– Guyanese-American R&B songwriter advances her musical career

SHE goes by the unusual name of ‘Rkhty’ and though of Guyanese parentage, the Brooklyn-born solo musician is determined to imprint her brand and music across her home state, New York, and the wider American scene, with one awe-inspiring performance after

another. Her music features mainly R&B and hip-pop genres, but she has done some remixes that gravitate towards reggae and dancehall.

Currently, she is promoting her latest release ‘Friday Night’ for which the video was launched two weeks earlier, along with a series to popularise the venture. That event was staged at the Industry City Distillery in Brooklyn, and attracted an audience of well over 150. In her latest performance, she appeared last week alongside other prominent musical talents in the ‘What If’ series at Interface, NYC.
During an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, Rkhty said she is advertising via social media, but is now finalising her promotional campaign to engage in more upcoming onstage shows, and to continue her ‘Friday Night’ series. She intends to capitalise on the few remaining summer days, especially with the ‘Friday Night’ remix, which she recently completed in a reggae style.

“I showcase my music in a series of shows because I like to create a more intimate music experience for the audience. So, I definitely have more shows coming up. I would like to have three or four more installments. I am now in the production stages and I am working to collaborate with other people to fine-tune and make it an exceptional experience for everyone,” the singer explained.

In the meantime, she stressed the need for people to listen, like and share her music so that her fan-base can grow. She finds it difficult to promote her music while working a full-time 9 to 5 job and therefore relies on the support of her family, relatives, friends, co-workers and former schoolmates who have been her biggest cheerleaders.
“A lot of people have seen me and think that I am already successful don’t need help, but the biggest support someone can give me is to share my music. People forget how hard it

is being born in New York and of Guyanese parentage, and trying to build that international relationship as well,” she observed.

Ideally, Rkhty would like to connect with larger and more influential media personnel to help post and share her music. She is expected to go on tour soon and plans also to promote her music within Guyana, a land she holds in high esteem, since as a child.
“My dad was a journalist in Guyana and my mom was a nurse. Though I was born and raised in Brooklyn, I remember spending lots of summers in Guyana at my uncle, Malcom, who had a farm and there I enjoyed feeding the livestock and just being carefree, as opposed to the hustle and bustle of life where I was living and then in New York, where I started working at a young age,” the artist related.

Esteemed performances
Growing up among Guyanese lineage, the young woman said the Guyana culture, especially the food, had always been present at her home, though beyond that she is identified as American. While her fan-base and target audience is mainly in New York, Rkhty has performed several times in Guyana, the most recent being for the 50th Independence Anniversary. She also collaborated with Hilton Hemerding on a remake of his “Oh Beautiful Guyana”. Hemerding had recorded the original song in March 1966 before Guyana gained independence status.

The young musician has also appeared at several Guyana-related events staged in New York.

During her musical career, she had enjoyed exposure at the famous Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY; at the Art of Cool Fest in Durham, North Carolina; and South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. During these events, Rkhty enjoyed performing in front of massive crowds and gained contacts which she plans to build on to advance her musical career.
“I feel like this year I am a lot clearer as to my goals, how I want to” achieve them and how I want to tackle building my brand,” she indicated.

Looking ahead, she said: “In the next five to 10 years, I see myself being able to monetise my career to an extent that I don’t have to work 9-5, and will be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. I see myself being able to travel and provide services for products, bands, movies in a manner that no artist has been able to do.”
Despite her hectic work schedule and demands of personal life, Rkhty is very creative at song writing too.

“Life experiences play a main role in inspiring my music, not necessarily my life experiences but my friends’, stories that people tell me; stories that people want me to narrate, experiences that they want to be heard, that want the world to know but on an anonymous level,” she outlined.
“I like to write from a more creative and abstract point of view so that the listener really has to focus on words and imagery to build out whatever it is that I am singing about,” she continued.

Rkhty started singing at age three in church and got a lot of informal practice during her holidays in Guyana when she attended several churches in the company of relatives. She received formal musical training in Brooklyn.