Trini singer Ah-Drianna finds musical refuge in Jamaica

For lo-fi singer Ah-Drianna, music is as part of her being as her organs. However, she didn't see how she could make her style of music in her home country, Trinidad and Tobago. All that changed in 2018 when she came to Jamaica for university.

"Being an artiste was a fantasy that I didn't think I could reach until I landed in Jamaica," Ah-Drianna told The Gleaner. "Jamaica has variations, but in Trinidad, it's dominantly soca. If it's not soca, it's not saying anything. There are so many things out there, and I just didn't want to sing soca. I put my foot down on that, because I feel like me singing soca would be going against myself."

The 25-year-old traced her affinity for music to her childhood, where she would sing along to Disney soundtracks. She fostered her talent by performing at school events and talent contests, and later forming part of the Presentation College Mixed Choir while attending St Joseph's Convent. The esteemed choir has served as a talent-honing base for artistes like Kees Dieffenthaller and Machel Montano.

Despite her heavy involvement in music, Ah-Drianna, whose given name is Adrianna Grenade, decided to pause the pursuit until she had more resources to make her style of music. In the interim, she received and accepted an opportunity to study geology at The University of the West Indies, Mona.

"As soon as I entered Jamaica, it was a straight music pree," she said. "I joined the Freshers' choir, the actual choir; I was in the University Chorale; I even auditioned for a musical. In my head, I'm still thinking, if I can't do anything that I love, let me at least sing."

But it is through her campus music ventures that she connected with various figures in the industry. She initially wanted to be a background singer based on vocal insecurities, but was propelled out of her comfort zone when the lead act went overseas. Left with an instrumental sent by a friend, she recorded Bullseye with the help of singer-producer dBURNZ. The intended demo ended up being her début single in 2019. The track is the opener to a growing catalogue of songs centring on love, intoxicating mush and relationships, like Infatuated, Adrijuana and Power Move (with King Shaladon). There are exceptions like her last release, Anxiety.

"I really allow the beat to put whatever emotion into me and however that makes me feel," she said. "I talk more about my love life in my upcoming music. The songs I used to release were more focused on where my head was when I think of the person, but my upcoming music — except the collabs — is more me talking to the guy, questioning the vibes and actions and telling him off in a lyrical manner."

Though she believes her music isn't lucrative in the Caribbean, she has attained more than 100,000 accumulated streams across major platforms.

"My music is for people who feel, people who experience intense emotions and aren't afraid to tap into that side of them," she said. "The messages I get from people all over the world — be it LA, Australia, France, wherever — just saying they just played my song five times in a row, or they heard my music and had to find me, follow me and message me, is an incomparable feeling … . When you're from a small island, you don't really think you can make a splash in that big pond, so that's a huge deal."

Having switched her major to entertainment and cultural enterprise management, the final-year student sees herself staying in Jamaica, where she'll continue to develop her career with the help of managers Simier Lansend and Kadeem Petgrave.

"Jamaica also has more opportunities for me work-wise than Trinidad, so I'm going to get a job, get money and put it back in my music, and take things to the next level."

sade.gardner@gleanerjm.com