Courtesy Overtime Media
No Ind: After building her brand and growing a tremendous fan base with her unique and poetic zess music style and delivery, Keisha “Lady Lava” Harris is now considered a staple on the Carnival scene.
FeatBody: However, it should be noted that being accepted and included by the soca fraternity was never one of her goals, so when we asked her how it felt to now be included as part of the soca mix, she really had to stop and think a minute about that.
“Hmmm…I never look at it from that angle,” she admitted thoughtfully. “I didn’t really concern myself with the labels and the boxes too much. It’s just me putting out the music I make, telling the stories I tell, and singing the songs that I like to sing for the people that support and enjoy the craft of entertainment.
“I honestly never thought about what it’s gonna be called, or study what genre it may be placed in; I just put in the work and make the music I feel strongly about and share the talent that God blessed me with, and the rest is up to the universe and everyone else to label and define and describe.”
FeatBody: Lava’s hands-off approach to categorising herself and her music lends even more credibility to her unceremonious entry and acceptance into the soca/Carnival stable, but perhaps her management is responsible for this classification.
“My team and I actually tailor the bookings in such a way,” she revealed, “so that we stay in Trinidad for most of the bookings for soca to be a part of the culture and the season.
FeatBody: “So we kind of take the outside bookings on days after the Carnival, which, in the high Carnival season, would be the same maths as to other side. So it kinda works out the same within a balance once the maths mathsing.”
Whether chosen consciously or coincidentally, the allure of being appreciated by her own people at the most pivotal period of time is not lost on Lava and her team. Carnival time is when we celebrate our cultural identity as a nation and Harris is most definitely a proud Trinbagonian, so even as she embraces all the love and support right now, we had to ask her: what is next for Lava musically?
FeatBody: “Next for me would always be,” she replied instantly, “becoming a better version of myself in all aspects. However, musically, I am always trying new stuff so as not to stay or get caught up in any box, but instead, my aim is to add ah bit of Lava into every genre.
“It’s like a seasoning that you can flavour every pot with—a nice lil taste of the zess; sometimes it will be just a sprinkle, sometimes it needs a heavy dose, but it will always be a representation of me and of Trinidad and Tobago and that, of course, is the sweetness!”
Speaking of T&T sweetness, what about that highly publicised link-up with Cardi B that happened around this time last year? When are we going to see and hear the results of that association and potential collaboration? We asked Lava when last she spoke directly with the recently-divorced and much-talked-about rap star, who also reps and shows love to T&T.
“Been a minute,” she admitted, “but she’s been doing a lot and I’m doing a lot on my side also, so yeah. It is what it is, and it will be what it will be. We all just have to wait and see—hope for the best, yes, but patience is a virtue, as the elders used to say. All in God’s timing.”
What is Lava looking forward to the most this season?
Her own event, of course! What she described as “the boat ride of all boat rides coming soon”.
Stay tuned to XVibes online for more on this.
