{"id":5892,"date":"2026-01-07T16:13:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/guyanese-hot-gyal-nesta-rings-in-new-year-on-a-ride\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T16:13:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:13:44","slug":"guyanese-hot-gyal-nesta-rings-in-new-year-on-a-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/guyanese-hot-gyal-nesta-rings-in-new-year-on-a-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"Guyanese \u2018Hot Gyal\u2019 Nesta rings in New Year on a \u2018Ride\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Georgetown, Guyana-born singer Nesta Nelson, known to fans as \u201cHot Gyal\u201d Nesta, is stepping confidently into the new year with a new dancehall single on a \u201cRide,\u201d continuing her momentum from previous releases.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Released on Jan. 1, \u201cRide\u201d was produced by dancehall producer Damion \u201cJkeez\u201d Hewitt of Jkeez Recording Studio. This collaboration, according to Jamaican-born, New York-based entertainment promoter Anthony \u201cER Guru\u201d Turner, marks a notable development in her career.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Reflecting on the new single, Turner told Caribbean Life on Tuesday, Jan. 6, \u201cThe track signals a fearless new direction for the rising Guyanese star.\u201d<br \/>\nContinuing her story, Nesta said dancehall music shaped her musical upbringing.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cGrowing up in Guyana, I was heavily influenced by reggae and dancehall sounds,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to step outside my comfort zone and pay homage to a genre that\u2019s bold, confident, and expressive.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Expanding on the creative process, Nesta said the lyrics for \u201cRide\u201d were penned by her close collaborator, Kapa Shanti, who helped to unlock her confidence. She added that early reaction has been strong, with a sneak preview pulling in over 100,000 Instagram views.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She explained, \u201cPeople love the energy, the confidence, and the vibe of the song. They weren\u2019t expecting this side of me, but they\u2019re loving the growth and versatility.\u201d<br \/>\nBuilding on her new direction, Nesta said that riding the dancehall riddim felt natural.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She elaborated, \u201cI\u2019m a versatile singer, and dancehall allows me to be fearless. It was about confidence, self-expression, and owning my femininity without apology.\u201d<br \/>\nLooking ahead, Nesta said she has plans to enter \u201cRide\u201d in the Dancehall Monarch Guyana competition. She also hopes to visit Jamaica and New York soon to further promote \u201cRide\u201d and possibly collaborate on new music.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Summing up her ambitions, she said, \u201cI am clear about my goals. I want \u2018Ride\u2019 to travel across borders. This is just the beginning. I\u2019m bringing much more fire soon.\u201d<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Georgetown, Guyana-born singer Nesta Nelson, known to fans as \u201cHot Gyal\u201d Nesta, is stepping confidently into the new year with a new dancehall single on a \u201cRide,\u201d continuing her momentum from previous releases. Released on Jan. 1, \u201cRide\u201d was produced by dancehall producer Damion \u201cJkeez\u201d Hewitt of Jkeez Recording Studio. This collaboration, according to Jamaican-born, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5892\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}