Tifa: “I Felt Like There Was A Personal Vendetta To Get Rid Of Me”

There was a time when it was impossible to absorb Jamaican pop culture without mentioning Tifa.

She lived on billboards as corporate’s sweetheart and refreshed dancehall’s creativity with her lyrical virtuosity, vocal versatility, and fashion-forward visuals. Then she vanished, relocating to the United States in 2019, and later venturing into the restaurant industry.

In a recent Sim Soul Sessions episode, the Spell It Out artist gave insight into her retreat.

“I felt like I was in high school and I was being picked on for having a talent…” she started. “You dream about these things but when they give them to you, it’s like they’re punishing you for getting them.”

Tifa, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, shared that she was often made to feel like an outsider, as if a college graduate had no business doing dancehall music. 

The singjay was introduced to dancehall culture while living with her grandmother in downtown, Kingston, but her environmental upbringing was diverse. She spent several years uptown at Graham Heights, and even abroad in the US and Canada. 

As her career blossomed, she became a brand ambassador for major entities like BMW, Digicel and Wisynco. 

“Most people don’t even know that some of these corporate meetings – because I have a degree, because I can speak, because I have a mind – I sat in them as a consultant,” she said. “Some of the commercials that you even saw me in, I helped to manifest those because I am who I am… I can’t be apologetic for wanting to learn… I’m always wanting to do something different or to revolutionise.”

But in the eyes of others, she was the undeserving “handicap” who needed to go.

Tifa had long faced discrimination due to Blount’s disease, a disorder of the growth plates in the bones around the knee. She recalled being spat at by a gas pump attendant who found issue with her wearing a skirt, and being rejected by an admirer after he saw her walk. It worsened with the music industry.

“I’ve had people put my name in contracts to say, ‘If she’s on the show, I’m not going to perform’, and then they go and tell people, ‘Oh, nobody’s booking her…her time is done’… From the biggest of artist to the likklest of artist, because who is she? Who is this likkle handicap girl – in your eyes – that you nuh waan come put over everybody?… 

“I’ve had people even link my publicist, like, ‘hey, mi need fi hire you cause if dem can give she so much endorsements and fi her foot dem bend up’, and you just learn to ignore it… Being a smart businesswoman, knowing that most of these corporate entities are family-oriented, I’m not gonna let you mess up millions of dollars for me, so I just mek people talk.”

But the discrimination and blocked bookings escalated to stalking and harassment. She recalled people tracking and chasing her promotional mini cooper during her BMW partnership.

“People were chasing my car. People were searching my trash. People were, as I said, going into corporate entities to say, ‘Her time is up; you need to take my artist now’… I just felt like there was a personal vendetta to get rid of me… There’s nothing wrong with promoting your artist… If I’m a manager, I’m gonna be aggressive too. But I’m not gonna bring down or pull down or stop or block anybody just so my artist can look good. Eventually, it’s gonna come back to you.”

Tifa said she no longer felt safe in Jamaica. With additional factors like a failed relationship and the 2017 murder of her close friend/fashion designer Dexter ‘3D’ Pottinger, she relocated to a “little country town” in Florida. There, she could just be Latifa Brown. 

“I just needed to get back to a place where I could find me again…” she said. “I was in such a state of confusion. I didn’t know who was with me, who was not with me… I literally just felt like I was losing it and I was losing my mind… I needed to find a space where I could just find back Latifa – it wasn’t about Tifa anymore…”

The reclusiveness of the COVID-19 pandemic aided her journey to self, and she rediscovered joy in things like cooking and making music. Now, she’s back and making songs in a liberated way, free from the restrictions of upholding a corporate brand image. 

Her latest release is Say Yes, produced by Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor.

“I’m excited for what’s to come… I do have lots of music to come… You might even get an EP, an album, who knows. I do have a major release on a very major label that’s slated to come out; I’m excited about it.”

Her last project was her Curry Goat & Champagne debut album in 2018 which included the intro track, Retirement. At the time, she said she was still toying with the idea of leaving the music business.

Back in September, Tifa educated those who forgot about her contributions to the space. Included in the trip down memory lane were the songs that catapulted her to fame in 2009: Crawny Gyal, Bottom of the Barrel, and of course, Spell It Out. 

Tifa undoubtedly held her own on several male-dominated juggling rhythms, oftentimes releasing not just the biggest singles from a female on some popular rhythms, but overall. Circa her pulsating Move Your Body smash on ZJ Chrome’s 2010 Smokin’ rhythm (one of their several hit collabs); the must-play Dash Out on Ja Production’s 2011 Overproof rhythm; and her Big Bumper anthem on Birchill’s 2016 Moskato juggling. 

She’s also scored memorable collabs, most notably Jealous Ova (2014) with Dexta Daps, but also Certified Diva (2010) with Tami Chynn, Swaggin’ WTF with Fambo and Wayne Marshall (2011), and Mr. Rastaman (2022) on Kabaka Pyramid’s Grammy-winning album.

Dancehall aside, Tifa has proven herself to be a real triple threat, bodying lanes as a deejay, singer and rapper. Singing Tifa has given us sweet covers like Benny Mardones’ 1980 hit Into The Night (If I Could Fly) and original ballads like the sultry Inside Me. In her hip hop, crossover bag, she’s given us big records like Bak It Up, and rapped her tailfeather off on Lyrically Educated.