Reggae artist Yasha Mani grows from strength to strength

REGGAE singer Carla “Yasha Mani” Hobson’s star continues to rise.

Fresh from her tour of South Africa from February to April, she’s looking forward to shows in the UK and Uganda later this year.

This was Hobson’s second trip to South Africa, with the first happening in 2022. She received a invitation to perform at the benefit event Pressure Busspipe in Concert in April.

Delyno “Pressure Busspipe” Brown is an international reggae artiste from the US Virgin Islands. Hobson said she was ecstatic to be given the opportunity.

“Ironically it’s so hard to get on a massive stage here as a rising artiste. I reached out to some promoters in TT, but they said your social media numbers not high enough. But at the end of the day I have real organic followers, real followers. I continued to persevere, do things to raise my following.

“Ironically enough in Africa, they heard my music and that is it, they’re into the message more than the big numbers, and that is what I give thanks to the Almighty for, that they can see beyond the numbers and give somebody with a positive message a chance.”

Hobson said one of the highlights was meeting and speaking to Brown.

“He told me he was listening to me outside. He said he was going to sing a set of lover tunes, but when he realise is rebel tunes I come with, he told the DJ don’t play that now. I say you biting off my set, don’t do that.

“I went to meet him in the airport, that is when I realised I’ve been working towards being an artiste and I am, where I could sing at an international show.”

Between returning to Trinidad in 2022 and going back this year, Hobson had been working on the Africa Tune Sport and Music Ambassadorship Exchange Programme 2022/23, a collaborative initiative between Nigeria, Cape Town and TT, which focused on moulding and educating youth ambassadors for the purpose of inspiring and empowering other youth peers while experiencing different cultures.

She said the project had to be put on hold as the record company did not fulfil its part of the undertaking.

“The point we’re at we did everything possible to raise funds, but we were unable to raise the full amount for our TT youth to go there. Even through the grant process, they were saying the youths weren’t known enough for them to invest that much in them, but I will not give up on the youths and I will continue.

“When I went back to South Africa, the same conversation continued, with South Africa now doing their leg of the youth training. It’s not dead and gone, but it’s on hold.”

Hobson said she didn’t realise how difficult to get to the African continent, as she had been invited to travel there in 2022.

“When I realised the youth programme needed to be held until we raised enough funds, I started to focus on my delivery of music, improving the quality of music and inspiring other artistes around me. I was doing performances and then the invitation came again from South Africa inviting me to come on tour again, which I gladly took.”

Hobson performed at five shows during her time in South Africa. Following Pressure Busspipe in Concert, she took the stage at the One Love Earthday Bash, a community-based, family-oriented festival.

“We had a huge live band. I performed with Sons of Selassie. I even had the TT flag waving, a little youth didn’t want to put down the flag, and it brought pride to see this flag waving on another continent.”

Her next performance was at the acoustic concert Selective Live, which she described as a very quaint but international spot that people in the music industry go to scout for new talent.

“I took the opportunity not just to do a huge show but tap into a niche that might even benefit me. That was a very quaint rustic beautiful set. The sound system was beautiful. There were people from Pakistan, Europe, USA, Jamaica and Germany. One of the ladies in the crowd said 'you are like a female Bob Marley.' She made my night! So the reception there was great!

“There was even a guitarist who couldn’t resist. When I was done, he said he was so compelled to join me, and he knew some artistes don’t like it but when he felt my energy he knew I wouldn’t mind. And we synergised with his acoustic guitar, never even rehearsed, and it was well received. That made me know what being an artiste is, that was the overwhelming feeling, connecting with strangers you’ve never met on this one level.”

Hobson was also able to perform at the Downtime Dancehall concert, although she said she’s not a dancehall artiste.

“I am not a dancehall artiste, but I embraced the opportunity to perform my positive message on a dancehall rhythm. I was very well received there. It was a rough area, but at the end of the day you have to pay for protection, and the promoter made sure everything went well.”

She hosted a personal event called the Empress Empowerment Show, which included a radio segment followed by a show.

“On the radio segment we were talking about the role of females in society, the role of an Empress or female to their children, community, husband. We spoke about that with a very popular DJ, we all had different perspectives, me being from Trinidad and they being from South Africa, and other female artistes.

“That’s something I’m going to keep doing, an established brand, the Empress Order brand just to keep that feminine energy high, that support. I have had artistes tell me I’ve brought miracles to Cape Town, she never thought she would sing in Pressure Buss Pipe but just my connect and my energy. So this thing is about just and doors open.”

When Hobson returned to Trinidad in April, she was approached by Jamaican management company Yard1 Promote.

“They have extended open arms to take me back to Uganda in September. I’ll be touring with Turbulence, Tydal, Kamau, they are very top reggae artistes in Jamaica and elsewhere. For a Trinidadian to be taken into a sheepfold of Jamaicans and be welcomed, it was an honour and it made me know I’m not doing too bad. I look forward to that.

“I’ve always managed myself but I’m giving myself an opportunity. You are treated differently when you have management, so I want to experience that as well, what it is to be taken care of, as opposed to taking care of myself.”

Hobson’s UK bookings came courtesy of what many could term an unfortunate mishap that turned into good.

“I got stranded in Amsterdam on my way back home, because I left out of Cape Town instead of Nigeria, I used my tickets out of sequence. I had to spend my (own) money to buy a ticket to come home. I had reached out to a Jamaican artiste living in Amsterdam while in Africa, and when I called her, she said you are not stranded.

“I prayed, I knew it was a risk, because it’s a strange land, but I know the love of reggae and God won’t, you know. She said her husband works in the airport, which was even more mystical, and when I went to her home, she has a radio station, everything aligned. I did a radio show that night with Esta Selekta Zioness Hype, she’s one of the top female reggae artistes in Amsterdam and that gave way to a booking in the UK.”

She said it took her three days to recover from travelling to South Africa, and five days after returning from touring.

“I had a constant headache and wanted to sleep all the time, because when you’re on tour days are nights, nights are days, the adjustment takes a lot, but it’s all worth it, ups, downs and around, it’s all worth it.”

Hobson said she’s able to do all she does with the help of her mother, who takes care of her two children when she’s out of the country.

“She has dedicated her life to my kids, and not many artistes have that. I believe part of the success goes towards my support. If somebody says, you want to do a show, I can go, I don’t have to think, I can do it.”

Hobson said while she has a lot of opportunities, she also treats her career as a business.

“I believe a lot of artistes don't see being a reggae artiste or a creator as a business, and it is. Look how FB has started with stars, and people can send money to you via PayPal, these are things that are there, crowdfunding, but being an artiste, if you are an independent artiste without management, you have to do a lot of research, and even if you have management, your management has to keep ahead of the game or else you get left behind.

“A lot of people looking for this big record label deal but they don’t know you can live an artiste’s life without the record label deal, just make sure everything making sense financially and you get the life you want. It’s not easy, because at the end of the day, I’m still not where I would love to be, Sizzla and them charging US$15,000 to US$20,000 but that comes with experience, connections and a big hit.”