Team TC is repping the ladies

The People’s Queen and her royal family will showcase their musical sovereignty on stage for 98.1 The One Soca 4.0.

“It is really telling a story of 40 years of my career,” said Terencia TC Coward of her performance at the National Botanical Gardens on Sunday, August 6th.

“And not just mine alone, but all of the artistes who would’ve come along within those 40 years – also an opportunity for them to tell theirs.”

Her story started at the age of 15 with a dare to go on stage and sing. Accepting that challenge led her to writing her name in the history books of Barbadian music. 

Chapters of this journey include being the co-lead vocalist of the band Coalishun, a solo career that included three albums New Direction, Colour Me Soca and Colour Me Soca Volume II), multiple soca and calypso classics Wrong Name (Kim), Jammers (Yes), Hot Sun & Riddim, Know What Yuh Got, and big wins in the Sweet Soca Monarch (2009, 2010) and Party Monarch (2009). 

Pen still in hand, the calypso queen will continue writing for the people that motivate her to keep going.

“It’s the fans, and the belief that what I bring to the table is important to the festival and the country as a whole,” she said. 

SugahRhe has been one artiste inspired by the TC story, growing up around the calypso arena and meeting the Soca Monarch behind-the-scenes.

“She was one of the persons that would’ve encouraged me as well as a young female artistes before to keep pushing and keep working on my craft. Always had good advice and stuff like that with regards to stage and performance. So definitely she means a lot to me as an artist as well,” she said.

The Sugah Bam Bam singer joins, Natahlee Burke, Chrissy D, Rhea Layne, and 2023 Junior Monarch Soca Champion, Tae as part of the women-dominated Team TC which also includes Red Plastic Bag, Hypasounds and Buggy Nhakente.

This was intentional, TC said, to fight against the tokenism women continue to face in the soca arena.

“I wanted to make sure my team gave a number of young females an opportunity to get on a stage at this level. So there have been some young people that I have been monitoring and having my eye on over the years. Seeing what they’re doing. And then there was also a measure of relationships that I would’ve built with people over time,” she explained.

Her honesty and openness, in conversation and in music, has kept her at the forefront of a male-dominated space, and made her a champion to her supporters.

“I would never take for granted the platform that I have. So I try to use my platform to educate, to illuminate and to guide,” she said.

This will continue at 98.1 The One Soca 4.0, which will top off the great Crop Over season she has been having.

“It’s been fantastic. I’ve had the good fortune that I’m actually doing quite a bit of work in terms of performances. That is what every artiste wants to do. And it’s been a while since I’ve performed at Crop Over to this extent,” she added.

At the National Botanical Gardens, Terencia and her team plan to put on a show she describes as “pure energy” and “pure vibes”.

“It’s gonna be extremely musical. I believe I’ve enlisted the services of some of the finer musicians in the country. And we’re going to do things a little bit differently in terms of how we put the music together. And in terms of how we’re going to bring to the stage as well,” she said. (PR)