19 year old singer Bar-Bee has been at the centre of dancehall’s most talked about controversy. However for 2008 the artiste claims its all about the music.
Little is known about the lady who most believe has caught the eye of Moses ‘Beenie Man’ Davis, yet in July at the Reggae Sumfest show Bar-Bee stole the spotlight from every established artiste. While she maintains that she and Beenie Man are ‘just friends’, Bar-Bee’s striking 6 foot frame and presence is one to be reckoned with.
Born in New York City to a Nigerian father and a Jamaican mother Faith J Eselebor aka Bar-Bee developed a love for music from a tender age. A former student of St Jago Prep in Spanish Town, Bar-Bee spent many years living in Nigeria before moving to New York City to work on her musical career.
She told the STAR, “I always wanted to sing and my parents are very supportive of whatever their children want to do. If not music I would be involved in fashion, acting. I want to show my creativity in every angle, but music first.”
At 16, Bar-Bee’s hopes and dreams seemed to have come true when she signed to DefJam Records as a member of the girl group Best Kept Secrets. As a part of Best Kept Secrets the young starlet opened for acts such as rappers Jadakiss, Cameron and others. However, the dream soon shattered when the group broke up.
Bar-Bee explains, “we were on our way to doing something so good, but then one of the girls got pregnant and things just changed after that. The label dropped us and I was really discouraged, but my father told me to never give up.”
Choosing to persevere, Bar-Bee went solo in the hopes of taking her career to further heights. Experimenting in all genres of music, Bar-Bee is currently signed to Urban Disc Records from New York. She however has a natural love for Jamaican music, saying “I love Jamaica, the music you can do whatever and you’re so inspired down here and Jamaica is a part of me. My songs always had a West Indian vibe to it.”
Since being in Jamaica working on her music Bar-Bee hooked up with local artiste Junior Kelly for the single Missing You. Before that she had wanted to perform with the ‘King of the Dancehall’, Beenie Man. She said, “we met at Shocking Vibes but at the time there were so many young ladies doing songs wid him so we didn’t see the sense in that so I did the song with Junior Kelly instead. We always were supposed to work together but our schedules conflicted. Then we finally got together and did Give It Up and other songs. We just really work well together and what we’re gonna continue to do, when we get into the studio everything happens naturally.”
Unfortunately the two received unwanted attention as a supposed ‘item’ wherever they went. It is believed that Bar-Bee was the last straw in the tenuous marriage of D’ Angel and Beenie Man. As the fairy tale marriage went down in shambles Bar-Bee and Beenie Man continued to make music together and made an increased number of public appearances.
Attacks on the characters of D’Angel, Beenie Man and Bar-Bee continued throughout the latter part of 2007 as the public’s interest in the situation grew.
As the situation got more intense the young singer refused to back down choosing to slowly win over her Jamaican fans. She told the STAR, “it was either you continue the music or run away and be a coward and instead of running away I choose to stand firm and do what I do best, which is music. Before I was able to release my single, everything blew up but who to say that’s a horrible thing, lets turn the negative into a positive, let everyone pay more attention to the music not to the gossip.”
According to Bar-Bee, the new year is all about the music and putting past controversies behind her. “Bar-Bee, Beenie, D’ Angel everyone is trying to do something positive, let us step our game up as an artiste, in the music, let’s pay attention to that and not the passa passa. We all know that’s entertaining, but lets look at the talent behind it. Let’s look at the words when us as artistes write this stuff and not who was wid who,” she said.
As for her thoughts D’Angel, she said, “us as females we don’t need to fight and badger each other, I have no issue with the young lady (D’Angel), she’s fine. Continue doing her music, I respect her for that and I’m going to continue doing mine. Everyone is just doing what they love doing, which is music. Whatever happens in your personal life let it stay there. Beenie has become a real good friend of mine, he’s friends with my family, he’s a really nice person. I have never got involved with his personal affairs.”
During the rough times for Bar-Bee praying and thinking positively have kept her afloat. So far the year is looking promising for the young singer who is working on her debut album to be released this year. Bar-Bee is also a song writer who is currently submitting songs for American rapper Missy Elliott.
It was Bar-Bee’s wide array of contacts that led to Beenie Man’s performance with Alicia Keys at the American Music Awards. She said “I know so many people in the business, many other collaborations that I do. Being in the group I knew a lot of people, you’re like a baby in the business. I worked with Alicia Keys’ manager and producer.”
While she is working with many International producers, she currently has releases out such as Paddy Cake, Light A Candle and Diva In My Sneakers.
Bar-Bee is now looking to make herself into a role model for the young. While the artiste gets a lot of attention from male admirers who often drool at her ample posterior and amazon frame, she prefers the attention from children.
“I see myself as an artiste and a woman. I think women can be beautiful in any size, I see myself as new doll, not necessarily the ‘Barbie’ doll, but Bar-Bee. Bar-Bee can be sexy in any size 2, 6 or a size 9. Beauty is not just one way.”
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