About Me
Read about who is TESAH LINTON
Under Tesah umbrella
by Deportee, StAR Writer
http://www.jamaica-star.com/thestar/20070831/ent/ent6.html
Tesah Linton - Contributed
Meeting Tesah Linton is a confusing experience. She is charming and beautiful in equal measure.
She has been involved in so much including being an actor in Dancehall Queen and Third World Cop.
Much of what she says is self-justifying and, when it comes to the big issues, she is strong on honesty and light on remorse. It sounds unlike the sort of thing you would hear from politicians.
Her personal achievements speak for themselves. This 32-year-old dynamo has worked in divergent capacities from banks to clubs. Now she is beating a blazing trail as the manager of 'Jamerican' hip hop/ dancehall star KC Jockey and a business partner of Sweet Sadie's production.
Looking at her, one can see the reason she placed second in the Miss Hedonism Regional Inter-national competition in 1997. She's still petite, but just a little fuller; she still oozes that confidence of a model.
How many people do you know of who have used their last $300 to form a training centre? Well, she has done that. Contacting Del Crooks, former head of JAMPRO and Sasha Lala, she outlined her plans and from there on, there was no stopping her.
"From the first time, I saw these boys; I said they were Jamaica's Backstreet Boys. The boys she is referring to is the incomparable singing/dancing group Voicemail. Shocked yet? On and on she went, painting little vignettes of stories which left one staring at her with dropped jaws.
Religious
A spiritual woman who once grew into the Rastafarian faith, it served as her bedrock in dealing with her many ups and downs. It placed her on a level where she could see what was to be done and deal with it as effectively as possible. She is what you call a 'mental dread' without the locks.
As for the people in the business, whom she is thankful for, they are the who's who in Jamaica's entertainment industry. "Sharon Burke, (with whom she shares an uncanny resemblance) made me into who I am. Through Sharon, I met lots of people and garnered contacts," she said.
Other notables include Isaiah Laing of Sting, whom she adores, murmuring, "I love that man so till."
She gets misty, as she mentions Copeland Forbes to whom she was once engaged. "He taught me the transparent way of doing business."
Her networking skills by 1999 had seen her at the Mirage nightclub where she launched out like a 'Bajie' kite.
After seven months of exile from the music after her split up as manager from Harry Toddler, she was back in Kingston to her stomping grounds, doing what she does best.
A story she tells is of the time she invited the now Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, to speak at the launch of Jack Scorpio's studio. "No one believed I could pull it off, but I did," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
As a woman in the music business, she maintains her pose by the way she dresses and acts. "You will never see me in short shorts or skirts. I wear business suits or long skirts. It is a business and you have to get them to respect you," she said.
She is seated in her office, her back to the drapes which she herself designed and made. A personal computer perches on the lovely big desk while she leans forwards and back in her chair.
As for the direction of the music's future, "It has potential, it is 95 per cent business and five per cent music. It is going to change. The power of the Internet has opened eyes, there is more exposure. Artistes are more computer literate."
"As for Jamaica's music industry, we are about 60 per cent business and 40 per cent music. There is 'nuff' room for improvement," she said.
So, what does Tesah Linton do next? She talks confidently and enthusiastically, if vaguely, about projects in the immediate future to be more of a manager than a booking agent. "Right now, I want to be the most powerful manager in the world," she says emphatically.
"There are about two female managers I know of. Women are making their move in the music business and I want to be more genuine in the business," she says.
