TWENTY-TWO years ago, a hot young deejay named Buju Banton topped dancehall charts with the rocking Batty Rider. Produced by Penthouse Records, it was one of his breakout songs.
Singjay Danielle ‘Tiana’ Shand is hoping for similar luck with her remake of the 1992 track, which was released a week ago.
“So far, the response has been really good and I really hope it will reach places,” she said.
Her version of Batty Rider was co-produced by Chris Rock and Australian Fireside. The song’s raunchy lyrics suit Tiana’s new outrageous look.
A few weeks ago, she traded her conservative image for one she describes as “bold, blond and bald”.
“It fierce and I like it. I rid myself of the innocent look and decided to get an image that will blend well with the music that I am doing,” she told the Jamaica Observer. “Some of my fans usually say that they were surprised by my ‘innocent’ look because of the songs that I do… this image is more fitting.”
The 25-year-old’s other new releases are Talk it Out and Wine Pon You which were done with DI and Version, respectively.
On May 14, Tiana starts three months of gigs in Europe. For the first month, she will perform alongside deejay Alkaline, then goes solo for the remaining shows.
While satisfied with the current state of her career, she says it is still challenging for women to make it in a male-dominated industry.
“Some lack a proper management team or took time out to focus on family. It’s a struggle out there,” she said. “But the new generation of females are working twice as hard, we are releasing lots of worthy singles and music videos.”
From St Mary, Tiana surfaced in 2009 with the single I Won’t, produced by her manager, Carlington Wilmot. That song addressed domestic violence and was inspired by the infamous incident involving pop stars Chris Brown and Rihanna.
Her breakthrough single came the following year with No Man Can Talk Bad Bout Mi produced by the Subkonshus label.
