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SPECIAL FOLDOUT COVER
BACK ISSUE 31
February / March 2009
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COVER STORY
Timeka Marshall
Made in Guyana
Born on Valentine’s Day in the mining town of Linden, Timeka Kene Marshall, became a symbol of beauty and talent when at the tender age of 16 years, she won the first GT&T Cellink Plus Jingle competition.
Since 2005 this reggae, dub and R&B singer has released four songs, with her debut video “Separate” receiving rave reviews after its launch in 2006.
Timeka can be seen regularly on local catwalks at various fashion events and in print and TV ads. She also is a regular guest artiste at numerous shows around the country.
Recently, she has been very busy travelling between Guyana, Jamaica and Barbados to perform at various engagements.
GEM got candid with this soon to be 20 year old to find out what’s going on in her young life and what fans should expect from her in the near future.
You are popping up on fashion runways, doing jingles and appearing in TV and print ads are there anything left for you to do?
I am a big fan of TV, so one day I would like to be behind the camera and start off by directing music videos and then later movies.
Who is managing your career at the moment?
My manager is Kerwin Bollers, but I am also managed by Pyramid Music under Santia Bradshaw in Barbados and Headline Entertainment under Jerome Hamilton in Jamaica who is also my booking agent.
No albums yet?
We are working on producing popular singles throughout the Caribbean and create an international buzz then the albums will come.
What’s your opinion on people who say you might be a one-hit wonder?
I don’t necessarily look at anyone as “player haters”, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I try my best and just focus on what I need to do. It hasn’t just been one song, I have a number of songs out there. I have also recorded many other songs, but we have not put all out there yet. It is not just about releasing for releasing sake, it is about improving the skill whether it is writing or being in the booth. We are basically waiting to release them at the right time too.
You have just won two awards at the inaugural Music Awards of Guyana, how gratifying are those wins?
I was very excited, happy, thrilled and touched that I was nominated. And then to win two (R & B Artist of the Year and Best New Artist) was the icing on the cake for me. However, the one that I wanted to win I didn’t which was song writer of the year. But the person that won Adrian, I was ok with that. I totally respect him as an artiste and I am a big fan of his.
What was the reason for shooting your "Separate" music video in Jamaica?
At the time when we first came up with the idea, we wanted to do it in Guyana, but we weren’t familiar with anyone that was capable of producing a high quality video that would be fitting for airplay not only in Guyana but for stations outside of the country. We were in Linden for town week and we met with an old friend of Kerwin’s, Dexter Pembrooke CEO of MuzikMedia.com, and while discussing the idea with him about the video, he suggested getting a company outside of Guyana, possibly in Jamaica. But when we considered the cost of bringing in a director, staff and equipment, we realized that it was more cost effective to do it in Jamaica.
Outside of that we were able to build relationships with the persons on set which included HypeTv’s CEO and some other popular video directors. We also got a few interviews and soaked-up some press. So, all in all we got a lot more than we could have asked for and built many relationships that is still strong to date . That won’t have happened if we had done the video in Guyana. The video along with behind the scenes feature that we had included were the things that made my booking team out of Jamaica, Headline Entertainment notice me. So all in all I don’t regret it bit!
How important is family support for your career?
Unfortunately my family came onboard later that I had hoped. From a young age my mom always tried to have us in church every Sunday and always had family prayers, so I guess for her it was as if I was going down a wrong path. With this business come a lot of rumours, so my other family members had the same opinion also. They were very skeptical about it and I had to do everything without their support. However, with growing popularity and all the positives that started to come out from it, they are one hundred percent behind me and it’s all good now.
Married, committed or single?
(Laughs) Single, and planning to be for awhile. click here to subscribe
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