Jamaica’s upcoming dancehall and singing sensation, Tifa’s interest in music developed from a very young age, listening to musical legends such as Earth Wind and Fire, Patti Labelle and Aretha Franklin.
Growing up with her stepfather, Sampalue, the reggae producer who assisted in the building of several music careers including Lady Saw, gave her a deep-rooted love for dancehall music.
While attending Wolmer’s Preparatory, Tifa was actively involved in the school choir, drama club and dance troupe. As recognition for her choreographing talents grew, so did her passion for singing and song writing.
In early 2005, she decided to put her music first, recording on her stepfather’s record label Diamond Rush Records. She also collaborated with a number of his artistes as well as others and sang backup for a short while.
Tifa has since teamed with most producers in the Jamaica music fraternity. She has been working hard in the studio to produce highly talked about singles such as Kitty Police for TJ Records on the ‘Show Off’ rhythm.
More recently, she has had great success with her single Crawny Gal on the ‘Dem Gal Sitt’n’ rhythm produced by Ward 21. The compilation CD was released to rave reviews in Japan where it was released worldwide and Bottom of the Barrel, whichwas her first chart-topping single in 2008 on the dancehall charts.
Tifa also released the joint-effort mix CD entitled TNT –Three The Hard Way with Natalie Storm and Timber-Lee Heaven, produced by New York famed DJ Max Glazer and The Federation Sound which was dubbed the ‘maddest’ mix CD ever.
Also in 2008 she did an extensive tour of Europe with her labelmates and mentors Ward 21, which was very successful, during which she became the first female reggae/dancehall artiste to perform in the Czech Republic.
The year also saw her acquiring an endorsement from www.majesticwigs.com. In 2009, things were even better as it became Tifa’s breakthrough year which brought about her most critically acclaimed piece of work, Spell it Out, a hard-hitting dancehall single, also produced by Ward 21. This song also became a chart-topping single, and street anthem.
A slew of other tracks were released including Tick It Like a Clock on Stephen McGregor’s ‘Boasty’ rhythm, New Man on the ‘Mash Up’ rhythm, produced by Christopher Birch, Sick produced by Equiknoxx Music, Boasty Wid It on the ‘Style & Swagger’ rhythm produced by Ballaz Production and Why, which is a dancehall ballad revealing Tifa’s versatility not only as a DJ but also as a singer. This song was produced by Don Corleone on the ‘Feminine’ rhythm.
The year 2010 started off with a bang for the artiste, as Coke Zero’s Sean Kingston’s massive show, held in January, displayed her holding her own among upcoming and established greats of dancehall and reggae.
Tifa also walked away with five awards for her 2009 efforts. The E.M.E.’s (Excellence in Music & Entertainment Awards) awarded her with the Most Improved Artiste.
Stone Love awarded her Best New Artiste and The Youth View Awards awarded her Female DJ of the Year, Best Female Artiste and Young, Hot and Hype Female of the Year.
Music wise, Tifa released a cover of Junior Tucker’s If I Could Fly to rave reviews as well as eight other dancehall and one-drop tracks.
She was also featured on Ludacris’ How Low remix which also featured Ward 21 and rapper Teff.
Currently, Tifa has been busy spreading her infectious rhymes and captivating performances in the Caribbean, North America, and worldwide, and with a strong and experienced management team behind her, headed by Otis Davis, Ward 21 and Headline Entertainment, Tifa is set to make her way to the top.