Television and radio personality Frederick Rampersaud this month celebrates 25 years in the entertainment industry. Two of his programmes, “Music From the Heart” and “The Sunday Morning Show” are two of the longstanding musical programmes in the country, that have become a special part of the lives of Guyanese here and in the diaspora.
With a grandfather, father, and a brother who took up positions in their respective churches as pastors, Frederick knew he wanted to be in a position where he could also enliven and inspire others.
An avid music lover while growing up, he was over the moon when his father took home a stereo set. The equipment had a turntable where he played records. He could play his music non-stop and the stereo set came with a microphone which he made use of also.
He played the set at family events and by the time he was 11, he was playing at weddings. Subsequently he joined a community developmental group and it was through this that he was asked to emcee at a concert hosted at the National Cultural Centre. Frederick said it was there that he met broadcaster Basil Bradshaw who said he had a great voice and should get into radio but Frederick was not ready.
Late Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) broadcaster Matthew Allen was an inspiration
to him, but he could not see himself in communication just yet. However, the concert paved the way for him to emcee at more events. Many agreed that Frederick had a great voice which is how he came to be known as “the man with the golden voice”.
Frederick first started working with Chandra Narine Sharma at CNS 12 in 1995 hosting a show called “Rapping with the Public”. Following this he decided to start his career in radio and television and approached the GBC (now the National Communications Network). Frederick shared that within six months he had interviewed the late president Cheddi Jagan and travelled to Trinidad and Tobago where he interviewed that country’s opposition leader and former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar who was then the first woman attorney general in the Caribbean.
The television host evinced a disdain for creolese particularly when it is used in the communication media entities. Though it was not creolese, Frederick recalled that he once got pulled in by veteran broadcaster Ron Robinson when he started out. He noted that he was reading an advertisement for Toolsie Persaud Ltd which is located at Sussex Street in Georgetown but instead of saying Sussex, he said, Success.
All the while he hosted “Music from the Heart” and “The Sunday Morning Show” he worked at Republic Bank. His job helped to pay for “Music from the Heart”. Instead of a paid contract with GBC and CNS 12, Frederick paid to have the programme aired and 25 years later, he still does. “Music From the Heart” started on Channel 12 and ran for five years before it moved to 98.1 FM. Twenty years later, it is still aired on that channel. The show continues to attract new fans from Guyana and various parts of the world, some of whom are from countries like India and Australia.
Frederick was the first radio personality to have a cricket call-in programme and he also emceed at pageants and did live commentaries as well. He appeared on WEE Radio online when it aired on radio at 87.7 and 100.1 in New York. It was during this time that he was nicknamed the man with the golden voice.
Having made his mark in the entertainment industry, Frederick feels accomplished. He said he has been living more than his dream having been able to make a career out of his passion.
Over the last three months he has focused some of his time on charitable work, and has provided hot meals for ten institutions including several orphanages, geriatric homes and an Amerindian hostel. He also provided them with face masks.
Music is not the only thing Frederick is passionate about. He is currently a second-year law student at the University of Guyana. He shares that while he is interested in criminal law, his experience working at the bank will aid him in corporate law; he is still yet to decide.
“If God allows me to live and achieve my goals, I want to build a shelter for children which I hope would be sustained through my career in law. I hope to one day send these children to [university], even if it’s only ten of them,” he said.
While law will not be a career he spends the rest of his life practicing, he hopes to remain the host of his programmes for as long as his strength prevails.
