Her name is synonymous with Trinidad and Tobago’s rap movement. She’s been around the music scene, and still, to this very day, Sista Ron’s name holds tremendous weight on the entertainment circuit. The singer returns to the spotlight in 2020, ahead of T&T’s Carnival season, entering a market that she’s excited to be a part of and eager to deliver her very best.
Over the years, Sista Ron’s absence from the mainstream music scene was notable. She says her absence was based solely on circumstance, explaining that some people’s expectations of her, as a female artiste, were debasing and she made the choice to step back. Her unique style had placed her in a category of her own during her time on the circuit and to this day, in Trinidad and Tobago, no other female entertainer has outdone her. The artiste, whose real name is Rhonda Kights however said there has always been a burning desire to do music, even after she’d stepped back. “When there’s passion and desire, it doesn’t go away. It can be tucked away but it never goes away,” she explained. Now a mother, Sista Ron jumps back into the limelight at the insistence of her children. “They told me, ‘Ma, you gotta get in the studio. When I did, they were blown away. They love it!” she said excitedly.
In the height of the Carnival excitement in T&T, Sista Ron makes her re-entry to the scene. “Finding the best people to work with, has been difficult. As far as a producer goes, I’ve had to look hard to find someone who could work with me and understand what I wanted to bring forward,” she explained. Ron admitted that the music industry in the Caribbean has changed since her time, but she has a love and true passion for Soca music and the Carnival culture. “This thing always makes me emotional. I love carnival- the music, the mas, the energy. Yes, I’m a rapper, but I knew what I could deliver. I could ride on a soca riddim as well. I was tasked with searching for the right way to fuse the two,” said the artist, saying she felt the urge to show people that there was no need to search outside of T&T’s shores for a rapper, as is sometimes done, to collaborate on any song. “I love my culture to the max. I am Trini to the bone. I’ve raised my kids as Trinidadians, even though they were brought up in the US,” she explained.
Two singles, ‘Waiting for You’ and ‘Look T’ing Now’ have since been released. She says she felt the need to simply show off her unique style and has absolutely no desire to be anything that she’s not. “I have great respect for all these phenomenal artistes. I love Nailah, Patrice, Destra, Machel, Lyrikal and oh gosh, Bunji, we be competing about who is a bigger fan of who,” she laughed.
Sista Ron’s new music comes at a time when many new, up and coming artistes are calling for better opportunities for their music to be played. She is hopeful that she can contribute to making the industry more wholesome in the future. “I’m the Executive Producer of my music and I continue to work on building my team,” she highlighted, making it abundantly clear that she will not settle for mediocrity, no matter what. For more on Sista Ron, follow her on Instagram @sistaron and on Facebook by looking up, Rhonda Knights.
