Singer Stephen “$teevoo” Quesnel will release his new single, Jaded, on February 23. He said it reflects a new direction in his music since he began releasing songs in 2022.
This is his fifth release since 2022, and he said he will be releasing a new song every two months.
From age seven, Quesnel was drawn to music and entertainment and loved dancing and performing. He is also a close relative of Sean “Hey Choppi” Padmore, then performing as Sean Nebula, from the duo Nebula868, which allowed him access to the music space from an early age.
“I’d describe my music as island pop. We’re taking a lot of influences from all the other genres that are around the region and making something new. It’s not soca, it’s not dancehall, but it’s heavily influenced by all of the above. Calypso, reggae, conscious music, they all have a significant influence on the music we’re trying to do, a new sound that’s familiar. The right amount of familiar and the right amount of different.”
The 25-year-old was born and raised in Talparo, and he said the rural setting had a significant influence on his character.
“It’s not very populated, it’s not an urban environment and I think where I’m from plays a part in the music I like to make and the topics I like to make music on. It’s in the way I choose to bring topics across, I like to use very colloquial terms, so that you hear it, you can identify that this is someone from Trinidad.
“There are different approaches to things, so yes our Caribbean music is heavily party-centric, but I like to take is a more relaxed approach.”
Quesnel studied music theory and played pan as a student. After attending Trinity College, he got a scholarship to complete sixth form studies in film, philosophy, math, IT, literature, and psychology at The United World College of Costa Rica, where his love of music really bloomed.
“I was in a foreign place, I was a youth man, I didn’t have any family there or know anyone, but I met tonnes of people from different places and the one thing that consistently drew me was the wealth of music people had to share and the fact that music really crosses all borders.
“I was surrounded by people from every corner of the world, Nepal, Australia, Germany, and music was the one real uniting force. On a Friday, regardless of place and background, we’d come together to share music with each other.”
Quesnel said when he returned to Trinidad, he worked as a jeweller and a DJ for two years while he began writing music for himself.
“I stopped DJing and I started writing and recording. I used to be hanging around the studio and writing for people and soaking up the vibes. Eventually one day Choppi and those guys told me why don’t you record something, and here we are.
“It’s a funny full-circle moment. I studied film in school and now years later I’m using that expertise in my music videos.”
[caption id="attachment_1065530" align="alignnone" width="683"] Stephen "$teevoo" Quesnel -[/caption]
His first single, Hot Soup, debuted in 2022, and he said it was well recei
