WHILE some people develop one talent or skill, and commit themselves to that one area of contribution, there are others who are multi-faceted and refuse to confine themselves, but rather, spread their wings and contribute to various areas.

Twenty-nine-year-old Abigail James Nelson is a singer, song writer, dancer, and television and radio personality, who uses her platforms to showcase local talents and promote the history of Guyanese music.

She told ‘The Buzz’ that her passion has always been dance, but with both her parents being singers, she ended up falling in love with music.
Sharing more of her story, Nelson said that her mom would always tell her about something that happened when she was two years old. And that, she believes, is what sparked her passion for dance.

“My father took me out about 12 one night because I was crying and couldn’t sleep, and there was a shop about two doors down from where we were living, and as soon as I heard the music, I started one dancing,” she said. I went back home with $800 dollars, and those days, $800 was big money. And so they (her parents) tied to make me continue down that path,” Abigail recalled.

However, despite this deep-rooted passion for dance, Nelson has always been a family person who was big on carrying on legacies. Her father was a Calypsonian ‘The Mighty Intruder’, and her mother was also a Calypsonian.

“I can dance forever, but my father, being the performer that he was, and knowing how passionate he was about music, I want to continue that and make him proud. I would always listen to him when he is writing songs and practising for competitions, so I wanted to be a part of that, and I did venture into it, starting with the School’s Calypso Competition,” she said.

Today, she holds the fourth place title for the 2019 Senior Calypso Monarch. Venturing into another aspect of her capabilities, she has now started her own television and radio programme, both of which she uses to promote local talent.
She believes that because people fail to try, they lose out on many opportunities. She’s not one of those people, she said. She refuses to turn away from any opportunity that comes her way.

“I aspire to be whatever God wants me to be. Whatever direction he guides me in, that’s where I’ll go. A year ago, if you’d told me I’ll have my own TV and radio show, I would have said, ‘Oh! Okay!’ But God has been making a way, and I’m going in that direction,” Abigail said.

She now has three programmes: One on 96.1FM every Monday called ‘The Guyanese Buzzz’, with DJ Reality. She also did a pilot for a TV show with NCN called, ‘Behind the Music’, and the series for that starts soon. And also in the making is a radio show for ‘Behind the Music’ on 100.1FM.

Nelson said she had an unpleasant experience with a fellow artiste and a promoter, which made her realise the wealth of knowledge she has about the history of Guyanese music.
“I want every artiste that has gone through something to be able to have a voice and finally speak up. And I also wanted to create a show that goes all year round; a show that showcases artistes and their new work or life stories. I expect the programmes to edify the public about their favourite artistes, and even some they didn’t even know exist,” she explained.