In case you've been underground somewhere and missed the advertising blitz on radio, TV, and the newspapers, the Fully Loaded Mother's Day Concert takes place on Saturday. The concert will feature Tanya Stephens, Vybz Cartel, and Gyptian. Stephens, who was in Belize last year for a Valentine's Day concert, will be the headliner. Today she was the first to arrive in country and we were at the airport to meet her.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This morning it was the second coming of Tanya Stephens. Dancehall's reigning princess was one of the first passengers off this American Airlines flight from Miami. The concert's promoters escorted Tanya to the VIP room at the PGIA which is where we spoke to her. Tanya says she is happy to be back.
Tanya Stephens,
"I feel welcome, as welcomed as the first time, if not more.
Keith Swift,
What can we expect different from you this year?
Tanya Stephens,
"Well the songs you heard and of course I expect more than I did the last time because I didn't have time to go everywhere so now I have been promised by my good friends that I will see a lot more of Belize."
Keith Swift,
How much fun did you have the last time you were here?
Tanya Stephens,
"A lot, maybe too much. They had me bleaching in the night and going out and stuff but it was a lot of fun."
Tanya says you can expect old favorites such as "it's a pity" and "turn the other cheek" but she will also be singing to a different tune. She has gone from bitterly groaning about love lost to championing personal uplfitment. She told us why she is now a rebel with a cause.
Tanya Stephens,
"Of course I have to encompass everything else that you haven't heard that's been going on since but I wouldn't say I am negative, I'm a positive person, what you talking about."
Keith Swift,
Last time you told me your songs were from personal experiences. So what's up with T.A.N.Y.A.?
Tanya Stephens,
[Laughs] "It was Albert Einstein who said great minds have always come across violent opposition. Great sprits have always come across violent opposition from mediocre minds and that is very true. Every time somebody rises up and tries to sing something that's positive, that's different, that's making a change, that is actually establishing themselves, you will people opposing you and T.A.N.Y.A was just a way of me putting my foot down and saying nobody can move me from this."
Keith Swift,
Are you talking about anyone in particular?
Tanya Stephens,
"Mediocre minds are just mediocre minds."
Keith Swift,
So you call names?
Tanya Stephens,
"No names. Anybody who tries any type of conflict, I wouldn't validate them by mentioning them."
On Saturday Tanya will headline a concert with Vybz Cartel and Gyptian. For her it will be three times the fun.
Tanya Stephens,
"I will enjoy, if probably not more, because I can't sit and watch myself so now I have two other people I can sit down and watch."
Vybz Cartel and Gyptian arrive in the country. The concert is Saturday night.
