for all the work he has done. He was the perfect person for the big pieces I had in mind and there was no one else I trusted to do them.

The quote ‘Rasta from creation‘ is a one thing Bob said and it connected with me as I feel that is the same for I. It was Jamie’s idea to have the quote in skin and have the shading round it so it didn’t look too harsh around the afro. I trusted him with his idea as he is the artist and I love how it looks and I could not imagine it any other way.

This was my third tattoo I had done. It was meant to originally be a half leg piece along with the Bob Marley tattoo but things changed due to the placement of the portrait photos. This tattoo is for my parents. They met through their love of Reggae music and the love of Rastafari. The older I get the more this tattoo represents me, who I am and what I believe in and it is all down to them for the knowledge of Haile Selassie! So I give thanks for that.

This one here was the fourth tattoo I had done and it is in honour of Toots (Frederick Hibbert) from Toots and The Maytals who sadly passed away 11th September 2020. You may wonder why did I choose this song? Well, Do The Reggay was the first popular song to use the word “reggae” and it defined the developing genre by giving it it’s name so it felt only right to use this as a tribute tattoo. This is the only tradition style tattoo I have and again I presented to Jamie with an idea and he created this design and I fell in love with it. The colour of the flowers adds a little pop to the tattoo and because most of mine are grey scale I felt like I needed a little bit of colour and the obvious choice had to be red, gold and green.

Now this was my fifth tattoo and the most random one yet. There is a story behind this tattoo which is quite embarrassing but here goes… My friend Finbarr runs a sound system called Rebel Lion with his brothers and one night they held a gig in Norwich and I attended. Whilst I was there I was trying to talk to Finbarr to ask him a question, stupidly I was leaning over a lamp that had no lamp shade on it. I was knocked into by a couple of people and my arm ended up on the hot bulb. Ouch you may say, at the time I danced the pain away and did not think about it until the night came to an end.

By the time I got home my arm was stinging and when I looked I had this massive white ring, the following day this blistered up. It left a scar so I thought why not get it tattooed. I messaged Jamie and he thought it was strange to say the least but this is something different to all my others and has a funny/embarrassing story behind it. I wanted it to look like a record to tie in with my other tattoos but to also outline where the scar once was. Finbarr felt bad at the time but now finds it great that I have his name tattooed on me.

This one here is my latest piece. This is Empress Menen, Haile Selassie’s wife. This sits on the other side of my right leg so this will now be my half leg piece that I wanted originally. I am very pleased with how this turned out and it signifies my Haile Selassie tattoo even more. I feel like I have an equal balance now. Haile Selassie was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia with his wife beside him on 2nd November 1930 and this is known as Coronation Day which is a significant date with Rastafarians. I still have some work to be added to this like her name and getting the two pieces flowing nicely on my leg so they don’t look like two separate tattoos.

All my tattoos reflect who I am as a person, my childhood and what I stand for.

I am not afraid that I will stop liking them as they are all very personal to me. With my tattoos I will always get something that has a deep personal meaning to me. That way I won’t dislike them, aha. People always ask me about how I feel when I get older, of course I am going to age and my tattoos will age with me, that’s the beauty of it. They may not look the best but that’s the joys of getting old, aha.

The only thing that comes to mind is being narrow-minded. People should accept people for who they are and not judge them on their appearance.

I definitely think tattoos are more accepted today than what they were.

To have my half-leg finished off. I have the ideas in my head which I will pass to Jamie for him to work his magic on getting that finished. I would also love to get something done for my two nephews but unsure exactly what at present time whether it be their names or date of birth.

It wasn’t really an inspiration more of a friend pressuring me to DJ one night, aha. I guess you can say after that my inspiration came from David Rodigan, Channel One Sound System, Jah Shaka, King Tubby’s sounds system, Becca D and many more. But also because my love for music grew more and more and I started to see people enjoying themselves and it gave me a great feeling to see people unite!

Reggae, Ska, Motown, Northern Soul and Rhythm and Blues.

I go from the vibe of the crowd.

Believe in yourself and be true to who you are. For me I love seeing a DJ who loves the music so I will always advise on that, play music that you love because the crowd will get off from your energy and vice versa. But most importantly do not give up!

My top 5 artists/bands, that’s a very hard question. For me I would have to say Bob Marley, Chronixx, Toots and the Maytals, Darrow Fletcher, and Lila Ike.

Get something that is meaningful and personal to you.

If you are interested in what I do and fancy a listen I have a fortnightly Sunday show on Real Roots Radio and you can find all details from my social media platforms @sugarkane_dj. I give thanks for having me being part of this feature.

Hope you enjoy! Peace and love, sugarKane x