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.
The music of Trinidad and Tobago is best known for its calypso music, soca music, chutney music, and steelpan. Calypso's internationally noted performances in the 1950s from native artists such as Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. The art form was most popularised at that time by Harry Belafonte. Along with folk songs and African- and Indian-based classical forms, cross-cultural interactions have produced other indigenous forms of music including soca, rapso, parang, chutney, and other derivative and fusion styles. There are also local communities which practice and experiment with international classical and pop music, often fusing them with local steelpan instruments.
Byron Lee and the Dragonaires are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron Lee died on 4 November 2008, after suffering from cancer for a sustained period.
Television in Trinidad and Tobago was introduced in 1962 beginning with Trinidad & Tobago Television. TTT was the sole television station for 29 years being operated by the state until the first independently operated television station, the Caribbean Communications Network, CCN TV6 was launched in 1991 breaking the television monopoly market. In 1992, a second independently operated station, AVM Television was launched. The first independently operated cable station, The Trinity Network (TTN) now Trinity TV began operations in 1993 broadcasting on weekends only.
Education Channel TV4 formerly "Government Information Services Limited", "The National Carnival Commission of Trinidad and Tobago" (NCC4), "The Information Channel" (TIC) and "AVM Television", is a television station serving Trinidad and Tobago on Channels 4 & 16 with its studios located at TIC Building, Lady Young Road, Morvant, Trinidad and Tobago.
Destra Garcia is a Trinidadian musician, singer and songwriter of soca music. She is also known by the mononym Destra. She is one of the most popular female soca artists in the world.
Austin Lyons, better known as Superblue, Super Blue and Blueboy, is a Trinidadian calypsonian, soca musician, and lyricist.
Francesca Hawkins is a television news presenter and public relations specialist in Trinidad and Tobago. She is a frontline presenter for CNC3 Television. She is the current President of the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago.
Tempo Networks is a pan-Caribbean television channel focusing on Caribbean music and cultural content. Its programming encompasses music videos, news, dramas, and documentaries showcasing various aspects of Caribbean life. The channel features musical genres like Reggae, Soca, Dancehall, and more. The programming is primarily presented in English.
Machel Montano is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and record producer. 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.
El-A-Kru is an Antiguan soca band. The name derives from "Little Antigua Crew".
Winston McGarland Bailey OBE, HBM, DLitt, better known by his stage name The Mighty Shadow or Shadow, was a calypsonian from Tobago.
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.
C Television(C TV) was the flagship television station of the Caribbean New Media Group, a state-owned media company in Trinidad and Tobago that was formed in 2005 as the successor company to Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT). Until August 2018, C TV operated from studios at 11 A Maraval Road, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The station boasted that its facilities were the most technologically advanced of its kind in the Caribbean region at the time of launch. The station was replaced by a rebranded TTT in August 2018.
Rhona Fox is an American businesswoman of Indo-Guyanese descent who founded the soca music record label Fox Fuse. Fox was born in Essequibo, Guyana, raised in Nassau, Bahamas, and is based in New York City.
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.
Nadia Batson is a Trinidadian singer, songwriter, producer and model. She was a runner-up in the Power Category at the 2007 International Soca Monarch with her song "My Land" with Kees Dieffenthaller.
Erphaan Alves is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and songwriter. He initially gained full recognition in the soca world 2012 when he qualified as a finalist in both Groovy and International Power Soca Monarch Finals with the songs "In your Eyes" and "Terrible". His transition to soca megastar proved complete when he cued the HD band into his 2018 monster hit ‘Overdue’.
