Reggae soul singer Lady Taz is making waves in the local music industry with a pair of singles that is forcing FM radio to sit up and pay attention to her lyrical stylings.
One just has to listen to the reggae-soul-pop vibe of ‘New Man’ to be captivated by this super-talented songstress. The song kicks off with a percussive tambourine sound and a lament about her old relationship, and then segues into a full blown pop singalong chorus where she boasts about her ‘new man’. Lady Taz pushes the genre’s soulful horizons to the max, and that is why reggae fans have fallen in love with her sound.
“That song, New Man, is a celebration of my liberation from a relationship that lasted three years and it felt like I wasted three years, the thing is that you don’t know it is a waste while it is going on,” joked the singer born Tazurdee Fortunato.
Another standout song is the witty ‘Every Day’ with its head-knocking production and hip hop soul sentiments, is doing well on ZIP and HITZ.
Lady Taz is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and she has been singing for over 10 years. During her early years she started singing in her churches choir. Throughout her singing career she has diversified her art from that of just gospel to soulful expressions of R&B and Reggae.
When asked how she came to love Jamaican music Tazurdee says;
“As a child, it was an outlet for me to express my emotions and creativity. Once I began singing it was like a force had captured me and gave me a release from my attachments. The best part of performing is giving others the opportunity to feel my joy and pain through my voice. When my friends heard that I was doing reggae music, they were like “ok” because they know I am different, they expect different things from me.”
Even though she loves old school reggae such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, she is a big lover of the raw sentiments and lyricism of dancehall.
“I love the lyricists, I study Lady Saw, she is just so raw and rude, I find Vybz Kartel lyrically entertaining, I get in trouble for admiring him but when you see someone with so much talent, you cannot knock the talent. I also love Tarrus Riley and I think Capleton’s energy is just ridiculous,” she said
She first got turned on to Jamaican music through a former lover.
“I dated a Jamaican man, and you can’t date one and don’t get into the culture,” she said.
The culture got into her in a big way. She came to Jamaica four years ago where she made several key links with established producers in reggae and dancehall. She recorded several singles and with the help of her production team and manager Dean Dryden, she is ready to wow the world with her music. Lady Taz is an audacious masterpiece of energy and sound, as evidenced by her mixtape, Dem Love Me, Dem Love Me Not put out by her ultra-talented production team, Pacal “DjPain1” Bayley, and Fred “Traxx” Sanders – a duo called TheBadGuyz.
The mixtape spawned “Every Day”, the first single off of the compilation, and a video promoting that single is now in rotation on local cable and video channels. The quick-witted lyrics of “Every Day” has made it an instant hit among reggae fans on social media. Another standout song to look out for is dub-heavy ‘Mr. Liar’ and her faux Jamaican accent, which is generating waves on Twitter and Facebook.
Recently, she came to Jamaica to shoot a video for the ‘New Man’ single. She also did interviews on HYPE TV, RJR with broadcaster Daniel Thompson. She also tweaked a few tracks on her upcoming album with producer Lloyd ‘John John’ James Jr.
“We already have 14 tracks completed, out of those 14, if I had to choose a favourite, I would say New Man because it is a celebration of my new relationship,” she said.
