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lafiyahenry · 5 years ago

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Doing the Damn Thing!

I think we can all agree that the term “creative” is a tad bit overused at this point. Everywhere you turn there is a “creative” on the corner but I am not saying that to dispute who is or isn’t a creative. I am explaining why I still subscribe to the label. I still label myself as a creative because there isn’t another name to call what it is that I do, which is very simple: create.

According to the degree that I’m studying, I’m an actress. According to the people that have known me forever, I’m a musician. A pannist. If you ask some people, I’m a dancer and then I’m a writer to some. I’m saying all of this to say that all are correct. I have done/ do all of these things. When I introduce myself, I can’t fit all these things into one sentence so I’d rather just say “creative”. I was recently listening to one of my two favorite podcasts at the moment which is “Recess: Creative Convos” and this exact thing was discussed. Many artists don’t only just do one thing and honestly I hate when people ask me to label myself or my art. As Lou, one of the founding members of Freetown Collective said, most times people want to to label what it is that you do so they could sell it. I don’t want to label what I do. I don’t think it needs a label. I just want to do what feels right to me. I want to push the boarders of my creativity and see how best I can translate the story that I want to tell, whether it be in videos, through music, or in a play.

But what a time to be a Creative in Trinidad and Tobago! Is it not? Some amazing things are happening right here on this little island. I have never been more hopeful for our future creative industry. It is because I am hopeful, I feel so inspired to write this as well. If you are an artist in Trinidad and Tobago you know how tough this industry is. You know that a lot of times people don’t see what we do as a respected job and there is this whole narrative about “the struggling artist” because that has been the reality for a very long time but I can see things changing. I see a shift happening, especially coming from my generation. We are tired of the way that things are, we are no longer begging for seats at a table, we’re creating our own. A country like Trinidad and Tobago has soooo much talent that the general public have not taken notice of. For a long time your talent would only be recognized if you were a soca artiste or if your talent was marketable for the Carnival season. Now we have artists like, Erphaan Alves who have been pushing for soca to be released and played year-round, not just three months out of the year. We have artists like Freetown Collective and Jimmy October that don’t have the traditional “soca/ calypso” sound but we love their music and enjoy the hell out of it. Even though it’s so easy to focus on the negatives, there are things starting to go in the right direction. This is not me saying by any degree that our industry is “fixed” or “solved” by a long run, because it isn’t. I’m just grateful to see people who are out here doing the damn things when it comes to our culture and our artform.

For the last section of this post, I would like to shout out all the Caribbean Creatives who have been doing the damn thing and inspiring me to push on with my art!

Firstly, Kamron and D’Andre, the hosts of “Recess:Creative Convos”. I find it very ironic that I followed both of them on Instagram even before this podcast aired because the work that they did inspired me and then they came together to create this amazing piece of art that Trinidad desperately needed. I applaud ya’ll! I thank God for ya’ll! Ya’ll are doing the damn thing and I hope that you continue to #TalkDeTings! I intend to go more in-depth about the podcasts that I’ve been listening to so look out for me mentioning them again.

Alexia James is the host of “Diary of a 20 Somethin’” which is the other favorite podcast that I aforementioned earlier. I am so glad that things like this exist, not only to share information to clueless young adults but to also be reassured that we’re not alone. We are not the only ones going through this Caribbean experience or struggling to find our way in business et cetera. I love that we as Caribbean youths now have these outlets. I will also speak more about this podcast later!

My first experience with Freetown Collective was in a University of the West Indies lecture hall, for one of the courses called Caribbean Lab. I was doing my Certificate in Theatre in 2016, and seeing them and hearing them speak was like a splash of cold water on my face, waking me up to all the possibilities that a Caribbean artist could be. They were the example I didn’t know I needed. I needed to see people like them doing the damn thing. Creating and not conforming to anything that people thought they should be. I have loved them forever. Thank you for having them on your show Kam & D!

Other young Caribbean Creatives that have been inspiring me to create, in no particular order whatsoever:

Coutain, Jimmy October, Omar Jarra, Kriston Koon Koon, Kirk Garner, Luigi Creese, Azariel Pedro, Judah Chrichlow and many others that I may have just forgotten as I am writing this. I love you guys, please keep doing what you are doing. You have no idea the amount of people you’re inspiring by just doing what you do.

Love,

Lafiya.

#creative #caribbean #jimmy october #podcasts #trinidad #tobago #art #freetown collective

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