The new season of TV3’s popular music reality show, Mentor, has begun in earnest. Last Sunday, October 2, sixteen (16) ‘unrefined’ musical talents were unveiled to the viewing public as the contestants in this edition of the singing competition.
However, there is a female among the sixteen Mentor contestants who cannot be described as ‘unrefined’ in view of the fact that she is a music reality TV show veteran.
This female is none other than the contestant who goes by the nickname Tikky, originally named Deniece Tammie Williams, or called Deniece (also spelled Denise).
For uninitiated readers, they may be wondering who Tikky or Deniece is. And what is so special about her, blah blah blah.
Born to a Ghanaian father and a Liberian mother, Deniece first announced her presence on the scene in 2009 as Ghana’s ‘only’ contestant in the second edition of Project Fame West Africa music reality TV show.
Because of her flair for music, as well as her good looks and magnetic stage presence, she was one of the few contestants tipped to win that edition of the music talent show.
To say that Deniece was a bundle of talent brimming with the desire to burst onto the entertainment scene would be akin to saying that she was peerless among her peers.
The Ghanaian stunner (Deniece) stunned both the studio audience and TV viewers with her stunning stage performances during her stint in Project Fame.
A section of the general public even believed at the time that the young hopeful did not need such a platform to shine, as she already looked like a music star, and that all she needed to do was look for an executive music producer or investor to put her in the spotlight.
Deniece was adjudged by viewers as “the most beautiful” among the female contestants that participated in that season of Project Fame, which was staged at the Ultima Studios in Lagos, Nigeria.
The show was broadcast via local TV stations in the four participating West African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) and across the African continent via satellite TV/pay-TV platforms.
As it turned out, Deniece (the sole Ghanaian contestant) was evicted in week 7, and thus couldn’t last the entire 10-week duration of the competition.
When she jetted back to Ghana, the lass returned to working at the karaoke bar in Accra she had been singing at before departing for Nigeria to represent Ghana in Project Fame.
The following year (2010), Deniece had the opportunity to rap on a 4Syte TV cypher, produced for the Ghanaian music channel’s 2010 Music Video Awards. The cypher also features other great Ghanaian rappers, viz. C-Real, Iwan, J-Town, EL, and Scientific (who is of Liberian extraction).
It is worth mentioning that Deniece wasn’t just an incredible singer. The youngster was also excellent at stringing words together to form interesting rap lines. In fact, she raps far better than most of the guys who parade themselves as rappers in Ghana.
In her quest to enlist support from industry players and stakeholders to actualise her ambition, she began to network with the high and mighty in Ghana’s music/entertainment industry.
But alas, Deniece was told umpteen times that she could only succeed if and only if she allowed the “big boys” in the industry to have carnal knowledge of her.
Initially, she rebuffed that idea. But as time went on, she gave in to the pressure because she wanted to become a superstar at any cost. Sadly, nothing much changed for Deniece after all those bouts of sexual encounters with the so-called “big boys” in the Ghanaian entertainment industry.
Vodafone Icons Show
In 2011, the first edition of the Vodafone Icons music reality show, an initiative of Vodafone Ghana in partnership with Nigerian-based Storm 360, was launched. Deniece auditioned in Accra to pursue her long-held dream once again.
It is a huge understatement to say that she greatly impressed the audition judges: Ama K. Abebrese, Jayso, and DJ Kess (of YFM Ghana fame). Consequently, she was selected to enter the show’s bootcamp with 34 other girls.
As was the format of Vodafone Icons’ maiden edition, dubbed “Divas Edition”, it sought to discover, groom, and showcase Ghana’s first super girl music group, à la America’s Destiny’s Child (which had Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, et al. as members).
Thus, the contestants were all girls aged 18 to 30, divided into three-member groups of eight to compete for the ultimate prizes.
Clearly, the Vodafone Icons’ “Divas Edition” concept contrasts sharply with the typical music reality TV show format, where individual contestants of all genders compete to outperform each other and emerge as the winner.
Having attended the bootcamp, where the Icons judges (Stephanie Benson, Quantos, and Gena West) and choreographers coached them, Deniece was subsequently paired with two other girls (total strangers), namely Stephanie Baaba Lindsay and Natasha Amanda Mann-Dedey, to form the participating group known as ‘RnM’ (Rhythm n Melody).
Fortunately, after thirteen (13) weeks of intense and gruelling competition, RnM was crowned the winners of the inaugural Vodafone Icons: Divas Edition. It cannot be gainsaid that Deniece’s remarkable singing ability, as the group’s lead singer, was what did the magic for RnM to outclass the other competing groups.
As part of their prize packages, Deniece, Stephanie, and Natasha (the RnM trio) were awarded a record deal with Vodafone Ghana. They made enchanting songs such as “Let My Hair Down” (LMHD) and “Call The Doctor (Ewuwomi)”, which unfortunately failed to perform well on the mainstream.
Barely had RnM arrived in the music industry when Deniece, inexplicably, severed all ties with the group to return to a solo career. Stephanie and Natasha had no option but to move on with RnM as a duo.
A new female member named January Leilene Nessel, or “January” for short, joined the group in August 2012 to fill the void left by Deniece’s unexpected departure. But no sooner had January joined than she also left, leaving Stephanie and Natasha as the surviving members of RnM.
Deliverance at The Synagogue Church Of All Nations
Obviously frustrated by her inability to realise her long-cherished dream of being a music star, Deniece, acting on a friend’s advice, ran to Prophet T.B.
Joshua’s The Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2013 for spiritual succour.
In a televised testimony, via The SCOAN’s Emmanuel TV, the ‘struggling’ musician shared with the world her struggles and how men, under the guise of helping her to become a superstar, would sleep with her but afterwards leave her in the lurch. She also talked about doing hard drugs, et cetera, et cetera.
Following that spirit-filled encounter, Deniece decided to pitch camp in the camp of The SCOAN to fortify herself spiritually. Since she likes to sing, she volunteered to be a part of the church’s army of singers.
During her sojourn at The SCOAN, the born-again artiste was often seen on Emmanuel TV, singing her heart out to the Lord with her colleague during Sunday worship sessions.
It was such a delight for her loved ones and those who had always believed in her singing abilities. Many hoped she would find true solace in worshipping her Maker.
After a while, Deniece had to say adieu to The SCOAN. Before leaving, she was gifted a hefty sum of money by T.B. Joshua to support her in her ‘new life’. She was then seen off at the airport, en route to Ghana, to start a new life anchored in Christ.
Back to ‘secular’ music
Upon her return to Ghana in early 2014, Deniece made it clear that she was not going to ditch secular music for gospel, as had been bandied about. According to her, she would still make all kinds of music, but without vulgar language or bawdy lyrics.
Nothing had been heard from the nightingale until later that same year (2014) when she dropped a song titled “Fashion Killa” – a fun song that portrays her (Deniece) as being incomparable vis-à-vis fashion sense.
Shortly after that release, news spread that she had been signed to a new record label in Ghana called “blaq Qode”. Niecey, as she was affectionately called, never released any known musical material after that signing. And just like before, she went AWOL on the entertainment scene.
But as a passionate musician who had given her body and soul to music, Deniece always found the power from within to rebound.
In 2016, she surprisingly, but not too surprisingly, reincarnated in the music industry as “Tamera Dimes”, apparently shedding off her ‘Deniece’ identity.
She released a few singles, granted a handful of media interviews, hoping they would yield fruitful results, but to no avail. With still no glimmer of hope in sight, Deniece, or Tamera Dimes as she had come to be known at that point in her life, cowered back into her shell and once again disappeared.
TV3 Mentor Show
A couple of months ago, when TV3 Ghana officially announced the return of its flagship Mentor music reality TV show, no one would have probably expected to see a seasoned music artiste like Deniece, now called “Tikky”, among the contestants.
It therefore came as a big surprise to those who had known her from the days of yore. So surprised was Lynx Entertainment boss Richie Mensah, one of the Mentor judges, that he incredulously asked: “…wait, is that Deniece? As in Deniece…” With absolutely no shame played across her face, Tikky (Deniece) confidently and firmly answered in the affirmative.
Although Deniece (Tikky) no longer has those charming looks that made her the cynosure of all eyes back in those days, she is still a beautiful sight to behold and still chronically confident.
Beyond that, she still possesses the gravitas and embodies the skills and qualities needed to become a superstar in the show business. Her exquisite showmanship, coupled with her powerful vocals, mannerisms, and gesticulations on the Mentor stage last Sunday, is a clear indication of her prodigious musical talent.
In fact, anyone who has ever grappled with the definition of the six-letter English word, “T-A-L-E-N-T”, should simply take a look at Tikky (Deniece); the singer cum rapper perfectly personified that word.
Since the 14th edition of TV3 Mentor is dubbed “Breakout Edition”, perhaps it’s time for Deniece (Tikky) to finally ‘break out’ on the music scene and take her rightful place in the world of music after all these years of excruciating struggles. Time will tell.
