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Watch 1688 Collective And Nikita Pay Tribute To Irving Burgie
Sweet. Back in January, the 13th to be exact, at the Naniki Jazz Festival, 1688 Collective paid tribute to Irving Burgie – the American songwriter of Barbadian descent, who penned our national anthem....
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Just so Bajan Dub become Bashment Soca???!!!!!
Crop Over, Barbados’ major festival, has not been a place of musical surprises for some time now. However, 2016 has produced a big one for me in the complete re-definition of the Bashment Soca genre....
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Looking Back at Bajan Party Past
Frequently in popular culture yesterday becomes the forgotten man. Here is a video clip from Bajan pop culture past as calypsonian and I guess Soca singer, Bumba, destroys the party. Seeing this now it...
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New Documentary on ConPong
Heah guys, Some news I am working on a documentary on the Bajan duo Contone and Pong along with the team from 13 Degrees North and Stuart Hall. For those who are wondering why, it is because this year...
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Downtown Kingston – 4 Not So-Straightforward Global Influences
Downtown Kingston has to be the most influential piece of musical real estate in the world. Please note I said Kingston and not Jamaica because the majority of music which exploded globally came from...
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10 Apps and Websites That I Can’t Live Without
Like most artists living in tiny countries I do many things within my discipline. To do that I need help So here are 10 pieces of technology/websites that I cannot live without. 1. Sribd I came across...
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Happy Independence Barbados
Even though I am no nationalist. I want to wish my country of birth and citizenship a happpy national holiday tomorrrow. Here is a snapshot of my group, the 1688 Collective on one of our Independence...
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Happy New Year
To all readers of this space: Barbados Crop Over Happy New Year. Here is to a culturally rich 2017. Sincerely Caribbean Music Man
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Nothing to Show from the Showminar – Why Showcases and Industry workshops are...
Since 2005, and the explosion of Rihanna, Barbados has had its fair share of showcases. Since the economic slowdown these have thankfully slowed down but they still do occasionally turn up with talking...
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Kes Wine Up, Soca or Soca Impostor?
Today, I was tagged on Facebook to give my opinion on whether the following song is a Soca song. Now genre, as I have discussed here before, all depends on perspective and there are arguments FOR this...
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What is the difference between Spouge and Ska?
A week and a half ago a friend of mine asked me to help him explain the difference between Spouge and Ska. For those unfamiliar with these Caribbean music genres let me help. Spouge is an indigenous...
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What is the difference between Soca and Calypso anyway? Check these 5…
It is carnival season in the Catholic Caribbean. And in the English-speaking areas, the music of choice will be soca. It wasn’t always this way 40 years ago it was all calypso. In fact, many today...
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School + Caribbean Culture
Every two years I teach Caribbean Music and Culture to students from the University of Delaware. These sessions are a mixture of theory and practice. And when I say practice I mean practice. Check this...
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Why Does Everyone Hate Rameses? – Crop Over 2017 – 1
There are few artists who are disliked as much as Rameses Brown is in Barbados. For those of you who don’t know who Rameses Brown is, he is a soca artist who came to local Barbadian prominence in the...
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3 reasons why if I were Nikita I would go into terminal depression.
Crop Over has seen its first controversy for 2017. For those not in Barbados, it concerns the release of Nikita’s song, “Same Way,” which basically was released 2 years before by DeeVine and called “We...
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Look who is 10 years old this year!
*Nah Going Home is actually 11 years old but born after the school year…;)
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My Bajan Dub – Crop Over 5
Bajan Dub is a big mover and shaker for Crop Over this year again. If you want to call it Bashment Soca then fine… Here is the Top 5 anyway. 5. Lady Essence – Fluffy Gal The most prominent lady of...
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Interview with Noisey on Bashment Soca
Last month I contributed to an article written by Sharine Taylor from Noisey. Here is the link....
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Crop Over 2017 – The Lazarus 5
The early results from the Soca competitions are in. This means that Barbadian radio rotation will now be based around the competition songs chosen to go forward leaving the other 600 to die. Before...
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JAB to the JAB
Jab Jab is a certified sub-genre of modern Soca The Jab character is a staple of J’ouvert carnival celebrations and looks like the guy below. The music itself is characterised by melodies with small...
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