Leeward Heights Entertainment
Three friends were blessed with the gift of song writing and the voices to go with it. Their love for music completed the puzzle and they started experimenting with their gift/talent in a make-shift studio setup in the bedroom of Pyro in 2008 when they decided to start a label called “Leeward Heights Entertainment”. Their passion was fueled by the good feedback/reviews from their friends who happened to be their biggest critics.
In 2009 they felt that their efforts were being recognized when a local radio station started playing their music and their CDs became a favourite at parties and public events.
Leeward Heights landed their first public performance when the producer of TCI’s Top Model Competition approached them with a challenge four weeks prior to the event, to write a song just for the occasion. This was a challenge the group had been waiting for. The hit “Super Star” was written and performed in front of a packed audience at the event which included most of TCI’s elites and agents from top New York modeling agencies that stand and gave an encore at the end of the performance.
Leeward Heights have since performed at several parties by request and their determination and desire to excel carries on.
Ira Baptiste (Pyro)
Group Audio Producer and Rapper. Born December 22, 1991. Pursuing an Associates Degree in Building Design and Technology. Believes that anything is possible and is determine promote the Turks and Caicos Islands internationally through their music.
Renau Destine (Spec Tec)
Group Singer/Graphic Designer/Video Editor. Born September 11, 1989. Currently pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Architecture. He believes that music can be used to bring about a positive mind set in people.
Labian Etienne (Zoe Boi)
Group Rapper whose rhymes are based on his life experiences. Born February, 1992. He constantly tries to expand his knowledge, to improve his abilities in order to achieve his goals. His motto is “the sky is the limits”.
Latavia Ingham
Latavia Ingham was born on the Island of Grand Turk to . Being the youngest of five, Latavia was the only one blessed with the gift of song passed down from her mother who was also a local artist. She started singing from a very young age and in time her passion for song and music grew. As most artist, Latavia grew up singing in the church and has continued doing so. She is known for her beautiful renditions of contemporary as well as gospel music. Whether she is called to perform at weddings, banquets, educational programs or other functions this artist is always willing to share her gift of music to others. She hopes that through her music others will be touched and come to know Jesus Christ who is and will always be number one in her life.
L-Rel
L-Rel (Born in Nassau, Bahamas) is a R&B Singer, Producer and Musician. Growing up in the Turks and Caicos Islands, he first placed interest in music at a very young age (around 8-11 months old).
He started out singing in church groups, musical concerts and other function. In 2001, he decided to create his own part of the music industry. He made instrumentals with lyrics jotted in a notebook, he then made a demo working with Kaz of Major Sounds.
He signed up with Construkshun Records.." local artist Tre Deuce. He.."s now in a creative mind making beats for his own artist including for other artist.
Now he.."s currrently working on his upcoming Album. His Single, "I'm Sorry" is now available in MP3 format on iTunes, Amazon, LaLa, etc. and also on a disc copy at http://www.amazon.com
Be on the look out for his new work in the industry.
L-32
L-32 was born on the 18th of April 1984 at the Jackson memorial hospital in Miami, but grew up in the islands of the Turks and Caicos. His music career started at the age of 14 with his singing in the church choir and then moving on to the drums. "No one taught me how to play, I just went there and started to beat. I guess some would say that it's the power of the hold Spirit. He said laughing, I started out recording on cassette tapes with a little toy mike on a karaoke machine with free style raps and trying to get that played on the radio station, then after a while I moved up to recording my own tracks on cd using the fruity loops program, then at the age of 18 I got in the studio with local artist Kaz Hall of Major Sound and made my first real radio release called Yo Quiero which was a big local hit and still is a major hit locally today. I then went on developing my own record label Construkshun Records where it started with just Lee, another recording artist and my self. I then proceeded to releasing my first album entitled The First Signature which I released at the age of 20 independently and it sold 226 copies and I only made 300 copies. Following that I did a track with another local artist Jack Nasty and Kaz Hall called The Kick Off where we shot a video for that in the Turks and Caicos Islands. In between all this time from the release of my first single up to that point in time, I did opening acts for artist such as Beenie man, Square one, Trina, Jeffrey Osbourne, Morgan Herritage, Bascome X, Cecile, Allison Hinds just to name a few. Also Im the youngest local artist to have his own record label here in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Right now Im about to release my second album entitled UN - COMPRESSED under the CONSTRUKSHUN RECORDS Label no doubt and I recently shot my first video for my first release off of the UN - COMPRESSED album which was ALL NIGHT . the video was shot by FROZE - N - TIME productions and it was shot in miami florida.
Keno & Kaz
In 2002 the brothers took the entertainment industry BY STORM when they released their first hit single "ARE YOU READY" which to this day, has dance clubs everywhere dancing to its rake and scrape beat. Soon after, their versatility was demonstrated when the smooth R&B sound of "LETTING GO," another single proved to be successful.
With the combined experience of touring the U.S., and the U.K. and sharing the stage with International recording artists such as Earth Wind and Fire, The O jays, Third World, Tony Rebel and Baha Men, Keno and Kaz has proven they have what it takes to make it as professional entertainers.
Currently they are working on their second album, which will include a variety of musical genres and is expected to be their greatest album yet.
Julian Garland
Julian Garland, a native of the Turks and Caicos Islands is a singer and song writer and a gifted and anointed vessel of God. He grew up in the church where he displayed his talent as a drummer and discovered his passion for God and singing gospel music.
Julian is the country's most sought after Gospel singer and is often called upon to open up shows for gospel artists performing in the Turks and Caicos such as Kirk Franklin, Dr. Bobby Jones, Bo Williams and Papa San to name a few. He has been the opening act for the past two years at BET's Turks & Caicos Music Festival which featured many International artists. At last year's festival he was the opening act for Candi Staton and Bebe Winans, whom he also shared stage and performed a song with. Julian has also been an active participant in shows for the Turks and Caicos Friends of the Arts Foundation. He performed in 'Broadway Our Way' and made his acting debut in the highly successful 'A Caribbean Cinderella'. Julian has also sung at many weddings both locally and internationally.
Julian is very grateful to God for all that he has accomplished thus far in the Music industry. Yet with all that he has achieved he has not lost focus and remains true to his calling. He is not only known for his powerful voice, but also for his commitment to the ministry and the anointing that God has placed on his life. Many people have been blessed and have come to know the Lord through his ministry and he considers it an honour to be doing God's work.
Jack Nasty
Jack Nasty The Tantalizing Artist Born on the island of Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, and instead of a track-and-field which he has been known for, he is now burning up the radio waves and tantalizing concertgoers to jump on stage with him and start a mad gyrating dance to his upbeat tunes. Jack Nasty erupted onto the entertainment scene in 2003 with the release of his first single “Kick off” and promptly released a video. Two years later he debuted his second video which was the first video ever made by a Turks and Caicos Islander solo artist to air on international television. To date, Jack Nasty has released more than 15 original tracks and a number of remixes. Jack Nasty who is widely regarded as the country’s number one solo performer is currently working on collaborations with a number of international artist. He has opened up the stage for a large number of well known artist including Grammy winners and someday expect to win some of his own.
Jack is currently overseas pursuing an international music carreer.
Illegal Poet
Illegal Poet is a spoken word artist and social activist. He writes powerfully and personally about the current state of the world from the perspective of a poet living outside of the so called global village. His most recent books are: The Awakening, an exhilarating and refreshing poetic collection of a budding poet, and Illegal Thoughts?
Combining the political, the personal, the poetic and the hilarious in his signature blend of spoken word, Audley A. Astwood is gaining a strong reputation across the Caribbean, the United Kingdom (Best performance in London by an International Poet for 2006) and the USA for his bold, funny and thought-provoking performances. Whether taking a stance on child or spousal abuse, daring and insightful attacks on Santa Claus, O.J. Simpson or rhyming off his incisive spoken word rants, his unique Caribbean perspective, and unusual sense of humor have been winning him a loyal following.
Audley studied Broadcasting and Management in Ft. Lauderdale. It was in the United States where he made the transition from an author to a Spoken Word Artist in August of 2004. He published two volumes of poetry "The Awakening" and "Illegal Thoughts?" which have been studied in elementary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the Turks & Caicos. A third volume entitled "Illegal Poet"™ which is an extension of his debut CD is expected to be published in 2008 in Virginia.
Audley has performed in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver), the United States: Las Vegas (Caesar's Palace), New York (Nuyorican Poet's Café), Florida and Georgia (Apache Café) the United Kingdom (London and Brixton) and several countries in the Caribbean sparking a buzz and became known as the poet with his own signature style of poetry. He has made several local radio and TV appearances in his home country of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Audley recently made his U.S. TV debut in Baltimore, Maryland in April of 2008 on "The Poets Lounge". On the premiere episode, he performed "Hip Hop 101" and "The Band Played On" and had the honour to share the spotlight with poetic legend Nikki Giovanni. Illegal Poet has also been featured in documentaries in the Turks & Caicos and also in the United States. He has been interviewed and had his poetry published in every local newspaper in his country. He was a weekly poet columnist for the Turks & Caicos Times which had distribution in the United States, the Caribbean and Europe with over a million weekly subscribers. He at present is the only Spoken Word Artist in his country and has made it a top priority to change that. A huge force in promoting poetry to the masses in his country, in 2004 he launched Cactus Slam™, the first poetry festival in the Turks & Caicos Islands. The festival which attracted poetry pioneer Bruce George of Def Poetry Jam™ fame to attend as a special guest and featured many Spoken Word artists from South Florida. Audley at present is focusing on taking his unique style of poetry to span the entire globe.
Hands of Praise
‘Hands of Praise’ is a Performing Arts group consisting of 14 young people, 4 boys and 10 girls. What makes this group special is that it uses the creative art of signing with dance and drama to give a unique performance. This group is affiliated with the Blue Hills Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. The group was originally started in 1998, but came to a sudden end in 2000. Our re-birth took place December 2004. Locally we hosted 4 concerts during the period of 1998 – 2000. We were also privileged to perform a few times on the island of South Caicos, as well as to represent our Mission in Barbados, during the summer of 1999 at its Union Session. Since our re-birth, we have hosted two major gospel concerts at the William’s Auditorium, one in May 2005, and the other in April 2006. These annual Gospel Extravaganzas, hosted by Hands of Praise, seek to promote local talents. Our stage has been graced with the best that Providenciales has to offer. Our special guests have included Julian Garland, Barbara Johnson, Rachel Harvey, the Laporte Brothers, and many more. Our performances have also brought us to the stage of various local church functions. The group was also privileged to perform at the 2005 Gospel Festival. The group has a lot to offer and is willing and able to do its part in promoting local talents nationally and internationally. The group is energized and ready to go. They are excited about the opportunity they have been given to showcase their talents, and are therefore willing to make you, the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, proud.
GDT
At an early age Jamell Robinson, who would be later known as GDT, showed a keen interest in music, which started at the 4 age when his mother gave a set of drums for his Christmas gift from that moment he was destine to be a star. While attending the H J Robinson High school he joined the marching band and the school choir.
As a young man in McGill University, being away from home and missing his family and friends, Jamell found solace in his music. He found time every day and spare time he had composing songs, writing poetry, but concentrated more on his first passion music. Because of his determination and love of composing and singing, he was able to join the Caiso Regal Calypso Tent, Montreal in 2005 and participate in many local musical showcases while in Canada.
Jamell big break came on 26th June, 2005 when he took part in the 8th Montreal Artformers Soca Monarch Competition 2005 “Dead Or Alive”, where he got a chance to display his talent especially his love for sing soca music.
He Performed under his stage name GDT and sung “TCI Festival”, which was written by him and using the music of Cilsya. With this performance and self- determination and enthusiasm to put his country on the map, Jamell gave the performance his all and was rewarded, when he captured the People’s Choice Award and place 5th overall in the competition out of 12 performers.
GDT has since released a number of singles locally, such as “We Winning”, “Jump on One”, “Down There”, “I Know Ya Want Me” and the fan favorite “ More Fyah”. He continues to perform locally when the opportunity presents itself most recently with KB and Shocking Vibes.