Move over, Beyoncé  At 16, Rihanna auditioned in a hotel lobby
and caught the ear of Jay-Z. She may just put Barbados on the
music map, says Amina Taylor 'My family keeps my feet on the
ground so I don't get too ahead of myself' ... Rihanna.
Photograph: Jane Mingay/PA  If you're from the Caribbean and
you're famous as a musician, chances are you're also a man.
Despite the variety of music styles to come out of the region,
its stars - from Jamaica's Bob Marley and Sean Paul to Mighty
Sparrow (Trinidad), Kevin Lyttle (St Vincent) and Rupee
(Barbados) - are linked by their XY chromosomes. But if female
singers from the Caribbean are supposed to work the local music
circuit only, no one has told Rihanna. A 17-year-old schoolgirl
from St Michael's in Barbados, she has already had a British hit
with her track Pon de Replay, which was only just kept off the
top of the charts earlier this year by Oasis. A blend of
infectious pop and Caribbean sensibilities, the single is one of
the most successful debuts by a Bajan a