Hello, Brooklyn
Rapper and reality TV star Azia Toussaint chose Bermuda on a recent visit as the destination to launch her newly announced video blog and has told The Royal Gazette she wants to revisit the island for a good cause.
The Brooklyn-born artist known for racy tracks including Pull Up On Ya, Brooklyn Girl and Plates with Snakes was in Bermuda over Cup Match to perform with multiple overseas artists at the Bda Summer Festival.
The concert was cancelled at the last minute because of immigration clearance issues, but Azia took time to visit Southlands Beach and Crystal Caves, writing in an Instagram post to her 55,000 followers: “I felt Bermuda was way too of an appropriate place to start so yea … vlog coming soon!”
Speaking to The Royal Gazette on her return to New York, she said: “I loved Bermuda! The beaches are beautiful, the caves adventurous and the people so kind.
“It’s definitely a place to visit.”
She is also pictured on Instagram with Bermuda photographer Audrey Dean of Blue Harmony Photography, who documented her stay.
While Azia juggles many roles in the entertainment industry, model, designer, songwriter, actress, budding make-up entrepreneur and star of BET reality show Hustler in Brooklyn among them, she is about to embark on a school tour, addressing bullying and social responsibility, which she hopes to bring to Bermuda. The Our World School Tour aims to educate and inspire children, and launches in Texas on August 26.
“I am launching the school tour because I love kids,” she said. “I want to use my talent to motivate children; that is what is closest to my heart.
“That is my life mission, that is why I have talent to be a voice for the young people. I would love to bring the tour there to Bermuda, too.”
Born to a Haitian mother and Trinidadian father, Azia’s interest in music began at an early age. She was inspired by her producer father, Brent “Faraoh” Toussaint, and developed an interest in rap, R&B, soca and compas, a dance music in Haiti.
She began her music career while studying at Virginia State University.
During her senior year she formed a rap group called Thirsty 4 Pop with fellow students. After releasing a mixtape and a couple of singles, Azia started working on her solo career as a model and appeared in the 2018 film Ladies Love Leo Littles: A Lesson in Chivalry.
She featured in music videos for songs including Panda by Desiigner, Change Your Mind by Trey Songz and Time of Her Life by Tabi Bonney. She also appeared as a featured model in Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 2 collection.
Her school tour, aimed at middle and high schools, focuses on bullying in the age of social media and life skills, and its organiser, One World Entertainment, is researching appropriate schools in Bermuda to approach.
The school sessions incorporate entertainment, including performances by Azia, songs by artists signed to Def Jam Recordings, and dance by the famed step group The Strikers.
Azia added: “As I have been navigating through my career I have become more and more spiritual and I realise that people only have a lack of social responsibility because of a lack of self worth.
“If people knew and understood how to love themselves, and understood the value of their own life, then they could in turn understand the value of someone else’s; there would be less bullying and less crime, because, you care for others like you care about your own life.
“I think it is important to learn, that, in school, they teach us all these other subjects, but they don’t teach us how to be good people, how to navigate the world, so that the world can be a good place. That is really important to me.
“Bullying, through social media, is at an all-time high, and the death rate for teens is crazy, because we are not teaching children how to be good people.
“We will also be teaching life skills, including getting good credit and gaining professional skills, so they can be well equipped and have the tools to be successful — if they want to be. The tour is called Our World School Tour, because we all need to take some responsibility; it is our world, if we don’t do it, who else is going to?”
• To view Azia Toussaint’s posts in Bermuda, visit her Instagram page at @azia.iam. Schools interested in the Our World School Tour can contact Azia through the promotion company at loveloganproductions@gmail.com or by calling the New York office at (973) 626-9720