-says local entertainers must ‘hold one head’, strive for betterment

By Faith Greene
RENOWNED local songstress, Melissa Roberts, popularly known as ‘Vanilla’, has endured her fair share of battles, and while she often gets frustrated, her love for music has kept her going.

She believes that the problems plaguing the local music industry are the direct result of the lack of cohesion among artistes and the public’s preference for international music.

However, the nine-time Road March Queen says this could all change if musicians work together.

During a recent interview with the Buzz, she reflected on her career, touched on some of the challenges she has endured and offered advice to those who want to get into the industry.

Vanilla never intended to be in the limelight. In fact, she was very comfortable in the background.

“Before I became an artiste I was involved in music but I was mostly involved in the background production aspect in terms of the music videos (and) artiste grooming. I still do all of that, but then I decided to test out being an artiste, and this was encouraged mostly by Big Red,” she recalled.

Years later, she can proudly boast of the many accolades she has received. She has also attracted a sizeable following abroad, thanks to catchy hits such as “I am 592”.

She told the Buzz that these accomplishments did not come without challenges.

“Sometimes the challenges of not being able to earn the way you should from your craft, and I’m speaking in the context of music, it can be frustrating. It can be frustrating when you still have to reach out to radio stations to have your music played when it should be played.”

Vanilla pointed out that when new songs are released by international artistes, they consume local airwaves almost instantly.

With regards to fixing some of the existing challenges, she said that in order to be heard, teamwork is necessary.

“I will say we have to take some responsibility for the fact that we’re not able to work together to achieve the common goal that we all need,” she said adding that if artistes were to work together, under one body, or work towards a common goal, things would be different.

“People always say that we have this welcoming hospitality and a regular Guyanese person would give somebody their bed to sleep on and to me it’s the same thing with music. They would prefer to play the other person’s music than to play the Guyanese song. It’s like it’s something that was traditionally embedded in us which we need to pay attention to. We have to make a conscious effort to change that.”

Vanilla noted that she has seen firsthand the effects of not working together.

“I think the biggest lesson that I would have learnt over the years is not being able to work together. We need to work together, and …even though I get frustrated and I say ‘I’m not doing this thing anymore’, I still put that aside and I realise the bigger picture. The bigger aspect of it or the bigger picture is working together to achieve a common goal. It’s not that different from the President wanting to work towards that One Guyana goal,” Vanilla said.

ROAD QUEEN
This year, Vanilla was named ‘Road March Queen’ for the ninth time. This was also her third consecutive year winning the title which is awarded to the male and female artistes whose song is played the most during the road parade on Mashramani Day.

She explained that because there has never been a break in Mashramani before, this year’s celebration was different. There was a sort of making up for missing last year.

“I think because it was missing for two years, this is the year I enjoyed it the most. If you were to check me from my first road march song, ‘Queen of the Band,’ and if you were to listen to my song then and listen to the artiste I’ve developed into, it was definitely different. Different in terms of vocal delivery. Different in terms of the level at which our music is being produced in Guyana…So, I would say it’s definitely different and improved.”

WEARING OTHER HATS
Vanilla is not only a singer. She is a songwriter and has also written three feature films and five short films. In 2012, she was the production manager for the film, ‘A Bitter Lime.’

“I’m always working on scripts or films. The last set that I worked on was a HBO series called, ‘Full Circle’, through Reel Guyana. I’m also a part of the Timehri Film Festival. I’m just behind the scenes.”

She is currently working on new music and other productions.

Vanilla used the opportunity to encourage youths to try to understand the music industry, before venturing into it, since there are many times when the focus is on the