DEZii and Griffith top MusicTT showcase

GARY CARDINEZ

DANIEL GRIFFITH and DEZii were the two singers chosen to move on to the next phase of the MusicTT Artiste Portfolio Development Programme (APDP) after the talent showcase held at Kaiso Blues Cafe last Saturday.

The duo was chosen from among ten artistes who took part in the nine-month long experiment which saw them learning specific capacity development in music business, entertainment law, brand and marketing development and how to monetise music to compliment their raw talent.

Saturday’s showcase revealed a cadre of talent in which any one of the singers could have won. In the end the ones with more than just a good voice came through. Their presentation and how they approached the event was spot on.

Griffith has talent to take him very far as some say he has the voice of an angel and as a guitarist he is very good. In DEZii’ case her song-writing skills could make her rich.

Kaiso Blues Cafe on Wrightson Road in Port of Spain, was bursting at the seams with a very appreciative audience which included Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopie-Scoon. The performances by all ten singers were just superb, with songs in gospel, R&B, rapso/dancehall and soca genres. But it was the soca songs which sent the audience in a frenzy.

The other singers in the showcase were Candice Caton, Keone, Renuka, Chinaka, Shanon Francois, Voice Queen, Donald Job and Xavier Edwardz. The show was hosted by Gerille Forbes with Vision the band providing backing music.

MusicTT is a subsidiary of TT Creative Industries Company Ltd which fall under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. It seeks to stimulate and facilitate the business development and export activities of the music industry in TT to generate national wealth