At 13 years old, Brianna Askie is already a recording artiste with two albums, which are still to be released and should be out by this summer. Her latest single, “All Hope Isn’t Lost”, is one she hopes will inspire those who might be feeling hopeless owing to the impact of the pandemic.
Born to a Guyanese mother in the United States, Bri, as she is fondly called, was ten years old when she began recording. But her passion for singing, she said, started when she was five and barely knew all the words to the songs she sang.
Her biggest stage performance to date was at a Black History concert through her school last year. It was certainly not her first live performance as she has previously been in the spotlight both at school and in church. Last year’s performance was huge, she said, as it was the biggest stage she has performed on to date. She said that to her, at first, the audience seemed tense, but they were just soaking it all in because by the end of the song, they broke out into cheers and applause.
Asked whether stage fright is a challenge, she said it has never been, not even when the first time she stepped on stage as a second grader at a school concert.
One of her albums is called ‘Reality’ and all of the songs on it are inspirational, highlighting experiences faced by people in their everyday life. One of the songs “Gone Too Long” speaks of someone who was incarcerated. The other album ‘Perfection’ is gospel. One of the songs on this album has been released and it is called, “Who Made Love”. Another song she has released is “My Little Crush”.
Bri is also a poet but she does not write her own songs. They are all written by her mother Olivia Prescod, who has also been writing for other singers. Olivia, who also spoke with The Scene, said Bri has the potential to write. She recalled once while she was writing for another singer, she hit a block and asked Bri for help. Bri was only six years old at the time, but the words she came up with worked perfectly.
While the two have been respective of their roles as mother and daughter, they are partners when it comes to music. It is important that whatever is penned by Olivia can be felt by Bri when she sings it. Constant practice helps, but for effectiveness, Olivia usually has Bri choose the tempo she wishes to use. It is almost always up-tempo, which they explained connects with young people, gives them hope and reminds them that there is a God who wants to always be there for them if only they would let Him.
While most of the ideas for the songs came from Olivia, “My Little Crush” was Bri’s. The Scene learned that she arrived home from school one day, shared with her mother about her crush and then asked her to write a song about it. Once the song was recorded and released, Bri played it for all of her school friends.
The aspiring singer/music teacher is proud of where she is today. “I feel that I have accomplished what I want to do so far since I’ve been blessing people with the gift that God has given me,” Bri said.
She gathers inspiration by listening to music with positive messages. Two of her favourite artistes are Alicia Keys and Tamela Mann.
At present Bri and Olivia are working on an anti-bullying project. Though this has never been a problem for Bri, she hopes to be a light for those who are victims of this unwanted behaviour.
A student at Middle School (MS) 127 Knights, Bri said that her mother keeps her on a tight schedule when it comes to her studies. This, however, does not take away from her love for music. Three times a week, the pair makes the 25-minute drive to Osiris Studios for her to work on her music. Her schedule is about to get a bit busier as Bri plans to begin learning to play the piano in the coming weeks.
To keep her vocals supple, the teen is committed to following a plan. She stays away from cold drinks and instead drinks lots of water and hot tea sweetened with honey and of course she constantly practices.
In her limited free time, she likes watching comedy, romance (age-appropriate only) and Indian movies. The next Indian movie on her list to watch is Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Bri’s love for Indian culture has led to her watching YouTube videos in a quest to learn Hindi.
As it relates to her favourites, this talented Virgo loves the colour royal blue, and her favourite animals are cats though she is yet to get one. She and Olivia have been vegetarians for a few years now and she likes eating okra and rice.
The singer has visited Guyana on several occasions. She has also visited Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago, but Guyana is her favourite place to vacation and she refers to her trips here as adventures. An only child, these trips are also anticipated since she looks forward to hanging out with her cousins.
At present the teen is signed to an independent label called Tune Core. Through the label, “My Little Crush” and “Who Made Love” have made it to about 20 online musical platforms including Spotify and iTunes.
The singer can be followed on Instagram @briannaaskie.
