For a long time, the name Tennicia DeFreitas has been synonymous with Calypso and steel pan. Winning the Junior Calypso Crown three years in a row—2006, 2007 and 2008—sealed her place in the history of local calypso. She continued to enter the junior calypso category until 2012; placing 3rd and 2nd in 2009 and 2011 respectively and winning in 2010 and 2012. During that time she had also won the Health song competition twice, 2010 and 2011 and placed 2nd in 2012.
Tennicia has also been playing steel pan for years and she is currently a member of the Parkside Steel Orchestra.
But Tennicia’s talents extend far beyond calypso and steel band. Her love affair with music started when she was still in primary school and back then gospel was her chosen genre.
“I loved listening to music but became interested in it after I found out that I could actually sing,” she laughed. It was just before she started secondary school. Her late grandfather played the mouth organ; her mother, grandmother, aunt and uncle can sing and her great uncle plays the guitar but it’s just a hobby to them, she said. As a child, Tennicia said, she never paid much attention to what her voice sounded like because singing was not something she liked. She only did it because she had to when asked by her family. It all got quite interesting after she made the discovery that she could “actually sing”.
Tennicia’s musical wheels started to grind with the gospel song “God Is Mending” which was originally performed by Shandra Robertson. The song was played every day in her house and she eventually grew to love it and decided to sing it at a Father’s Day concert at the church she attended, God’s Battalion New Testament Church. She said she performed just for the fun of it, as she loves to experiment and to her surprise she received a standing ovation and a call for an encore after her performance. “Everything after that happened so fast. My youth leader at that time signed me up for a song competition which was amongst the churches in the district with the same song and it was the first competition I ever won,” she told the The Scene. She was then introduced to Kross Kolor Records by way of a second competition, through Chris Wilson, who was an artiste under the label at the time. She was then signed as an artiste under the Kross Kolor label.
Her best memories are from performing calypso. “I have so much respect for it [calypso] now than when I was 14 years old because I was just like any other young teenager who thought that it was an ‘old people’ thing,” she said.
She was in Third Form at secondary level and would usually participate in the dance competition during the Mashramani season. After learning about the children’s calypso competition she told her manager Burchmore Simon that she would like to try it.
“I may or may not have been the first student to represent the school in the competition but my manager agreed and wrote my first song ‘Honesty’ for the competition.”
Simon wrote all of the songs Tennicia has entered into competitions since then.
She had the opportunity to compete in the senior category in 2012 but she did not place. Nevertheless, for her it was a great experience competing amongst the seniors. “Calypso as many may know is social commentary and speaks about issues affecting society and I’ve sang of such topics like HIV/AIDS and other health issues, social issues etc. But what I love about it the most is that it’s a unique way of both singing/performing and writing.
“What made performing it fun for me was it’s the only kind of music one can sing about anything and literally get off the hook with it. It brought me to the person I am today and through it I’ve learned so much about
the stage, interacting with the audience, microphone technique and how to sing with a band and not backing tracks.”
But Tennicia has not stepped on the stage to sing this genre for a while. “2012 was my last year performing in the junior category. I thought that I have made a name successfully for myself in that field so I wanted to move away from it to explore and expand my vocal ability and to be able to perform any other genre. I don’t want to be remembered as just the girl who sings calypso. It will always be a part of me and who knows maybe I’ll give my fans a surprise,” she said with a smile and a wink.
“I think my best performance is yet to come” she laughed before saying some of her better performances would definitely be those from my years in the calypso competitions. She strongly believes that her general presence on stage got better each year and also performing with the Heatwave Band has made her a better artiste.
Apart from her best known calypso hit “Mama I Don’t Want To Be Born”, she said that “Need You”, “Fantasy” and “No Love” are some of her popular hits. Her latest releases like “Brown Crush” and “Love To Me One More Time”, she said, show how she has matured as a performer.
“To many my name is not even important because they call me by the name of the punch line of the song which gives me an amazing feeling. After winning my first junior calypso title with ‘Mama’ … I was named amongst the top female artistes in the country, had the opportunity to perform at many events such as the 2010 Jamzone international concert featuring Ne-Yo. I was the featured artist at the Mori J’von Comedy Jam show, recorded VOs [voice overs] and ads for major companies in Guyana, performed in other countries under the Ministry of Culture, got acquainted with a lot more popular Guyanese artistes, met many popular artistes from the Caribbean, recorded songs on tracks that were produced out of Guyana, and it landed me the 2010 GCA [Guyana Cultural Association New York] Youth Award for my contribution to the art. That is really just a few of the things that make up the amazing journey I’ve had since. Whew!”
At the moment she is not performing with the Heatwave Band. However, she still considers herself a part of that family. A few years ago, she performed with the band on many occasions but was not fully involved until last year through her manager. “Being a lead singer in a band is one of the most challenging things for a female artiste especially in Guyana,” she said, adding that it’s even more difficult, “when you’re young and have little to no experience about what it is to be a lead singer in a band but I can honestly say I’ve adapted very quickly to the process.”
Through the band she has performed on some of the biggest stages in Guyana, like the Carib Soca Monarch competition and Hits and Jams Entertainment’s concert launching of the 94.1 radio station amongst others. Because it is one of the more popular bands in the country she had the opportunity to travel to different locations to perform and got exposed to different audiences. Being on stage is a discipline she said she had to learn to adapt to. Meeting international artistes was the best of all for her as she got to meet and perform with Lady G, Admiral Bailey, Flourgan and in Suriname with Warrior King. “When it comes to personal development I learned more about harmonizing, my vocal ability and how to become one with the audience and to make them enjoy themselves. [Those] are some benefits of performing in a band which helped me to become a better performer. I still have a far way to go but thankful for the experiences I’ve had.”
She has performed in St Kitts in 2007, Barbados in 2012, Suriname in 2011 and 2012 and recently added to her lists of international performances just a few months ago was French Guiana.
A look back
Now 22, Tennicia still lives in the same place she was born; Kuru Kururu, a small settlement on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. Young Tennicia was very close to her mother and grandmother while growing up although she spent most of the time with her grandmother since her mother worked. She described her grandma as “one of those grandmothers who would love you to death but would never spoil you.”
Her youngest uncle and male cousins were her closest friends and they always looked out for her as a little sister.
“My childhood days were the best,” she said with a smile. “Even though I did things the normal little girl would do I was, and still am more of a Tom boy. For me that was fun since I grew up around my uncles and male cousins. … wide open spaces, sand and more sand and our family yard is big and surrounded by many fruit trees so there was nothing more to do than climb the trees and play fun games and sports…. When it was time to get cleaned sometimes we would run down to a nearby creek for a fun splash….”
Fast forward to today, Tennicia is a student at the Guyana National School of Music and has thus far been certified in Music Theory at grades 2 and 3 with distinctions by the ABRSM (Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music). She is also learning to play the guitar and is interested in learning the piano and saxophone.
Tennicia said there are many things that motivate her. Her family plays an important role in that motivation and has been supporting her since the inception.
But with everyone in her life, it is her mother Christela DeFreitas who serves as her rock. “While growing up I’ve seen my mother go through a whole lot… working double shifts just to take care of me and my younger brother… She tried her best to give us whatever she could’ve. I want to be strong like her. She now has four children and always finds a way just for us. For that reason, regardless of the rocky road I know that I will be successful so that I can give her whatever she needs.”
She said her family has been “present at every competition, [they] play my songs every day and I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch.” She is also motivated by the fans and friends who give her that extra “umph” to want to record another song or boldly go onstage to perform. “There are people who are behind me every single day regardless, I’m so grateful for it all,” she said.
“The fact that I’ve achieved so much over the years from doing something what was just meant to be a fun experiment motivates me every day and I’m so thankful to God for blessing me with this talent,” she said.
When it comes to music, inspiration comes from everywhere for Tennicia. Life itself is an inspiration according to her. “Waking up every day in great health to a beautiful sunrise and birds chirping, that alone makes you want to sing,” she said.
She absolutely loves to listen to and sing reggae music. She said it puts her in a whole different zone: the beats, the one drop vibes and the groove. “I am open to trying different things and have already recorded songs of other genres like dancehall and R&B,” she said.
“As a young artiste it’s important that you get familiar and surround yourself with the right people who have the experience in the field and would know how to get the job done. I think music is the simplest thing that can be promoted anywhere. However it’s not a one-man job. With the rate that technology is going it’s a lot easier to get connected with the right people who are in a way better position to get the work done faster and would make a greater influence on the listeners especially in Guyana. It’s more than just uploading to a social network or sending it to a DJ which can only contribute to a small percentage of the audience it can reach,” she said.
When she is off the stage she is enjoying her hobbies like riding bicycles, swimming, dancing, travelling and watching a good game of cricket. She love parties and although she does not go out to socialise as often she tries to enjoy the time out with her friends. Her job outside of music is in music! She performs administrative duties at Kross Kolor Records which a lot of people do not know. “Let’s just say it’s my behind the scenes life,” she said smiling. If not at the studio she would prefer a quiet day in her room or spending time with her godson.
She does want to have a family of her own but she is not pushing for it to happen anytime soon. “At the moment my focus is on my development as an individual and an artiste,” she said. One of her main reasons for studying music is to teach children. “While I was in school my ambition was to become a paediatrician as I adore children and want to contribute to their health and well-being. I didn’t completely give it up, but while I’m in music I want to use the knowledge I would have accumulated over the years to teach children,” she said.
With the help of the wise people she is surrounded by on a daily basis she knows she will be able to accomplish that while her singing career flourishes.
Tennicia promises a whole lot more for this year. “I have this feeling that 2014 is my year for travelling. I’ve already performed in French Guiana for this year and a few more surprises are on the way.” She is currently in studio working on some new tracks; singles and collaborations with artists and producers in and out of Guyana. She also promises more videos and she has already put some plans in place for next year. “Between now and then you will be seeing a new Tennicia. In five years I see myself as a much more rounded performer as I would like to be not just any ordinary Guyanese artist. It’s a big world and a lot of competition but I see myself representing my country on bigger stages. It’s always been my dream since I’ve started music to travel to different countries to perform and represent my homeland.”
