“Soca To The Universe” — Soca Music Continues To Expand It’s Reach Internationally
Over the past decade, soca music has proven itself to be a dynamic Caribbean music genre. It has become clear in 2019, that both prior to and after Trinidad Carnival’s Road March, soca music expands outward and upward with no bounds.
As it relates to soca songs released for 2019, both rising stars and living legends decided to grace listeners with a plethora of songs to digest for 2019; yet the people want more. *Queues More-Bunji Garlin*
Soca is more than just carnival at this point, it is a lifestyle for many, this includes me. And so it appears, that soca lovers have come to an understanding — we all yearn for soca songs to be released throughout the year. In fact, there is a carnival taking place somewhere in the world every month (excluding Nov. & Dec.), and so all the more reason to release new music.
As of late, I am noticing soca artists are becoming more aware of this demand, and some are even being proactive about it. For example, other than in his hit songs, Erphaan Alves has been vocal, especially on social media, about this idea of releasing music with a mindset of “no seasons”. In mid-May, he released a new soca song/video “Lock On”, and despite Trinidad not expecting a next carnival until 2020, soca lovers are feeling the new music nonetheless. This mindset, if adapted by every artist, can truly help increase the reach of soca music — further placing the genre on track for optimal international recognition.
Recently, soca music has been highlighted and recognized outside of carnival, here are some notable examples:
March 2019 — Trinidad Carnival saw the likes of Lil Kim, Mya (later featured on the Yard Jam Riddim for Jamaica carnival), and Ashanti (an R&B artist, collaborated with Machel Montano and Producer Travis World create a soca song titled “The Road”). Ashanti is definitely in love with “The road, The road, The road”, as she continued to genuinely share on social media the experiences she had in Soca Land (Trinidad). Long after carnival, the singer/songwriter posted on her Instagram story videos of herself singing along to a few 2019 soca songs while in St. Martin — safe to say she still has soca music on her mind and playlist.
April 2019 — Calypso Rose carried the legacy of calypso music and simultaneously introduced soca music during Coachella — a world renowned annual two-weekend music and arts festival held in California. Both Machel Montano and rising star Nailah Blackman were able to perform alongside Calpyso Rose, thus successfully presenting soca to the diverse audience(s) in attendance — not to mention the millions of viewers on live stream. One can only imagine how many people in attendance were being introduced to calypso and soca for the first time.
See Calypso Rose and Machel Montano’s live performance: HERE
See Calypso Rose And Nailah Blackman’s live performance: HERE
Olatunji Yearwood is a creative soca artist who recently had his 2016 soca release “Oh Yay” featured in “See You Yesterday” — a Spike Lee produced Netflix film released on May 17, 2019. Olatunji’s soca song has been recognized outside of carnival “season” and will live forever within credits of this film; a commendable accomplishment indeed.
Olatunji however, is not new to receiving recognition outside of carnival. He recently assisted in bringing soca to higher heights in late 2018, by taking his talents to the U.K. as a competitive and well respected contestant on The X Factor.
In addition to the aforementioned, Olatuji recently revived an earlier 2019 release on the Twin Flame Riddim, his soca “Thank Mama” and released a breathtaking mini movie music video.
If you have ten minutes to spare, watch the mini movie: HERE
5Star Akil, a talented soca artist represented for both soca music and Trinidad and Tobago while in China for their Beijing Arts Festival in late May 2019. This particular event is one that claims to bring together hundreds of artists from approximately 19 countries to showcase their talent over the span of a few days. This opportunity provided Akil with a unique platform in a country where they do not have carnival, a country where soca music is uncomon. He ultimately gifted the audience with sweet soca music and gave them a taste of Trinidad and Tobago.
Drake, recently reposted a meme in celebration of a Toronto Raptors NBA Eastern Conference win, and the video contained an audio of. Mr. Killa’s “Run Wid It” in the background — it was perfect . Drake’s Instagram post quickly became a topic of discussion on social media. That Instagram post reached over 4 million views in 48 hours, and I’m telling you, the music adds so much spice to the meme. Kudos to Drake for posting this quality piece of content on his platform, and further giving his audience a taste of 2019 International Soca Monarch power soca.
Soca to the world!
Do you know of an example of soca music expanding it’s reach and/or impacting individuals outside of the carnival celebration?
Share it with me in the comments section
