Sister Carol was born Carol East in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1959, and grew up in the city's Denham Town ghetto.

Her father worked in the music industry as a radio engineer and in 1973, he moved the family to Brooklyn in search of work. 

Carol got involved in New York's thriving Jamaican music scene and tried her hand at singing while earning a degree in education from CCNY.

Not long before having her first child in 1981, Carol met Jamaican DJ Brigadier Jerry, who inspired her to try her hand at dancehall-style DJ chatting rather than singing. 

She developed rapidly under Jerry's mentorship, winning talent competitions in both New York and Jamaica, and toured as an opening act for the Meditations. Her first album, Liberation for Africa, was released in limited quantities on a small label the following year.

Carol subsequently formed her own Black Cinderella label, which gave her an outlet for single releases in the years to come. Most notably, she cut a cover of Bob Marley's "Screwface" in tandem with I-Three singer Judy Mowatt, who issued the single on her Ashandan label. 

Carol's next LP came many year later, as she turned her talents to acting, winning supporting roles in two Jonathan Demme comedies, 1986's Something Wild (which included her soundtrack cut "Wild Thing") and 1988's Married to the Mob.

Sister Carol's second album, Jah Disciple, finally appeared in 1989, kicking off a streak of consistent recording activity that lasted through the 1990s. 

Her highest-profile album to date, Call Mi Sister Carol, was released by Heartbeat in 1995. The following year, she released Lyrically Potent, which earned Carol her first Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album.