Tifa back and ready to add fun to dancehall
Published:Monday | June 5, 2023 | 1:20 AMAaliyah Cunningham/Gleaner Writer
Dancehall artiste Tifa is back on the scene after taking some time to do some work in the background. Now revamped and ready for the spotlight, she told The Gleaner that this period in her career is all about adding more fun to the dancehall music space.
“My space right now is just music. That’s just that. I had seen a meme by Morgan Freeman that said you are either born with a gift or you learn that gift as your grow, and when you suppress it and don’t pay the gift any mind, then you are disrespectful to God, and that really spoke to me. I had to rebrand and come back there right now,” Tifa said.
“Things are at a stalemate in dancehall right now, especially where women are concerned, so I just want to put out some songs and make the people dem enjoy themselves and do what you love,” she continued.
Though for the last few years, fans might not have seen her out too often, according to her, she was in “the lab” observing and figuring out how she would navigate the dancehall arena once she steps back out.
“I just want to bridge the gap in music because I feel like there is a divide. You have some people that are saying ‘Oh the music nuh good’ and you have others who enjoy it. When we were younger, our parents thought that our music was crap, and it was the greatest thing to us. We just have to bridge the gap where there is a balance,” she explained.
Tifa, who is popular for tunes such as Spell it Out, and more recently, Mr Rastaman from Kabaka Pyramid’s Grammy award-winning album The Kalling, has been making several changes, including ones to her appearance as she has embarked on a weight-loss journey. But one thing that she says will never change is her authenticity, which she believes has captured her audiences since she first emerged on the dancehall map.
“I will always just be myself and do me. It makes no sense to try to come like somebody else. It is not going to last. People gravitate to realness. Life is not just about wining up, there are other songs like Spell it Out which is iconic 14 years later,” she shared.
The deejay is currently working on a new album that she says is meant to showcase more of who she is as an artiste while just pumping more positive female energy into the space.
“The entire pandemic I have been recording. I have just been in my closet recording. There is just a whole bunch of stories that you can relate to ... of course you get the wining, but there is commentary on things that are happening currently while still maintaining the vibe and fun,” Tifa said.
“I am coming to add fun back in dancehall. It is a whole different ball game. People see before they hear, so image is also everything now. You might have the image and the body, but how do you strike a balance between music and being an influencer ? ‘Cause if you say you are an artiste then it doesn’t matter how many followers you have. It is about good music,” she added.
As she continues to put herself out there again, Tifa also has plans of possibly expanding the brand even beyond just music as she also revealed that people have approached her about working on a fashion line. The artiste, over the years, has always served up style and lyricism, and according to her, the influence of late Dexter Pottinger still lives on through her to this day.