Terrifaaa hopes to replicate Valiant’s success
Hoping to replicate the commercial success of her former schoolmate and fellow Stony Hill, St Andrew native Valiant, Terrifaaa is being hailed as the community’s newest musical darling.
Born Terrifa Brown, Terrifaaa, 24, described herself as a lover of both dancehall and reggae. She has already received endorsement from Valiant as well as reggae heavyweight Sizzla, who added a verse to her single How Mi Love Yuh So after meeting him through a friend of her mother.
At last year’s staging of popular event InstaHype in the Stony Hill area, a nervous Terrifaaa, who was preparing to perform for her largest audience, was embraced by Valiant backstage.
“When I went backstage somebody showed me Valiant, and he was to go up next, but then somebody, who maybe was the stage manager, was like, ‘No, we a work with time, so Valiant should go on.’ But Valiant said, ‘No man, mek she gwaan.’ and he handed me the mic,” she recounted. “Another person was all excited while they showed me Valiant, but a pity dem no know say we go Oberlin together.”
She then delivered her debut track Be Careful, and freestyled a second song, much to the audience’s approval. Terrifaaa, who said she writes all her songs, released Be Careful in 2020.
“Be Careful came about from me just being observant and seeing how people operate, and just keeping your eyes open to see what is always happening round you. It was very quick and easy and that was my first time writing a song, and I wanted to write about something that was relatable to people,” she explained.
Terrifaaa said that she first discovered her talent when she entered the pageant for Miss Golden Spring Primary School.
“My song of choice was Etana’s Roots which I won best talent for. I was reserved, and still am,” she said. “Eventually, I began singing at weddings, funerals and local events to support my community.
I am influenced by life experiences, family, and friends. I put pen to paper, and that’s when my first single, Be Careful, came to light, which further solidified my passion for fully emerging myself into the creative process of making authentic music. So far, the song has done well on YouTube and amassed both local and international airplay. Ultimately, the goal is to create relatable, melodic music that reaches audiences from different walks of life,” she said.
She hopes to release her next single, Far Out, later this month.