Meaning
A term of honour for a woman — especially a wife or partner — used within Rastafari culture to convey deep respect and to lift her to the status of royalty rather than merely a girlfriend or wife. Set beside the 'kingman' or 'king', the empress is the queen at his side, and to call a woman 'mi empress' is to crown her with dignity and love. It belongs to the Rastafari way of framing relationships in royal, honouring terms, and it treats womanhood as something noble and to be revered.
Examples
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Mi Empress a cook ital fi di whole a wi.
My Empress is cooking ital food for all of us.
'a cook' uses 'a' as the continuous marker; 'Empress' here means the speaker's partner.
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Respect to every Empress out deh.
Respect to every woman out there.
Used as a collective address to women in a Rasta or conscious context.
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Him treat him Empress like queen fi true.
He treats his woman like a queen indeed.
'fi true' means truly; note there is no copula before the comparison.
Origin
From English 'empress', the female counterpart of emperor, adopted into Rastafari livity as a way of crowning Black womanhood with royal dignity, echoing reverence for Empress Menen of Ethiopia.
How it’s used
Primarily Rastafari and conscious speech. It is respectful and affectionate; using it mockingly would undercut its dignity. The male equivalent is 'King' or 'Kingman'.