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The sky is the limit for ‘Jamtrinidadian’

Peter Ray Blood
Published: 
Friday, October 19, 2012
‘Jamtrinidadian’ Dahlia Thames is a talented reggae singer who is making the switch to soca music for Carnival 2013.

 

Petite 18-year-old Jamaican-born Dahlia Thames is bursting at the seams with talent. Born to Trinidadian mother Lystra Lambert, Thames hails from the town of Mandeville, in the parish of Manchester, Jamaica. Growing up with two elder brothers, she has been singing since childhood, going professional at age 12, as a sixth grader. “Singing is in my genes and I inherited it from my mother, who is a singer, though classical. Every day of my life, no matter what she’s doing—walking up the staircase, bathing, in church—my mother would be singing. Basically it rubbed off on me. I also play instruments, including the piano.”
 
Explaining her big step at taking her talent seriously, Thames revealed: “At the age of 12, I was in a music class and my teacher gave me an assignment to write a song on Jamaica. So, my friend and I sat down to write this song but discovered that my friend didn’t really have a singing voice, while I was too shy to sing by myself. The teacher took me aside and convinced me that we should record the song. So, I went to the studio to do the song, but the teacher had another girl do my song. 
 
“This made me very disappointed and I gave up hope on singing, until I was in second form at Belair High School, where I met a producer named Krisbeatz who sent me a rhythm and so, I wrote my first song. Since, the producer had been motivating me to push the music more.
 
Thames defines herself as “a reggae pop singer,” and among her popular singles in Jamaica have been, Baby You, Make Me Have You, Come Alive and In My Arms.
 
Thames eventually migrated from Mandeville to Kingston where she met G3musik, the entity which has been producing all her songs, through producer Stevie G.
 
About her connection to Trinidad and desire to switch to soca, Thames said: “My mother, who is a friend of the Trinidad opera singer Glenda Collens, encouraged me to come to Trinidad to launch some of my songs. I have been in Trinidad since September and intend being here until December. I just completed my first soca single, named It’s Carnival Again. It features Mark Hardy, and is produced by Xplicit Entertainment, based in Diego Martin.” 
 
Her feet planted firmly on the ground Thames expressed her desire to obtain a degree in Marketing. “I have already finished Sixth Form and right now I’ve decided to focus on my music for the year 2013. I am still uncertain where I will pursue my studies in marketing.”
 
Thames says she enjoys the best of two worlds and can be described as a “Jamtrinidadian.” She expanded: “You can say Trinidad is my second home so soca is nothing new for me. In fact, I also hold T&T citizenship, and have been coming here since I was a baby. 
 
“I like everything about Trinidad. It’s so different to Jamaica. I especially enjoy the people and being able to walk through malls. This is an exciting place to live.”
 
Jeuel Green-Thompson, who manages Thames in Trinidad said: “I have known Dahlia for over five years. I used to be involved in the fashion industry and entertainment, and now own a modelling agency, which is soon to be a talent agency, called Skin Modelz Management, based in St Augustine.
 
“I really think that Dahlia has a fresh, Caribbean, international appeal and, with the outlook on what she wants, can attain it easily. She is diverse in her talent and it’s quite marketable.”
 
Determined and focused, Thames ended: “The sky is the limit for me. I intend to go big, starting with the 2013 International Soca Monarch competition.”
 
Entertainment

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