Tifa is one of Jamaica’s top young deejays, and singjays for that matter. When an artist gets full support from legendary production crew Ward 21, you know they’re gold. After her first tunes, ‘Crawny Gal’ and ‘Bottom of the Barrel’ blew up in Jamaica, she continued on climbing, joining forces with Timberlee and Natalie Storm to form JA girl group TNT, making singles with top producers like TJ, Stephen McGregor and Equiknoxx, not to mention supporting Ward 21 on tour.
Tifa has just joined the Mixpak family, voicing on a Dre Skull-produced Moombahton track set for release later this year, so we thought we’d get the 411 on her background, making it in Jamaica, working with Ward 21 and being a tomboy.
Mixpak: Tell us a bit about your background – did you grow up in a reggae household?
Well my growing up was in a mixture of down town (or what people would refer to as the ghetto), uptown (suburbia) and a lil’ North America. I did grow up in a reggae dancehall household. My grandmother had a local bar and restaurant and music was always apart of the happenings. I was always surrounded by music. When I went overseas to see my mom, she was an avid party goer, she would always be playing tapes and we would always be listening to music. Seeing her dress up and go out, also developed my fashion sense. My uncle also owned a popular record store in Toronto and I would always travel with him to Dynamic Sounds to purchase goods. Later on my mom met my stepfather, who was a producer. So let’s just say I couldn’t escape the music.
How did you get into deejaying?
Well, initially I started out as a singer. One day I was recording, and in writing the song didn’t realize that I had left out about four bars. Jokingly I free styled the lines, and everybody was like “yooooo, you should deejay more”. So after thinking about it some more I tried it out, and found that those type of songs were getting more airplay than the singing ones. Hence, Tifa the deejay. I do still sing though. And a lot of the harmonies you hear on my songs, especially in the choruses, are done by me. So I really have a singjay vibe i guess.
How did you make yourself heard on the dancehall scene? Is it easy to get noticed out there?
Getting noticed or the right exposure on the Jamaican music scene is no easy task. Especially as a female in a male dominated business. It’s much harder for people to take you seriously. I had it double hard cause I had a “sexy” walk that people weren’t used to in the business. It was rough, and still is. It’s a very competitive and vicious business. I got through by persistence, and promoting on the streets. I took every free show, every school barbeque, and every road show, do my music videos and promoted hard, until eventually people started to listen, and they wanted more. I also realized that I could have also expanded my brand through corporate Jamaica. So when the opportunities arise I use it to my advantage.
Who do you feel you look up to, vocally?
Wow! A whole lot of different people. From Lady Saw, Patra, Lady G, Shelly Thunder, Chevelle Franklin, Maxi Priest, Mary J. Blige, you name it!!!
You’ve worked with some huge producers – Ward 21, Equiknoxxx, Stephen Mcgregor, TJ – who out of all of them did you like working with most and who would you want to make a track with in the future?
I love working with Ward 21 the most, because they’re family, and I’m allowed to experiment and get crazy, as well as having their knowledge bestowed upon me. I also love working with Conroy from Washroom Entertainment. Locally I’ve worked with most of the well-known and some of the greats. I’d love to hopefully get track produced one day by Sly and Robbie, Kanye West, The Neptunes, Missy Elliot, and a host of others that i really like.
You have an upcoming project with Dre Skull for mixpak – where you’ll be voicing on a moombahton track. What was your reaction to the moombahton sound?
Well, the track is basically and infusion of reggae, dancehall, and pop, similar to the sounds of the 80s. Hence it wasn’t really much of a hard task in terms in terms of writing, when i heard the track i instantly loved it. So i just let the riddim tell my creative juices where to flow.
How do you feel about voicing over genres that aren’t straight up dancehall?
I don’t mind, voicing on tracks that aren’t dancehall. I love to take risks, I love to try new and different things, and so as long as the tracks give me a good energy or a vibe, I’ll work with it.
What’s been the best moment of your career so far / your best live show ?
Touring with Ward 21 in 2008. We performed in the Czech Republic, I was the first female reggae/dancehall artiste out of Jamaica to perform there. It felt so good! It was a wonderful show & I rocked out in my I love Jamaica t-shirt.
What riddims from the past do you wish you had the opportunity to voice on?
Anything produced by Dave Kelly.
When you’re not making music, what music do you listen to?
I listen to a lot of vintage reggae and dancehall. I love old hits, as well as RnB too.
I heard you saying somewhere that you’re a tomboy but you’re not usually dressed like that – does dancehall make you dress up?
To an extent, especially when I’m doing shows. I love jeans and sneakers!!! I just find more creative ways to dress them up! I love comfort.
Think my favourite Tifa track is ‘Tick it like a Clock’ or ‘Boasy Wid It’ – what song are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of ‘If i could fly’, which was a cover of the classic “Into the night” it’s not easy doing covers, you’re more subjected to heavier criticism. I’m happy at the response that it received, it’s one of my best selling songs on iTunes, and i got the opportunity to sing again.
What are your upcoming plans?
Well definitely more singles and more videos. I plan to come out with a mixtape after summer, and hopefully release an album early next year. I’ll be doing a mini tour with Melanie Fiona, Spice, Patra, Alaine and Lumidee in July, I’ll be on Reggae Sumfest as well as other major shows in Jamaica and elsewhere. The work continues, the journey continues.
Watch out for Tifa’s record on Mixpak soon!
