Nikeisha aiming for stardom

Nikeisha Toussaint is a triple threat, simply because she’s got beauty, brains and talent packed into her sexy frame. Born in TT, she spent most of her life in Canada, but for the time being she is treating Trinis to a dose of her singing in the Divas tent — and winning over audiences —  each night she performs. Currently calling Cascade home, Toussaint’s last visit to Trinidad saw her performing in front of thousands at David Rudder’s birthday bash last year (she was his opening act). But to hear her tell it, she didn’t even want to sing for anyone early on. “From since I was a little child about five or six years old... I wanted to go on Twelve and Under,” Toussaint said with a hint of a Canadian accent. “When the show came on the air I would sing along with the contestants. I guess I thought no one was listening, but my mom recognised my talent very early. The funny thing was that I would tell her I wanted to go on Twelve and Under, but I never knew an entire song!”

When she migrated to Quebec in 1995 to meet her father, it was he who eventually “cured” her of her shyness by making her sing “on the spot” in front of their friends. The very next day he enrolled her at the New Conservatory of Music in Ontario, where she was the youngest in the class. Continually improving and honing her skills, talent shows were next, which were quickly followed by an appearance in the Miss Black Ontario beauty pageant in 2000. “I came in the top five, and I got the prize for best Talent and Miss Congeniality, which got me a trip to New York,” said Toussaint. “I was happy about winning the talent portion, because it was some serious competition.” Her main singing style though, is R&B, but her venture into soca came about in a strange way. While watching the Canadian television show Wonderland with her father one evening, R&B singer Brandy came on stage to sing a soca-like song.

Toussaint recalled the day: “I remember telling my dad, ‘But Brandy can’t even work that stage...’ (laughter). Next thing is, my father is saying, ‘Well, since you think she can’t do it, you try to sing soca.’ So, we tried to come up with a song and we ended up writing a tune called ‘Party Limers’. Knowing that Caribana was coming up, my dad got me booked into a tent to sing it... again, I was a little scared but I remembered everything from my training. Everyone just loved it. People were talking about how great I looked and loved how I could switch between singing both R&B and soca. Since then I’ve performed in lots of cultural shows in Canada and every time I go they ask me to perform some R&B, but R&B doesn’t fit into a cultural show. This is what gave me the push to do more soca.”

Veteran band leader Roy Cape was full of praise for her performance (with them at Caribana) and singing style, and suggested she do more appearances at home, hence her foray into the Divas Calypso tent. She sings “Doh Budder Meh”, a song from her self-titled CD, which was written by Selwyn Woods, the same person who wrote “Whoa Donkey” for the (now defunct) group, the United Sisters. “Actually, ‘Doh Budder Meh’ was offered to Denise Belfon first, would you believe that?” she asked, incredulously. “But he gave it to me after he heard me singing ‘Party Limers’. I love the song too bad! It’s very jumpy and it always stirs up the audience when I do it.” When asked if she found it easier to sing soca over R&B, she didn’t mince words. “I love to do soca now, but I was trained to do R&B, which uses a different set of muscles. With soca, sometimes you tend to bawl, depending on the stage setting. You can’t really express much or give that sweetness in the voice... it’s a lot of shouting, plus the music is right behind you, way louder than you, so you’re constantly fighting to be above it. But I can switch between the two easily.”

Singing however, is not the only thing she does with ease. Though still attending college, Toussaint is a licensed pilot (light aircraft): she can fly a Cessna 150. “My first lesson was a bit scary, but the feeling of freedom... it’s worth every second!” Plus, she makes most of her stage outfits (including the red and white one on her poster) and works part-time at her father’s limousine service, driving a limousine. But she has learned to prioritise, giving herself a chance to rest. After all, she’s got to keep reaching for the stars.