Three years ago, the winning queen of the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, Denise ‘Saucy Wow’ Belfon, made her home in the United States. She boarded a plane, ready to work hard, to improve herself in the music industry. She did not foresee a pandemic.
In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Ebuzztt, Denise admitted the tumultuous experience she’s had over the past three years, but in the same breath says she’s grateful for it all. “Being here taught me to put my life in order” she told us, again highlighting, among other things, the shortcomings of the Copyright Organization of Trinidad and Tobago.
WHO IS DENISE SAUCY WOW BELFON
Denise started a career in the soca music industry 26 years ago. Her first solo recording was the soca single “Ka Ka Lay Lay”, this after being discovered by band conductor Roy Cape in 1990. She has recorded countless hits, among them, “Hard Wuk”, ” De Jammette “,” Saucy Baby “and” Indian Man “. She even performed alongside fellow Caribbean artists Destra Garcia and Alison Hinds on the track “Obsessive Winers,” a song and stage performance beloved the world over. song and stage performance loved the world over.
Known for her incredible, and some would say, her truly unmatched wine skills and clearly shameless stage performances, Saucy’s name has been firmly imprinted among the greats of Caribbean culture. Three years ago, she turned to the United States, ready to pursue more, even embarking on a 500-city tour across the United States, Europe, parts of Africa. and Canada, just before the pandemic. “It was so sad to see how the world was affected overnight. One minute everyone was living their life normally and the next minute we were locked up and we didn’t know what to do ”, she said.
Grateful for the support of good friends in the United States – people like King Royal, Big Skipp, Patch, DJ Princess Young Chow, DJ Spice, DJ Young Chow, Askel Redsquare and her kids, Denise admits it wasn’t. easy, but it has assumed a position of assertive strength and proudly bears witness to some major achievements of recent times. “I have to say thank you to the people who stood in my corner when things were going badly in my life”, she said at the start of the interview. Gratitude in her heart, she quickly checked and said, “I can’t forget Iwer George. He has stayed in my corner for as long as I can remember and always supported me, fighting battles that I sometimes don’t see when people try to tear me down.
His relationship with Big Skipp – a mainstream DJ who works at New York City’s urban radio station HOT97, has led to interactions with young Hip Hop artists like Capella Gray who was signed to Capitol Records, Young Devyn, Mr. Chicken and others, and for Denise, the “newness” of energy, as she calls it, is exhilarating. “It’s a good atmosphere to be around these young grown-ups right now. They do Hip Hop and me being a Soca artist, it’s a good feeling to be around novelty. I get a lot of inspiration around them and I do a lot of things with them. We don’t work together as such, but we have the common person with us, which is Big Skipp.“
The new energy described by Denise transcends simple interactions and networks. Outside of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, Saucy’s eyes have been opened on business of his value. “America is a place that can open your eyes quickly. I had to learn fast. Music royalties that I lacked internationally, I was able to collect and support myself during this period. Not hitting COTT, but the kind of money you would make here in regards to your royalties, I have no idea what COTT has done over the years,” she said.
The former model and best dancer in the village has certainly seen the light of day and is doing whatever it takes to secure the bag as she goes along. “I had money on hold around the world for 15 years. I have about 47 songs pending at the moment ”, she explained, encouraging her fellow artists to do what is necessary to secure their musical royalties.
