She won the Premier’s Award at the 2021 Northern Cape awards and drove off with a car as her big prize. The award is an annual arts recognition platform for the province brought together by Fame Academy SA and the Northern Cape Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture.
Since then, she's been working hard.
Kimberly artist So Say Miss TT, real name Symphony Faywers, is fearless and wants to make sure every one of her performances reaches international standards, she says.
“I am my own competition and I strongly believe I can reach international standards if I work hard enough," she tells Drum.
She broke into the music scene when she released her first EP in 2020 titled Energy wants Energy. She then released the four-track EP, Allow Yourself in 2021.
“People loved my music and it made people dance and feel happy. I do not have a full album yet, but I am constantly working on releasing new music,” she says.
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But this 21-year-old University of Free State third year student says she is just getting started.
“I know I have a long way to go, but I have achieved so much and everything I do is to uplift and empower the people of my community.”
Raised in Kimberly, she is so proud to be a positive influence in her community.
“There is a lot of drug and alcohol abuse as well as teenage pregnancies and playing my part at being a role model at a young age is a blessing,” she says.
"All I want to do is show other youths that anything is possible. You do not have to come from a wealthy home to be someone. But you can change your situation.”
She one day hopes that her music will inspire people.
"I hope that the principles I carry help to teach my peers .” So Say Miss TT looks up to other stars born in Kimberly.
“Proverb is a true testament that Kimberly has talent. Gail Mabalane and many others have put the Northern Cape on the map and the Northern Cape awards are discovering more young talent. I am inspired by Maxwell Universe from Perfect Cadence and ReeKay.
“But before anyone else, I look up to my parents. They are the most hard-working people that I have ever met. They inspire me to be the best that I can be.”
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Her genre is Hip-Hop, but she can jam to any style of music.
“I call myself an artist because I am versatile, I can sing, rap and dance. And I flow in every type of genre from Gospel, R&B, Hip-Hop to Amapiano.”
So Say Miss TT grew up shy and not able to articulate herself and used music and dance to express her thoughts.
“I used to be very shy and insecure which gave people a reason to pick on me,” she says.
"When I started making music I discovered a new language where I could be confident and bold. I wanted to speak to young people just like me who were dying to be heard.”
The name So Say Miss TT came from the confidence she developed because of her talent.
“When I speak and make perform you have no choice but to listen and that is how I chose the name,” she says.
Born in East London and raised in Kimberley in the Northern-Cape, she is the middle child out of five and works with her siblings who produce her music, are her dancers and her eldest sister choreographs her slick dance moves.
“I come from a talented family family. It is in our genes to be creative,” she says. Her parents, dad Dr. Martin Abraham Faywers has a Ph.D. in theology and he is the owner of M.I Records, and he is a musician and a writer. Her mom, Sonja Faywers is the CEO of The Queen's Heart and Le'signore Consultants, she is a singer and a businesswoman.
“I get my talent from my parents who have always been supportive of me and my siblings. But I also have a dream to prove that I can do this on my own and reach international heights.”
So Say Miss TT says she was born to be a musician.
"When I was 10 years old, my dad was busy recording a song and I sat beside him like I always did when he was in the studio. He let the music play and I just started rapping,” she says.
“My dad looked at me shocked, gave me the earphones, and told me to go record what I just did. That was the day that my dad realised that I was talented. We started recording my songs and I featured on all his albums and the rest is history.”
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In 2019, she won Miss Heritage Northern Cape 2019. When she was only 16 years old, she got a chance to perform with award-winning artist "Neville D" in Cape Town to an audience of 10 000 people.
She hopes to see equal opportunities for Northern Cape talent.
“The Northern Cape is rich in talent but the lack of opportunities to shine puts a dim on aspiring diamonds," she says
“If real talent meets opportunity, then it equals success. The Northern Cape is hungry and so ready for that formula to release. I am grateful to the Northern Cape awards that are bringing much-needed excitement by recognising hard-working artists. This glamorous occasion not only showcases the best of the best in the Northern Cape but introduces professionalism.”
This year, people can expect more music from So Say Miss TT. She hopes to collaborate on songs with Proverb, Nasty C, Youngsta CPT, and Busiswa one day.
