AS a boy, Kedane O’Connor was often scolded by his teachers for disrupting the classroom.
He was not disrespectful or mischievous but he was playful and enjoyed making his classmates laugh.
O’Connor, 26, believes his love for entertaining started back then.
“It is definitely something natural because I never went to any school in terms of doing drama. I never did anything like that. But I have always been an energetic person,” he told Newsday on February 3.
“I could remember in school days, on my reports, it was always ‘Kedane talks too much. Kedane is distracting the class.’ The funny thing about it is that looking back at it now, I realised that I was always an entertainer without realising that there is where I wanted to be.
“I love making people happy. I love making people enjoy the moment. Regardless of what space they are in, they could forget about anything that is bothering them at that moment. That is how I saw things from even back then. It’s just that it (love for entertaining) came in the form of distracting people from their schoolwork.”
One of Tobago’s rising young entertainers, O’Connor is deeply passionate about his craft and does not take it for granted.
Last year, he left his job at the Tobago House of Assembly’s Division of Education, Research and Technology, to pursue entertainment and promotional work full-time.
Whether he’s emceeing a THA event, hosting a book launch, performing a monologue or dancing the brush back in the Moriah ole time wedding, the multi-skilled artiste is sure to bring his A-game.
Mediocrity, he said, is not an option.
“I feel like this is my purpose. Whether I am singing, dancing, emceeing, I just allow people to enjoy themselves through different forms.”
Within the past few years, O’Connor has added soca music to his repertoire.
At last year’s October carnival, the performer released Jam, which he co-wrote with his producer, Ray. The song, a story about relationships, made partygoers take notice of his talent.
He said, “Jam was released the Friday before the October carnival and it was just a vibe. It was like the calypsoes of yesteryear. It has a double meaning, innuendo. Me and my producer sat down and put something together and it just happened.”
In December, O’Connor sat down again with his producer, tossed around some ideas and came up with the song, Friday, We Get Pay, which has been receiving significant airplay.
[caption id="attachment_1137932" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kedane O’Connor has a love for entertaining. - Photo by Visual Styles[/caption]
“I just wanted to find something that people could relate to and people could celebrate, something that you look forward to, getting paid.”
The video for the song, which he also wrote, was filmed on location at the I Love Tobago sign, Calypso Rose Boulevard, in Scarborough.
“Those are the two songs I have out right now. I actually have a lot more music and it’s not just soca but a lot of different music.
“I don’t want to box myself in as an artiste. So people will see diffe
