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Entertainer Keishea Stewart wants to show those who feel that mature women do not have a place in the music industry that they are wrong.
After a 15-year break, the singer and songwriter, known for songs such as Frenchman Jam, is rebranding and launching a solo career with two new singles: Carnival Love and Wake Up Everybody.
She was once the female vocal lead for bands like Atlantik, Byron Lee and the Dragonnaires, Rucksun, Bajan Unit among others.
“For a long period in my life I have been underground, so I am now regenerating,” she told WMN.
In those 15 years away, she has lived abroad in countries like China and worked in underground clubs singing pop and techno.
While there she did some soul searching, which eventually led her back to Trinidad and Tobago and the music industry.
But when she returned to live in West, Trinidad in 2013, she realised the industry's landscape had changed. There were fewer bands and female frontline singers now, which prompted her to launch her solo career.
She said, “it was a harder task to get my music out.”
She felt that, being away from Carnival for so many years, it was her time to shine alone rather than “being dependent on anyone.”
[caption id="attachment_1051891" align="alignnone" width="657"] Keishea Stewart is launching a solo career after a 15-year break. - AYANNA KINSALE[/caption]
She said without a manager and enough knowledge about the music business, she struggled to get back into the industry.
But two people helped her to get back into it; producer Azikiwe Kellar and executive producer Learie Watts.
“He (Keller) pushed me and said, ‘Keishea, you need to wake up. Your voice is good, age is just a number. It does not matter how old you are.
“You have the gift and you can take it as far as you want but you have to learn the music business.’”
Stewart, now in her 40s, said at one point she considered self harm, as her music was “not happening” and she lives for music. This led to depression.
The gains she made to advance her career were suspended by the covid19 pandemic and its restrictions.
That period was particularly hard for her as she had little to no finances coming in.
Fortunately, having worked with Watts, he saw her potential and decided to help her launch her solo career.
The singer said her music most appeals to people aged 30 and older.
“That is the kind of music I will be delivering. I don’t have to dress naked because when you look at Janet Jackson, Ciara and when you look at all of the mature international artistes, it is about deliverance and using your beauty within and without to get the music out.”
Watts, too, believes there is a growing market for a more mature listenership in TT.
He told WMN her music does not promote vulgarity and gives the listener a clean, smooth experience, and that was why he decided to invest.
Citing all-inclusive fetes as an example, Watts said those are usually composed of a more mature audience - the demographic to which her music appeals on the local and regional market.
Her choice of genre is wide, as she easily moves between R&B, soca, calypso, reggae, Zouk, soul and gospel.
From her first time on stage at 19, Stewart said she knew she was ready to be on stages all over the world.
And despite her hard work and being on internationals stages, Stewart believes she was never truly given a fair chance and believes was exploited in her earlier career because she was “young and shy in the industry.”
“A new artiste that comes out today can have one hit and make a million dollars within the course of the year but, in our time, we had no one to stand with us and represent us in music.”
She said structures exist today which allow artistes to get their fair share, but a lot of the of older musicians did not gain from their content.
That is why, she said, she is on a journey to create a legacy for herself. For although the music industry she knew then is vastly different to what exists today, she is ready for it and believes that she has a great chance in this environment.
Wake up Everybody is her attempt to redefine calypso’s sound.
“The music is not the normal calypso, but changing it to suit the generation of today and still satisfy the generation of before. It is new age soca and calypso,” she said.
And even as the Christmas season is drawing to a close, Stewart says she is already preparing herself to sing in the Revue Tent and to qualify for the Dimanche Gras. Carnival Love, she said, speaks to what TT needs right now: togetherness, harmony, love and bonding.
“In the fetes we need to show more love, where all of TT gets to love each other at one major festival. Where we welcome foreigners and enjoy our love, our contribution to the world. We invite them to understand us and our culture.”
She has plans to release music throughout the year over a three-year period, building a discography that could eventually lead to her own branded event, catered to a mature audience.
She said she will release new music during the July/August period next year so she can go on tour year round in places like Dubai and other Asian cities and countries where TT's music is gaining interest.
“You cannot survive as an artiste in TT alone. It is small and seasonal for Carnival. As artistes are finished here, they go on tour year round,” Watts said.
As Carnival 2024 draws near, Stewart hopes to perform at events such as Ladies Night Out and some all-inclusive fetes.
She hopes her story will highlight to other female entertainers the old saying that age is just a number.
“ I advise anyone my age or older, never stop believing in yourself. You can dream and when you pursue that dream, it will come true.
“Keep believing and keep pushing,” she said.
Stewart plan to team up with Watts to start an entertainment business financing artistes who have the talent but lack resources.
“People always feel soca is for the young but she (Stewart) wants to change that and inspire the middle-age and older women to know that they always have a space still.”
 
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