Ah tell dem is fete
Is fete
No I ain’t tired as yet
I tell them is fete
I bet you never wine pon a Guyanese yet
Me represent me culture, any day!
Guyanese wine you can’t beat meh no day…
With lyrics like that, it just goes to show that newcomer Shaima Muna is not to be taken lightly. The vibrant 21-year-old is now dipping her feet into the local music industry, but has been around music all her life. She comes from a musical family and has been singing for a number of years.
Shaima hails from the East Bank Essequibo village of Tuschen and is proud to represent Region Three (Essequibo
Islands–West Demerara) wherever she goes. Shaima explains that her love for music started taking shape as she entered into her teenage years and discovered that she had a gift that could possibly lead her to doing what she loves for the rest of her life. Not one to be categorised as shy, Shaima took up the mantle and started pursuing her dreams of becoming a singer.
“I grew up with my mother who is a single parent and the sole breadwinner for me and my sister Silvanny. I started loving music at the age of 13 and that is when I started to develop more interest in improving my craft. My mother was also in music and she would take me to karaoke with her and all of her band practices,” she said.
About two years ago, Shaima first entered the studio as an artiste and ever since she has been blazing a trail. However, this is the first time she is going to be performing publicly for a Guyanese audience. Her new track for the Soca Monarch competition “Nah Tired Yet” has already been creating a buzz in the country. She said that she is more of a Groovy Soca artiste, and the song has already earned her the title of “Goddess of Soca”. Like many in the local music industry, one of the major challenges for Shaima is the hassle of getting airtime for her music as well as sponsorship to produce more music.
For now, she is working her way on establishing her music and building her name. She hopes to be able to showcase her talent not only locally but around the world and build a following. The main intention is to show that Guyanese are multifaceted and not to be taken for granted. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
