Soca music is a genre of music defined by Lord Shorty, its inventor, as the "Soul of Calypso", which has influences of African and East Indian rhythms. It was originally spelled "sokah" by its inventor but through an error in a local newspaper when reporting on the new music it was erroneously spelled "soca"; Lord Shorty confirmed the error but chose to leave it that way to avoid confusion. It is a genre of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s and developed into a range of styles during the 1980s and after. Soca was initially developed by Lord Shorty in an effort to revive traditional calypso, the popularity of which had been flagging amongst younger generations in Trinidad due to the rise in popularity of reggae from Jamaica and soul and funk from the United States. Soca is an offshoot of Calypso/Kaiso, with influences from East Indian rhythms and hooks.
Drupatee Ramgoonai is an Trinidadian and Tobagonian chutney and chutney soca musician. She was responsible for coining the term "chutney soca" in 1987 with her first album, entitled Chutney Soca, which included both English and Hindustani versions of the songs. She had her biggest hit the following year when her "(Roll Up the Tassa) Mr. Bissessar" was a Road March contender. She was instrumental in tassa and chutney soca finding its place in Carnival and her efforts later led to competitions such as Chutney Soca Monarch.
Rikki Jai is an Indo-Trinidadian chutney and chutney-soca musician.
Austin Lyons, better known as Superblue, Super Blue and Blueboy, is a Trinidadian calypsonian, soca musician, and lyricist.
VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami, London, Kingston, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, the label has established a presence in Toronto, Australia and New Zealand.
Alison Amanda Hinds is a British-born Bajan soca artist based in Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world.
Ravi Bissambhar, also known as Ravi B, is a Trinidadian chutney musician.
Machel Jesus Montano is a Trinidadian soca singer, record producer and songwriter. Known for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances, he is one of the genre’s most popular artists.
Shurwayne Winchester is a Tobagonian soca musician from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, who has twice won the Road March title.
Ken Marlon Charles a.k.a. KMC is a soca artist from Trinidad. Famous for hits like "Soul on Fire", "Soca Bashment" and "Bashment to Carnival" KMC is signed to the US-based record label Sequence Records. Considered to be one of Trinidad's top soca artists, KMC has over sixteen years experience in the music industry. He has made a name for himself as a solo artist, songwriter, producer and frontman of the band Red, White & Black.
It was in 2005 when Patrice Roberts shocked the entertainment industry in Trinidad and Tobago with her talent. Her introduction through a vocal collaboration was with Bunji Garlin who at that time was in the spotlight. It was her refreshingly soothing and powerful vocals that quickly got her the attention that many established entertainers desired. Very few were able to provide accurate answers about her and her career, appearing mystery-like. Patrice Roberts has assumed her position in the Caribbean music industry as a force to be reckoned with.
Global is an album by Trinidadian Ragga Soca artist Bunji Garlin released in 2007 by VP Records. The album is Garlin's first that he aimed at international audiences, with previous releases aimed only at the West Indies, and he explained "In order for the genre to grow, we have to put out music that people throughout all of the islands can feel, not just for Trinidad". The album features guest appearances by Chris Black and Freddie McGregor. Allmusic's Rick Anderson called it "very nice overall", commenting that Garlin's vocals were "straight out of the dancehall -- more rapid-fire declamation than melodic calypso crooning".
Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and songwriter. She is also known by the stage names Lyon Empress, Mane the Matriarch, and the Silver Surfer, a nickname which she claimed during her performance at the 2008 International Soca Monarch. Personally she's married to Bunji Garlin.
International Soca Monarch is an annual soca music competition/fete event, the finals of which are held on every Carnival Friday in Trinidad and Tobago. Contestants in the event vie for two separate crowns or titles, the International Soca Monarch for uptempo songs, and Groovy Soca Monarch for slower-paced songs. Between 2016 and 2018 a change in format meant that contestants vied for only one award but this one category changed was reversed in 2019. In 2016 an additional award was added, called the People's Choice, then subsequently removed, which involves text message voting by Digicel subscribers. Subscribers could have voted multiple times for their favorite artist during the competition and the artist who received the most votes was given an additional cash prize. The International Soca Monarch competition has become the mecca event for soca artists in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) where the event has been hosted since its inception; and also the rest of the Caribbean region, as many artists who have competed on its stage have moved on to successful soca careers. Dubbed the "Super Bowl of soca music" it is a highly anticipated and well-attended event that has been graced with internationally acclaimed recording artists such as SuperBlue, Machel Montano, Fay Ann Lyons Superblue's daughter and Bunji Garlin's wife, Kevin Lyttle, Rupee and Fay-Ann's husband Bunji Garlin.
Heavenly Drum is an album released by popular Soca artist Machel Montano from Trinidad and Tobago in 2009. It was first launched at J&R Music World in New York City on June 19, 2009. The album marks Machel Montano's third solo release after rebranding to Machel Montano HD in 2007.
Lil Bitts is a soca musician from Trinidad and Tobago. She is best known for her hits "Bump", "Crush" and "Hold Meh".
Mark Antonio Jiminez, better known by his stage name Ataklan is a Trinidadian singer-songwriter and performer primarily of the modern rapso tradition. Ataklan has been referred to as "Trinidad's answer to Beck" and a "fiercely independent songwriter and singer and arguably the most original artist to have emerged on the island since David Rudder". Since his emergence in 1993, Ataklan has released tracks including "Flambo", "Naked Walk", "Flood on the Main Road", "Shadow in de Dark", "Soca Girl" and "Caribbean Swagga", among numerous others.
Bouyon soca is a fusion-genre of bouyon music originating from Dominica and soca music originating from Trinidad & Tobago and the other English speaking Caribbean islands. Bouyon soca typically blends old bouyon music rhythms from the 90s' and soca music creating a unique style soca sound. The style of music was made more popular to the Caribbean region by the likes of the producer Dada and artists ASA from Dominica with collaborations from Trinidadian and St.Vincent artist such as Skinny Fabulous, Bunji Garlin, Iwer George and Machel Montano. Noticeable hits includes Famalay and Conch Shell. With noticeable Bouyon flavored rhythms and sounds with the essence of Soca tempo and lyrical attributes.
"Differentology" is a song by Trinidadian singer and songwriter Bunji Garlin. "Differentology" was released by Sheriff Music on November 7, 2012, as one of the first of Garlin's offerings for the 2013 Carnival season in Trinidad and Tobago. The song was written by Garlin, and produced by Keron Thompson. Garlin stated that the song came to him while in an impromptu session with the guitarist.
Gamal Doyle, better known as Skinny Fabulous, is a Vincentian musician, singer and songwriter. He is a five-time Soca Monarch winner for his home country Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and created history in Trinidad and Tobago winning the 2019 Road March title with his hit "Famalay" which features Trinidadian soca artistes Ian "Bunji Garlin" Alvarez and Machel Montano.
