Soca Artist Highlight: Meet Aisha Noel, An Up-and-Coming Soca Artist
Meet Aisha Noel, a talented and versatile up-and-coming artist who recently stepped into soca music and released her new hit single “Nobody Be Safe”.
Aisha was born in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago where her love for performing arts and musical education began. From a young age she began singing, songwriting, in addition to learning to play the piano. She later competed in several music festivals representing her school choir, St. Joseph’s’ Convent, San Fernando. Aisha took a unique path and after obtaining her bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Psychology, at the University of the West Indies, Aisha traveled to Latin America where her passion for music blossomed and her musical journey as a solo artiste began. She began to perform at various schools in the country of Columbia where she gained full confidence to pursue a career in music, a lifelong dream.
Upon her return to Trinidad and Tobago, Aisha placed as one of the top finalists in The Uncovered Live Showcase 2018, with her show, Aisha Uncovered Live, at Kaiso Blues Cafe being a tremendous success. Since then she has performed in many shows thus far, including but not limited to New Fire Festival 2018 and the Republic Bank Decibel Expo 2018. The talented and determined songstress released her first soca single entitled, “Nobody Be Safe”, this chune has been gaining steady momentum and heating up the T&T’s airwaves.
I got a chance to interview the talented Aisha Noel , here are some highlights of our conversation:
- What does soca music mean to you?
“Soca music is a big part of the history of Trinidad and Tobago and as a lover of music in general it is impossible for me to seperate myself from soca music. Soca is what I grew up on mostly, especially during Carnival time. Bunji Garlin was one of the artists that my father listened to a lot in the house. He was one of the few artists that when Carnival season was over, we would still be listening to.”
2. What made you decide to pursue soca music and when did you make that decision?
“I pursued singing and songwriting first, I later decided to pursue soca. I wanted everyone Trinidad and Tobago and the caribbean as a whole feel inclusive. I always wanted to make music and I want people to relate and feel it. So, I thought what would people at home want to listen to, and first thing that comes to mind is soca. Not to say they wouldn’t want to listen to other types of music too, but I mean that’s where the whole fusion comes in. I’m not only going to be making soca music that is just typical soca. I would want to infuse and bring other elements into it. So I don’t mind bringing in the soca, pop, kaiso, know whatever else I want to put in, just making it energetic and relatable.”
3. What do you feel some of your strengths and areas in need of improvement are as it relates to being an artist?
“My strengths would be my intelligence, great taste, singing, and songwriting. I’m a people person and I’m approachable. As it relates to areas in need of improvement, Welll I now start, and when you now start, you have plenty of places you have to go; I will learn along the way.”
4. What is the message behind “Nobody Be Safe”?
“It is a song about me as an artist. It is about my introduction into the artform. When I was writing it, the point was 1) to have a song that was hard-hitting, 2) to have a song that grabs your attention immediately, and 3) to have something that people can vibe to. It’s almost like a question, what is she going to do next? It’s that type of song, but still it is catchy and grabs you. You know with this song you want to wine on anybody and dance on anybody, so yeah *chuckles* nobody be safe. It is all about making an entrance for yourself, because that’s what your first song should be doing. Well it’s in the lyrics right before the chorus. Make some room, Aisha Noel is here. Some people catch onto the dancing interpretation that speaks to you stepping into the dance with confidence. I also leave the interpretation up to the listener. It’s all about you coming into a new area, new sphere in life, a new area in life and you're saying hey, I am good at what I do, this is it, this is me, and you all have to prepare yourselves.”
5. What is one of your goals as an artiste for this year’s Trinidad Carnival?
“I think I’ve achieved that, I think one of my main goals was to get people’s attention, and I believe I have done that.”
6. Who are your biggest inspirations as it relates to soca music?
“Bunji Garlin, Machel Montano, Kes, Fay Ann Lyons of course, and Nadia Batson as of recently.
I also admire artists like Superblue who have years and years of experience.”
7. Any soca artists you hope to be able to collaborate with in the near future ?
“I’ll keep this one as a bit of a surprise… I am open to working with so many artists.”
8. What about your journey makes you unique?
“My educational background certainly because before deciding to go into music I was pursuing international relations and psychology, I wanted international security, and I want to still be an advocate for peace. There are major artists that were advocates for peace and I have an interest in that as well. I think education is super super important. Some people when they think of artists they may think of someone that is not so educated or someone only knows music. I have been exposed to other things and there are other paths that I could have went on. I believe that you should be able to merge all of your knowledge together. It is not about one or the other. It is super inspiring for someone to look at me and think I can study and become an artist or be whatever I want to be. I think people get it confused and think that they have to choose and that is an “either or” thing and it is not. You are only limited as your mind.”
Check out Aisha’s new song “Nobody Be Safe”
Song Credits
Song Title: Nobody Be Safe
Written by: Aisha Noel
Performed by: Aisha Noel
Produced by: Ballistik Boyz Productions
Mixed and Mastered by: Ballistik Boyz
Recorded at Future Crabs Studios
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To get in contact with the artist, Aisha Noel:
Instagram: @AishaNoelMusic
Twitter: @AishaNoelMusic
Contact via email: aishanoelmusic@gmail.com
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