Thank you for taking the time to have this interview with IMAAI.
Tell us about your music.
During my long career as a singer, I’ve really enjoyed working in a wide variety of musical styles. From pop to jazz to rock to house, I’ve had fun exploring them all, and I’m lucky enough to have found success in many of them.
In the last few years I have been returning more and more to my Caribbean roots, with reggae, dancehall and soca tracks, which have been really well received. The new album I’m working on at the moment brings that influence more up to date with contemporary Afrobeats flavours.
When did you start performing?
I started performing in church as a soloist when I was a child, and I also gave performances at school. I started being asked to sing on reggae records when I was 17, and released a few singles in my teens but it wasn’t until I was 27 that I was able to give up my day job and earn a living full-time from music.
As well as having success with my own recordings, I was lucky enough to be asked by some of the world’s biggest music stars to sing with them. That lead to a world tour with Tom Jones, gigs with singers such as Phil Collins and Robbie Williams, and duets with Japanese megastar Eikichi Yazawa and French icon Johnny Hallyday.
In 2010 I first got together with my husband Paul Caplin, and he has been my constant musician collaborator ever since. We have released three albums together and we’re working on a fourth.
What do you consider to be your hometown and how does that affect your music?
Five years ago Paul and I moved to rural Buckinghamshire. The nearest town to where we live is Beaconsfield, but in terms of musical influence it’s still very much London. That’s where all the action is, and that’s where we mainly find our collaborators and inspiration.
What performers have been your inspiration?
Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone… there have been so many amazing artists who have touched me, guided me and inspired me. And that’s without even mentioning the dozens of brilliant Reggae artists who I love.
I do have a soft spot for singing rock, and I’ve been really inspired by Nona Hendrick and Melissa Etheridge.
What do you base your success on?
I base my success on being really good at what I do, and on Paul being really good at what he does. We’re a great team, and we both feel blessed to be together.
What was your latest musical release?
A few weeks ago we released our latest single Sistas. It’s our first track in an Afrobeats style and our first collaboration with the brilliant Bedlam.
It was inspired by my frustration about the negative attitudes that women all too often have towards one another.
Do you have any news to share?
We’ve just released the music video for Sistas, and we’re getting great feedback. Check it out at zeeteah.me/vid.
And we’ve just started collaborating on some tracks with the amazing St Vincent soca star Dynamite. Search for Dynamite Brave to check him out.
How can fans find you?
www.zeeteah.com
youtube.com/zeeteah
sptfy.com/zeeteah
instagram.com/zeeteah
facebook.com/zeeteah
tiktok.com/@zeeteahmassiah
twitter.com/zeeteahmassiah
Lastly, please share some final words with the fans.
In this era of DIY recording and universal streaming, it’s hard for an independent artist to get their music heard. So Paul and I really want to thank the hundreds of thousands of fans who stream our tracks. It really means a lot and we love you ❤️