Ebuzz News
Archived: The Queen Rises. Denise Saucy ‘Wow’ Belfon Tells It All.
Three years ago, the Caribbean’s wining queen, Trinidad and Tobago’s, Denise ‘Saucy Wow’ Belfon, took up residence in the United States. She boarded a plane, prepared to work hard, to better herself in the music industry. She had not foreseen a pandemic.
In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Ebuzztt, Denise admitted to the tumultuous experience she’s had in the past three years, but in the same breath, says she’s grateful for it all. “Being out here taught me how to get my life in order,” she told us, further highlighting, among other things, the shortcomings of the Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago.
WHO IS DENISE SAUCY WOW BELFON
Denise started a career in the soca music industry 26 years ago. Her first solo recording was the soca single “Ka Ka Lay Lay”, this after having been discovered by the bandleader of the Roy Cape band in 1990. She has record countless hits, among them, “Hard Wuk”, “De Jammette”, “Saucy Baby”, and “Indian Man.” She’s even delivered alongside fellow female Caribbean artistes, Destra Garcia and Alison Hinds on the track, “Obsessive Winers,” a song and stage performance loved the world over. song and stage performance loved the world over.
Known for her incredible, and some would say, truly unrivalled wining skills and blatantly unapologetic stage shows, Saucy’s name has been branded solidly among the female greats in Caribbean culture. Three years ago, she turned to the United States, ready to pursue more, even committing to a 500 city tour across the US, Europe, parts of Africa and Canada, just prior to the pandemic. “It was so sad to see how the world was impacted overnight. One minute everybody was living their lives as normal and the next minute we were locked down and we didn’t know what the hell to do,” she said.
Thankful for the support of good friends in the US- people like King Royal, Big Skipp, Patch, DJ Princess Young Chow, DJ Spice, DJ Young Chow, Askel Redsquare and her children, Denise admits it’s been no easy ride, but she has assumed a position of assertive power and proudly attests to some major accomplishments in recent time. “I must say thank you to the people who stood in my corner when things were going haywire in my life,” she said as we kicked off the interview. Gratitude in her heart, she quickly checked herself and said, “I can’t forget Iwer George. He has stood in my corner for as long as I can remember and always has my back, fighting the battles that I sometimes don’t see when people try to tear me down.”
Her relationship with Big Skipp – a mainstream DJ who works at New York’s urban radio station HOT97, has led to interactions with young Hip Hop artistes like Capella Grey who has been signed to Capitol Records, Young Devyn, Mr. Chicken and others, and for Denise, the ‘newness’ of the energy, as she calls it, is exhilarating. “It’s a good vibe rubbing shoulders at this time with these young greats. They do Hip Hop and me being a Soca artiste, it’s a good feeling to be around newness. I’m getting a lot of inspiration hanging around them and doing a lot of things with them. We are not working together per say but we have the mutual person with us, which is Big Skipp.“
The new energy Denise describes transcends mere interactions and networks. Outside of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, Saucy’s eyes have opened to the business of her worth. “America is a place that can open your eyes quickly. I’ve had to learn fast. Music royalties I had been missing out on internationally, I have been able to collect and sustain myself during this period. Not knocking COTT, but the type of money you would make out here where your royalties are concerned, I have no idea what COTT has been doing over the years,” she said.
The former model and best village dancer has certainly seen the light and is doing all that is necessary to secure the bag as she moves forward. “I had money pending worldwide for the past 15 years. I have like 47 songs pending at the moment,” she explained, encouraging her fellow artistes to do what is necessary to secure their music royalties.
Ebuzz News
Seven Songs. One Big Artiste. Grenada’s Spice Mas Better Be Ready for Skinny Banton.
Spice Mas, like every other carnival, is seasonal, but for Carriacou, Grenada artiste, Skinny Banton, music isn’t. He has unleashed seven songs in 2026, and like clockwork he’s locked in and ready to deliver his energy, good vibes and storytelling strengths to audiences celebrating another memorable Spice Mas experience this year.
For Skinny Banton, whose real name is Shirlan George, Grenada’s Jab culture is fuel to his fire. In the past, songs like ‘Soak It Good’ and ‘Wrong Again,’ brought him tremendous acclaim across the region and internationally. This season, The Jambalasse project is anticipated to be one of the artiste’s most powerful contributions, signaling his intentionality to promote his country’s authentic culture, wherever he goes. “With this project we’re trying to keep the history, while celebrating the present by revamping a song that was done by Moss International 35 years ago,” he said. That song was called ‘Jambalasse Rule,’ released in 1991. “We revamped the riddim because it was one of the first songs considered to be an original Jab Jab song from Grenada, at that time,” he explained.
Proud of his personal efforts to keep the awareness on Grenada’s cultural traditions, Skinny Banton advocates for the continued celebration of these traditions and understands his role as an artiste. “No matter what we face as artistes in this space, we stay true to our mission. I have several songs that the people will enjoy in Spice Mas and beyond. One of my personal favourites is ‘Pain,’ a song I would like to share with my fans in Trinidad and Tobago when Carnival 2027 comes around,” he said.
Strengthening Others
Other tracks released by Skinny include, ‘When Yuh Eating,’ ‘Right Up,’ ‘Black Fuh Juvay,’ ‘Can’t Stop Us,’ ‘Carnival Traffic’ featuring Jamaican artiste, I Octane, ‘My Behaviour,’ featuring Tonic X and ‘Water Line Burst,’ collaboratively done with Nicki Akull. “The collaborations done with Tonic X and Nicki Akull mean a lot to me. They are upcoming artistes who I share good vibes with. When I was younger and had hopes of connecting and collaborating with bigger artistes, it was not easy,” he recalled, adding that it often felt daunting. He says because he understands the feeling, he is happy to be able to help these up-and-coming entertainers. “This was just my way of giving them strength and encouragement. I feel like nobody takes you seriously when you don’t have a foot in the door – they refuse to embrace you because you are not known. I want them to keep pushing after this,” he added.
Dedicated and refocused, Skinny Banton is pushing full speed ahead. “I’m doing music videos for most of the songs. I already have a video for ‘Black Fuh Juvay,’ which has been uploaded to YouTube and all other streaming platforms, and the video for ‘My Behaviour’ with Tonic X is also out,” he said. Grateful to Jamaican artiste, IOctane for the strength given to him on their collaboration on the single, ‘Carnival Traffic,’ Skinny said this particular song is one that he loves, and he hopes the people will, as well.
For the past three years, the artiste had been approached by upcoming entertainer, Nicki Akull for the single they eventually brought forward this year. “Waterline Buss – Nicki Akull’s persistence and determination really brought this song into existence,” he said, happy to have eventually come around to making it happen. Even with such a vast number of singles released, Skinny Banton says he is ready to work with artistes across the Diaspora. “I’m still creating, still working and I’m looking forward to establishing more ground in the Soca community and around the world.”
Social Media, Music and Trends.
Certainly attuned to the necessary promotional adjustments that many artistes have been forced to adopt, Skinny Banton says he hopes that despite the rise in social media content distribution, true talent and good music is not sacrificed. “I feel like content creation online should not take away from artistes creating and delivering great music, because without the content, the music should still stand on its own, and with the content, the people still need the music,” he shared. “I also feel like a lot of trends are created from making yourself an online spectacle and not the music being able to sustain itself, so you may get attention for what you post as content, but the music you’re posting the content for sometimes does not have enough substance to sustain itself for longevity,” he rationalized.
Thoughtful, conscious and truly talented, Skinny Banton is a necessary part of the Caribbean’s creative landscape. His storytelling ability, coupled with his appreciation for the art and vocal capacity, makes him an artiste everyone should tap in to. “I want to encourage the young artistes to stay focused and keep pushing and never be discouraged by the many things that’s said on social media. They must work hard to establish their business to suit them, because every artiste will do things differently, when it comes to the business; Never be discouraged by the naysayers,” he advised. He thanked his fans for their love and support over the years. “People who’ve been supporting from day one and continue to support, as well as the new supporters I’ve gotten along the way – thank you. To the DJs and radio personalities, I appreciate you. One hand doesn’t clap. Thank you for keeping my songs on rotation and I hope you all continue to support me.”
Music News
JrDynamite Gets Real On New Single “Fake Energy.”
